Some adults believe that it’s nearly impossible to learn a new language after childhood. They think it’s too challenging, so they don’t even bother trying.

There’s this assumption that kids can gain fluency in other languages more easily. And so, adult language learners often say things like, “If only I had started learning English when I was a kid. Then I would have already mastered the language by now.”

Or “If only my parents had put me in a bilingual school, I would speak it perfectly now. And I would be so much more confident in speaking English if I was able to learn grammar unconsciously as a kid.”

It’s true that children can pick up the basics of a language quickly, but one of the major reasons adults have trouble communicating in a new language is because adults need to express more complicated ideas. All kids need to talk about is food, family, friends, or likes and dislikes. Only basic vocabulary and grammar are required for simple conversations like that.

But adults need to be able to talk about complex topics, so it takes longer to get to that point. Discussing politics or literature or technology necessitates a greater repertoire of words and phrases and better understanding of syntax.

That’s why I make a point to listen to news in Spanish, so I can get exposure to an advanced lexicon and grammatical structures about specific topics.