Who are at a disadvantage when learning a second language?

Learning language is something we’re born to do. As children, we learn to think, 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.(11)When it comes to learning a second language, adults are at a disadvantage.(12)As we age, our brain’s plasticity 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.
    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.(13)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.