Neuroscience for Kids - Second Language - 19 views
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In most cases, if a person is not exposed to a language during the critical period, he or she will never be able to speak the language as well as someone who learned language normally.
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Although the person may be able to learn many vocabulary words, his or her syntax will probably never reach a normal level.
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Children who have brain damage are often able to regain their language abilities with practice. Adults, however, who suffer damage to language areas are rarely able to achieve their previous language proficiency.
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This observation further supports the concept that there might be a difference between learning language in childhood and adulthood.
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Surgeons need to know which brain areas are involved in language comprehension and production, so that they will not disturb these valuable centers during operations on the brain.
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Research suggests that learning second (or third) languages is easier for young children, and some evidence indicates certain brain areas that might be involved in this learning. Several studies have related second language learning to Broca's and Wernicke's areas.
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Many studies suggest that the age at which a second language is learned may determine whether brain areas used for processing each language are overlapping or different. Early bilinguals seem more likely to use overlapping brain areas and late bilinguals seem more likely to use different areas for each language.
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Although it is generally believed that a critical period exists for a first language, it is not known if there is a similar critical period for a second language.
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certainly be important during neurosurgery.
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This site is very insightful as to the differences in language development in the brain between those that learn a second language in childhood and those that learn the language as adults. It explains briefly the idea of a critical period and discusses the interesting aspects that come along with learning a second language later in life. It mentions Broca's and Wernicke's area.