Language Gap

UCLA Professor Michael Heim makes a good point in this interview (found via Steve Kaufman) that the “difficulty” of a new language is very much dependent upon the language you are coming from. If I am a native English speaker then my mother tongue is going to have far more similarities with German or French than with Chinese or Japanese. There are more obstacles to climb and differences to become acclimated to.

I agree and disagree with his statement that Chinese takes a “lifetime” to master:

Our language abilities, even our native language skills, are constantly evolving as we are exposed to more and more input. We never truly “master” the language, in the sense that we reach a practical end to the acquirement of new words and patterns. There is always something we are lacking or could sharpen. Always.

That being said, I think the goal of most people who are studying a second language is adult level fluency. In other words, they want to be able to function as an adult member of the society of the language which they are studying. With the right methods and enough dedication that is certainly a highly achievable goal. It may take longer for an American to learn Japanese coming from English as opposed to a Korean, but they can both achieve the same ends (and in a fairly minimal amount of time as well).

This is the importance of time on task. If you don’t spend time with the language, as much time as possible, then there will be fewer and fewer opportunities to let your brain internalize the language.