The Conversation – Rasman
Many laypeople think children have an innate ability to soak up a new language like a thirsty little sponge and that neither teenagers nor adults can keep pace with them. They believe this natural capacity for acquiring multiple languages will decline with age. This belief encourages some researchers to propose a time limit to learn a new language. They argue that children are more adept at language acquisition due to the plasticity of their brains, which will have become immutable at the onset of puberty. Recent empirical studies, however, have provided evidence against the idea of an upper age limit to learning a new language.