The Science of Learning New Languages

I've been attempting to learn French for a while now, and it's
a slow process. It's all much harder this time around than it
was to learn English, my first language. All this effort made
me wonder if there were some tricks to learning a foreign
language that I'd been missing. It turns out, it's just a tricky
thing to do once you're an adult.
How we learn language
Learning language is something we're born to do. it's an
instinct we have, which is proven, as one research paper says,

just by observation:

To believe that special biological adaptations are a
requirement, it is enough to notice that all the children but
none of the dogs and cats in the house acquire language.

As children, we learn to think, learn to communicate and
intuitively pick up an understanding of grammar rules in our
mother tongue, or native language. From then on, we learn all
new languages in relation to the one we first knew—the one
that we used to understand the world around us for the first
time ever.

Although language is something we learn, research has shown
that the instinct to do so is present from birth. Not only are we
inclined to process and adopt language, but it seems that the
human brain has common linguistic constraints, regardless of
the language we've learned. Certain syllables, which aren't
common in any language, are difficult for the brain to
process, even in newborns who haven't started learning any
language yet.

*Learning a foreign language
When it comes to learning a second language, adults are at a
disadvantage. As we age, our brain's plasticity (its ability to
create new neurons and synapses) is reduced. Following brain
damage that causes a loss of speech, for instance, researchers
have observed that children are more likely to regain the
power of speech, by creating new pathways in the brain to
replace the damaged ones.

One theory of why learning a foreign language is so hard for
adults focuses more on the process we go through to do so,
rather than the loss of plasticity. Robert Bley-Vroman
explains in Linguistic Perspectives on Second Language
Acquisition that adults approach learning a new language
with an adult problem-solving process, rather than in the
same way a child develops language for the first time.

Although this means adults generally progress through the
early stages of learning a language faster than children,
people who are exposed to a foreign language first during
childhood usually achieve a higher proficiency than those
who start out as adults.

There's still hope, though. A study of secondary language
pronunciation found that some learners who started as adults
scored as well as native speakers. It's also been shown that
motivation to learn can improve proficiency, so if you really
want to learn a language, it's not necessarily too late.

*Give yourself the best chance
If you want to put in the effort to learn a new language, try
these methods that are known for improving learning and
memory.

1. Spaced repetition

Spaced repetition is a proven memory technique that helps
you keep what you've learned strong in your mind. The way it
works is you revise each word or phrase you've learned in
spaced intervals. Initially the intervals will be smaller: you
might revise a new word a few times in one practice session,
and then again the next day. Once you know it well you'll be
able to leave days or weeks between revisions without
forgetting it.

Here's a diagram that shows how the "forgetting curve" drops
less dramatically with each new repetition:(above)

I like using Duolingo for vocabulary and phrase practice
because it takes care of spaced repetition for me. The app
keeps track of which words I haven't practiced for a while
and reminds me to strengthen my understanding of those.

During each lesson, it mixes up familiar and new words to
space out the repetition.

2. Learn before you sleep

One of the many benefits we get from sleep is that it helps to
clear out the brain's " inbox" – the temporary storage of new
information and memories from our time awake. We need
sleep (even just a nap) to move anything we've recently
learned into our brain's long term storage. Once it's safely
stored, spaced repetition will help to strengthen the
connection so we can recall the information faster and more
accurately.

3. Study content, not the language

Although most language learning classes and progams focus
on purely learning the language, a study of high school
students studying French found that when they studied
another subject taught in French instead of a class purely to
teach French, the students tested better for listening and were
more motivated to learn. Students in the standard French class
scored better on reading and writing tests, so both methods
clearly have merit.

Once you've mastered the basics of a new language, try
including some content on a topic you're interested in to
improve your understanding. You could have conversations
with friends learning the same language, read articles online
or listen to a podcast to test your comprehension.

4. Practice a little everyday

If you're busy, you might be tempted to put off your studying
and cram in a big chunk of learning once every week or two.

However, studying a little every day is actually more
effective. Because your brain's "inbox" has limited space and
only sleep can clear it out, you'll hit the limit of how much
you can take in pretty quickly if you study for hours at a time.
Studying in small chunks every day combines spaced
repetition with the best use of the brain's temporary storage.

5. Mix new and old

The brain craves novelty but attempting to learn lots of new
words or phrases at once can be overwhelming. Novel
concepts work best when they're mixed in with familiar
information.

When you add new words to your vocabulary, try spacing
them in-between words you're already familiar with so they'll
stand out—your brain will latch onto them more easily.