Department of Education

Expert Reaction: Is there a cut-off age for learning a language?

Posted on 1 May 2018

Researchers at the the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have shown that if you want to have native-like knowledge of English grammar you should ideally start before age 10.

Dr Danijela Trenkic at the University of York gives her reaction to the paper published in the journal Cognition:

Dr Danijela Trenkic, from University's Department of Education, said: "This study harnessed the potential of big data to tackle one the biggest questions in language learning research: what is the optimal period for language learning.

"And it’s good news; rather than the onset of puberty, the study suggests that language-learning abilities remain intact until about the age of 17 or 18. Yet, because grammar takes time and a lot of language experience to develop, if you start learning after the age of 10 you are more likely to run out of time for the best possible result.

"The study also looked at the difference between learning in immersion settings (when people emigrate to new country) and non-immersion settings (learning in school). Although only those in immersion settings reached the native-like level or proficiency, the age of 10-11 was important for both groups: those who started before this age did markedly better than those starting later (in the same setting). The findings therefore support the push for starting a foreign language in primary school.

Read the full story of Expert Reaction: Is there a cut-off age for learning a language?