Question: why do people find it more difficult to learn new languages than others? and why does it get more difficult when you get older?

Jen Todd Jones answered on 12 Mar 2013:

Hi ubermidget

Some people find it easier (or have an ‘aptitude’) for learning languages that may be related to their brain structure. There are parts of the brain responsible for listening and speaking that may have more neuron connections as they grow – the reason for this is unknown! It’s also possible that children raised in a place with lots of languages find it easier to learn languages later on in life, because their brain has grown and adapted to dealing with lots of different speech and language sounds at once.

We learn most new information as young children because this is when our brain is growing at its fastest. Human babies are born defenseless so we need to grow very quickly, this include our brain. As we get older the brain almost sets into place, after the age of 25 any new growth requires a lot of hard work whereas before this age our brains change and grow and learn pretty easily. It doesn’t mean you can’t learn a new language or anything new after this age, just that it’s different to learn.