[Gay State Conservative]

Yes,I've read that...years ago,in the Scientific American.The piece basically said that the human brain is “wired” (my word,not theirs) to learn languages when young but at about puberty (I think it was puberty) that ability fades.Although that sounds plausible to me I'm not trained in any of the biological sciences so I defer to the experts.

[hanamizu]

That’s the irony. Schools start teaching languages right when kids lose the ability to easily learn them.

[KarlInOhio]

I have a friend who was a Vietnamese refuge. She was about 11 when she came here and speaks English beautifully. Her brother who is only a couple of years older speaks with a thick accent.