American Dialect The long awaited dispute of what is the ‘right’ way to say a sweetened carbonated beverage is in, finally. Could it be soda, pop, or coke? And the answer,according to one graduate student's American dialect research is: All of the above! That is, depending on where you are in America-due to one's American [...]
How Children Acquire a Second Language Young children acquire languages almost effortlessly. Typically developing children under the age of three learn new languages easily due to a process known as simultaneous second language learning, whereas older children learn a second language sequentially. Although there was once a fear that exposing a child to two separate [...]
Cross your fingers Definition: To wish/pray for the best possible outcome. Example sentence: Jill waited for her exam results with crossed fingers. Origin: In the early days of the church, crossed fingers were used as a symbol for the cross. These were thought to invoke the power of the cross to guard against evil. This [...]
One should not believe the myth that after the age of twelve people are incapable of learning a new language. Children before the age of twelve appear to have an easier time learning new languages because the language centers in their brain are more attune to the rhythm and pronunciations found in a language. Children learn by repeating the words aloud as the first step in learning a new language, whereas an adult would be more inclined to try and read unfamiliar words before speaking them. Children are less self conscious about making mistakes. Adults who are learning a new language know that they could be easily stereotyped by someone they are interacting with should they make a mistake, so in order to avoid this possible embarrassment they communicate in their native language. For adults, learning a new language may be viewed as a necessary hurdle rather than a true learning experience for pleasure. Adults can learn a new language if they are willing to make the extra effort.