| Pages in topic: < [1 2 3 4 5] > | 22 years old - too late to learn a new language? Thread poster: vchampea
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Becca Resnik 
United States
Local time: 17:07
Member
Jerman menyang Inggris
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| Louise sums it up well, plus some specific advice | May 4, 2020 |
Louise Etheridge wrote:
22 is definitely not too late to start learning a new language. I started learning Italian when I was 26 with no problems (admittedly I already had French and Spanish under my belt).
However, Japanese is obviously a totally different language, without the similar roots that you'll find in European languages. In order to succeed you will really need to immerse yourself in the culture - I mean, eat, breath and sleep Japanese - and probably be prepared to do so for several years. But I'm sure the experience will be fun. You have time on your side, it should still be easy to make friends at your age and get the conversational experience you'll need to be fluent and understand the culture.
I think it's never too late to learn another language, particularly for some people, but I think it's undeniable that our ability to learn a foreign language declines with age (on average). 22 is definitely not too late, though. My primary foreign language is German, and while I've also studied Spanish and Mandarin, the primary language I've studied for about the last four years is Japanese. I started when I was 26.
Over my two years of becoming conversant in Mandarin, I thought everything "they" say is true...Mandarin is the hardest language, nothing could possibly be harder, etc. Now that I am studying Japanese, those thoughts seem like a big joke to me. Japanese is really fun, different, and rewarding. But four years in of studying Japanese has me around the two-year mark of my skill in German (which was my first foreign language at that). It has been a lot of being beaten down mentally day after day after day.**
That sounds really discouraging, but please don't take it that way. I will readily admit that some of my earlier study methods set me back, as it was all self-study and uncharted territory. I *love* chatting about study methods for learning Japanese, so feel free to message me if you'd like some specific advice!
Although I will give you one specific piece here, which is related to the comment about conversational experience: Japanese textbooks almost always teach you little to no casual speech. They'll introduce the casual conjugations at the start and maybe throw in a "by the way, this is how it's said in casual speech" here and there, but that's about it. I am an anomaly in that I (a) enjoy learning by textbook (b) hate anime and manga and (c) do not find kanji to be a sticking point. I thought I'd get a decent foundation of grammar and vocab and then start consuming native material. When I started attempting to converse with Japanese people and consume Japanese media (don't make the same mistake I did - do this *early*), it hit me like a ton of bricks that I didn't know conversational Japanese. The conjugations, the way they talk, even some of the verbs used (e.g. 食べる and 召し上がる are the everyday and honorific versions of "to eat," respectively...and that last symbol they share is an ending of many [most?] verbs) are wildly different across levels of formality. So all of that is to say: Complement your early studies with native material and/or at least familiarization with casual forms, or you won't have any friends. A lot of people move there and fall into the trap of speaking English with all the people around them eager to practice their English on a native speaker. Especially those who work as English teachers, as they are literally not allowed to speak Japanese with their students. Peruse the internet for young people who have moved there, and you'll find that even some of the famous YouTubers who have channels based on living in Japan have this story.
**One more note to add about this: Pretty much everyone I talk to who knows Japanese very well has felt similarly for at least some amount of time. There are the "lucky" few who just never had this experience, but for the most part, I usually discover that someone who says they speak Japanese and never had those feelings...doesn't actually know Japanese. So it does pay off.
| | | | Mervyn Henderson (X)
Spain
Local time: 23:07
Spanyol menyang Inggris
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Has anyone else noticed that "vchampea" originally posted this query almost 10 years ago?
| | | | Dan Lucas
United Kingdom
Local time: 22:07
Member (2014)
Jepang menyang Inggris
Mervyn Henderson wrote:
Has anyone else noticed that "vchampea" originally posted this query almost 10 years ago?
Was amused that Henry himself dug up this ancient thread!
Dan
| | | | | New decade, new thread title | May 5, 2020 |
After a decade, the thread should be renamed "32 years old - too late to learn a new language?"
My advice: just give it another decade.
Necroposting at its finest…
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I read about Mary Hobson on these forums a few years ago. She is living proof that it's never too late to learn a new language. Not just to learn it, but to excel at it and become a renowned translator of classic works in that language.
... See more I read about Mary Hobson on these forums a few years ago. She is living proof that it's never too late to learn a new language. Not just to learn it, but to excel at it and become a renowned translator of classic works in that language.
https://www.rbth.com/arts/literature/2016/04/22/learning-russian-has-given-me-a-whole-new-life_587093
[Edited at 2020-05-05 09:53 GMT] ▲ Collapse
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Mervyn Henderson wrote:
Has anyone else noticed that "vchampea" originally posted this query almost 10 years ago?
It's still relevant as a discussion, though. More interesting than many of the other current threads, in my opinion.
| | | | Robert Rietvelt
Local time: 23:07
Member (2006)
Spanyol menyang Walanda
+ ...
Jean Dimitriadis wrote:
After a decade, the thread should be renamed "32 years old - too late to learn a new language?"
My advice: just give it another decade.
Necroposting at its finest…
To answer your (new) question: 'No'.
See you in 10 years time.
| | | | Mervyn Henderson (X)
Spain
Local time: 23:07
Spanyol menyang Inggris
+ ...
is "vchampea" going to tell us how it all worked out in the end?
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Becca Resnik
United States
Local time: 17:07
Member
Jerman menyang Inggris
+ ...
Has anyone else noticed that "vchampea" originally posted this query almost 10 years ago?
I'll just go ahead and admit that I indeed did not! When it came up in the list as a forum with a recent post, I saw the question and got excited about talking to someone about learning Japanese. Ha!
It's still relevant as a discussion, though. More interesting than many of the other current threads, in my opinion.
Pretty embarrassed now that I typed out that huge column of advice, but I am hoping someone learning Japanese and/or learning "later" [than we're told we can do it] in life stumbles across it and finds it useful.
is "vchampea" going to tell us how it all worked out in the end?
Judging by their profile, I'm going to guess the answer to that is "not as planned."
| | | | Robert Rietvelt
Local time: 23:07
Member (2006)
Spanyol menyang Walanda
+ ...
| It doesn't look like it | May 5, 2020 |
Mervyn Henderson wrote:
is "vchampea" going to tell us how it all worked out in the end?
"vchampea" registered at Proz at 14 July 2010, same day he/she openened this forum. Nothing since.
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Becca Resnik wrote:
Pretty embarrassed now that I typed out that huge column of advice, but I am hoping someone learning Japanese and/or learning "later" [than we're told we can do it] in life stumbles across it and finds it useful.
Exactly, nothing to be embarrassed about.
| | | | Lauren Higgins
United States
Local time: 16:07
Tionghoa menyang Inggris
| Sure hope 22 isn't the cutoff | May 5, 2020 |
Otherwise my plan to keep learning languages for the rest of my life is dead in the water
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Mervyn Henderson (X)
Spain
Local time: 23:07
Spanyol menyang Inggris
+ ...
| Turning Japanese (II) | May 5, 2020 |
I hope Louise, who posted on this way back in 2010 as well, won't mind me latching on to her title at that time if she's still around. I remember that song too.
Maybe "turning Japanese" is what vchampea did. He did say that he intended to avoid English as much as possible, so maybe he went to Japan, set up with his Japanese girlfriend, turned so Japanese that he forgot the English language completely, and even if he saw our ramblings today he simply wouldn't have a clue what we were... See more I hope Louise, who posted on this way back in 2010 as well, won't mind me latching on to her title at that time if she's still around. I remember that song too.
Maybe "turning Japanese" is what vchampea did. He did say that he intended to avoid English as much as possible, so maybe he went to Japan, set up with his Japanese girlfriend, turned so Japanese that he forgot the English language completely, and even if he saw our ramblings today he simply wouldn't have a clue what we were on about.
It's only a theory, mind. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Jeffrey Diteman
United States
Local time: 17:07
Member (2019)
Prancis menyang Inggris
+ ...
| Never too late! | May 5, 2020 |
My college French professor started picking up Arabic at age 57, and was conversant within a year of living in Tunisia. I sincerely believe that it's never too late to learn a new language, provided one has the time and commitment.
| | | | | UPDATE: I studied polyglots for 10 years and became fluent in Spanish, lol | May 5, 2020 |
This is so weird. It was my birthday last week. Yes, I'm 32 now. I have studied Thai, Japanese and Spanish. I didn't get very far with Thai. I struggled a lot with Japanese for 2 years but I tried really hard and could have some conversation. After living in Japan for 1 year I suffered from severe PTSD and lost a lot of memory as well as my sanity. As a last attempt to fix my broken brain, I decided to take one last stab at Spanish. Moreover, I decided to learn using only the unconventional meth... See more This is so weird. It was my birthday last week. Yes, I'm 32 now. I have studied Thai, Japanese and Spanish. I didn't get very far with Thai. I struggled a lot with Japanese for 2 years but I tried really hard and could have some conversation. After living in Japan for 1 year I suffered from severe PTSD and lost a lot of memory as well as my sanity. As a last attempt to fix my broken brain, I decided to take one last stab at Spanish. Moreover, I decided to learn using only the unconventional methods I had been reading about for the last 10 years on the blogs of polyglots. I invented a flashcard system and successfully taught myself Spanish.
I now teach English and Spanish online using my custom made flashcard methodology. I am working with a team in India to streamline this flashcard methodology that I have created to help other people learn as fast as I did. I was a super underdog. When I started learning Spanish I was at the worst of my PTSD. I had not really slept for a whole year. I suffered from night terrors at night and panic attacks during the day. My memory was terrible. Hallucinations of ghosts and demons were a regular occurrence for me. I was completely stoned most of the time just to manage my symptoms.
If I could do it, anybody can do it!
A little blurb I wrote on my teacher bio:
"I chose to learn Spanish in order to heal my brain after suffering from PTSD for several years and to become more connected to the world of the shamans of Latin America. I successfully healed my brain and believe that learning a new language can restore brain damage, develop new aspects of your personality, and fundamentally change the way you think and how your brain works."
https://englishfirstaid.net/2019/09/27/about-your-teacher-vinny-champeau/
And a video of my progress with Spanish
https://youtu.be/5O2rlWrsGzA
I hope this inspires some people who want to learn! ▲ Collapse
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