Exposure of multiple languages to children at a young age can help them learn languages faster and more fluently than if exposed as adults. Is it because children’s brains are more receptive to language at a young age? Is it because your mind has already developed a ‘default’ language when you’re older?
Why isn’t this pattern applicable to something like mathematics/any other subject?
In: Biology
There’s a region of the brain called the Broca’s Area which is more active in children and correlates with receptivity to learning language. Specifically, it seems to facilitate mimicry, the ability to hear, retain, and repeat new sounds. The activity level drops off after about age 12 in most people. In a small perch age though, it remains active into adulthood, which is how you get polyglots (people who are able to learn and speak multiple languages).
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