Why can’t we learn languages just like babies learn their native languages, by listening and imitating the language without the help of other people
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Most people don’t surround themselves with a new language, almost every waking hour of their life. If they did, they actually would find it kinda easy to pick up on like a baby.
With some study, this is the best language learning method. Along with Mnemonics which I thi k our brain naturally gets accustomed to seeing English words in our brain as a kid (or through school pushing english down our throats as babies.)
My daughter was fascinated at age 3 that people spoke different languages. She discovered this bc her fave show to watch with Dad was Iron Chef in the original Japanese, without translation. She’s not really conversational in Japanese but she knows lots of basic from Japanese TV and anime.
She learned Spanish starting in first grade in an immersion program. The teachers provided no translation but like with toddlers, they acted out what was being taught. You might not know what “ponerse la chaqueta” means in my mangled Español, but if you see the teacher grab a jacket and put it on, you’ll figure it out.
Daughter went to China and Korea with a year of high school each, when she was 18. She taught English to college kids and learned their languages, becoming conversational in both.
So to the OPQ, I say people can learn languages like babies do, but babies take a few years to get conversational. Invest that time and adults can too.
You technically can, you just have to move to a country with native speakers, and spend a childhood amount of time learning it.
As a father of three: Babies are stupid learners. Also in language. You would have to repeat simple things for weeks and months for them to understand.
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