Department of Language and Linguistic Science
- Language and Linguistic Science
- News and events
- Department news
- 2022
- Article: How to learn a foreign language as an adult
Article: How to learn a foreign language as an adult
Posted on 29 March 2022
Prof Monika S. Schmid and Prof Sam Hellmuth (Department of Language and Linguistic Science) have recently been interviewed by Anna Hollingsworth for “How to learn a foreign language as an adult: the definitive guide”. Published in The Times, the article focuses on what learning a language means for our development and its impacts on our brain.
“How to learn a foreign language as an adult: the definitive guide” illustrates that in the EU many adults speak more than one language whilst two in three Britons only speak their mother tongue. This is also visible in UK education, where from 2017 to 2021 there has been a decline in modern language A-levels, from 19,885 to 18,715 entries. It continues by stating that this “language ignorance” is costing the British economy 3.5 percent of the national income.
Prof Monika S. Schmid and Prof Sam Hellmuth were asked to provide insights on the language learning process.
“The key message is that language learning as an adult isn’t as difficult as people think - and it can be a lot of fun, as well as providing a boost to your CV. I’ve recently started learning Hindi with an online app which has been much easier than I expected, but it confirms for me that nothing beats learning in a setting where you get to practise using language in real interaction with other people.” - Prof Sam Hellmuth, Department of Language and Linguistic Science
To read the article in full in The Times: How to learn a foreign language as an adult: the definitive guide (21 March 2022)