Question:
There are well-known problems with the idea of an adult learning a foreign language like a child:
1. It takes too much time (from four to six years).
2. Adults possess an analytical ability which enables them to learn much faster.
3. This same analytical ability prevents the adult from learning like a child.
Is the idea of learning like a child a generally accepted one?
Answer:
Actually, the question under consideration was whether an adult can learn a foreign language in the same way that a child learns its mother tongue, not whether an adult can learn a foreign language faster than a child can learn a foreign language.
1. I can't agree. It takes a similar time with traditional methods, depending the level you want to achieve. Unless you want a strong command, the Assimil method works faster for "survival" to mean purposes.
2. Yes, but it's better to use it in the last stages of learning.
