Why is learning a language so hard?

[Somegirl124]

[purplepoppy]

There's a small window in childhood where you easily pick up language without thinking about it. Once you get older you try to structure it through lessons and talk of things like congugating verbs and it becomes scary and confusing.

Another factor is we're more forgiving of childhood errors and kids aren't frightened of making mistakes. Adults feel uncomfortable practising outside their lessons and it slows the learning progress down.

You're also having to let go of years of schooling in own language and learning to accept new pronunciations and grammar rules that feel wrong.

[A_Nihilist]

It could be that the language you are learning is no different to a physical skill you want to learn.

Let's say you want to learn Japanese. You've heard that Japanese is the easiest of the Asian languages. But it could be that it just doesn't click with you, that it's not something that you can just pickup. Be it the confusing grammar or the pronunciations.

Yet Korean, a language that is commonly viewed as a harder language, you seem to vibe with a lot better. You can pronounce it with ease, you can pick apart words from strangers or movies.

Unless you are trying to learn a language for something specific. If you are wanting to learn a language as a hobby. I'd say just dabble in languages as a whole until you find what you think is right for you.

If you're learning a specific language for a job, a future home or a long term holiday. Then stick with it and try out different learning styles.

[KostasKouvalis]

I think it's the method instructors use. For example, they teach you a certain word than teach you every variation and tense of that word and when to use it, when it's so much easier to just teach how to say specific phrases and not worry so much about grammar rules. Also, I once read a report from a professional polyglot who said just learning the 100 most common words is enough. To many students and instructors try to use phrases they'll never use. Like my Spanish teacher was teaching us shit even native Spanish speakers didn't use at home. If you're planning to live or work there, that's one thing, but if you're just learning it for fun, there's no point in learning useless phrases you'll never need.

[Kimberly1979]

Probably cause you didn’t grow up in the language in the house. My boyfriend learned English cause of movies, and music.

[OfMiceandMen]

It takes time to de-program your brain to learn another language because your primary language is what you are used to. Remember, it took years for you to learn your language at home and in school, so learning a new one isn't necessarily going to be easy.

[Chazmatazz269]

It’s not. Children do it all the time. Learning a NEW language can be tough, but it also depends on your methodology. Just remember your language neural pathways already have traffic in them, and they’re probably already set. So just like adding more traffic to any set pathway, traffic will have to slow down or you will have accidents. Some suggest immersion, so that your language center only has to manage the one tongue.

[AviatorTom]

It's not, if you start learning a language at an early age. The older you get, though, the more you think in your learned language, and the more difficult it is to think in another language. Those who are fluent in multiple languages do not think in one language and then translate to the other, they think in the other language, and that's not easy to learn.

[TheSpaceGnome]

Because you have to think in another language, not just speak it. If you are like me and are a very logical person, most languages are impossible to get used to because science and logic are primarily English driven topics. Even in countries where English is not the primary language, it is the primary language in science.

[bolverk]

Ideally you should have learned another language when you were younger when you were learning your mother language, so you'd be fluent naturally, as you get older If you were only wanting to learn the spoken language you are interested in then immersion courses were you are focused on the language is spoken with pronunciations and spoken grammar added naturally as you progress.

[OtterMan68]

Take English. It makes ZERO sense

Dumb, Bum, and Some rhyme but Home and Some do not.

Live can me "We live here" or "that's live TV."

Sing, Sang, Sung. Ring, Rang, Rung, but Bring, Brought!

Sink, Sank, Sunk but Think Thought!

English makes NO sense!

[onedarkcloud]

Most European languages are reverse grammatically to English plus the added marking that changes sounds that are not used in the English language. Other languages like Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Indonesian have nothing in common with English and have dialects by the hundreds. So learning is very hard but can be done

[Astarlessnightsky]

Its a couple 10.000 words, hundreds of grammar rules and several exceptions.

Its one of the most complex things you can learn.

[Billlewis]

Spanish is easy. You're welcome to message me if you'd like me to help.

[LiamS95]

It's easier for children as they're developing for an adult it's easier to learn another language if you're in a place where the new language is used, similar to language submersion schooling.

[DrPepper12]

Because your language neurons and synapses atrophied after 2 years old. Hard to develop them again.

[Pohjolan]

Because your brain learned while being small just one language, one model.

Kids who are naturally bilingual have it easier as multiple languages are for their brain the expected norm.

[handsomelad70]

Learning some languages' linguistic nuances can be EXTREMELY difficult.

[MrDaveAPSI]

Because some, aren't even in use anymore, like latin

[KrakenAttackin]

Agreed. Bad ADHD and new languages haven't worked well for me.

[noohair]

The language window is limited with most humans. When it closes, it is closed.

[AngryCarl]

Learning a language is easy. Learning a second language is hard.

[Twalli]

Because unlike your first language, you aren't inundated in it all day, every day.

[jahaims]

What is and isn't hard to learn is subjective

[OddBeMe]

Funny, I think it’s math.

[Kingofkings1992]

Try Rosetta Stone.

[grega239]

Its not