Why Do Kids Learn Faster Than Adults?

You can't teach an old dog new tricks, so the saying goes. Is this why kids pick things up so faster than adults?




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Child Brains Organized Differently Than Adult Brains (Live Science)
“Scientists already had some idea that children had many fewer long-distance links among brain regions than adults, but didn't know whether those connections could be seen in the function of the brain. When they looked more closely they found there were enough of these links and nodes with multiple connections to establish small-world organization.”

Are children really better at foreign language learning? (The Telegraph)
“Many adult learners, in fits of frustration, will claim that adults are simply poor at languages. They say children have more porous minds, better memories, and more adaptability. I’m sorry to report, it’s a myth.”
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[TheYafaShow]

I just asked my little brother to quit yelling and he said, "I'm NOT yelling. This is my voice and all my life I've been whispering. Now I'm free!"

[EugeneKhutoryansky]

Children are far better at learning new skills and better at analytical reasoning. They also tend to be far more creative and open minded. These attributes tend to become far less keen as people grow older. This can be seen in many daily examples, such as the fact that parents often have to ask their children for help when learning how to operate their computers.

[pistonpkm]

I "picked up" english language by playing a lot of Star Fox 64 and reading lyrics of my favorite songs. I was around 13 years old and it took about 6 years until i was confident enough to use it. It was a very natural process, free of any kind of pressure and every new word learned rewarded me greatly by allowing to better understand my favorite games.

[SeerWS]

I'm 33. I auto-dismiss the "can't teach an old dog" bs whenever I hear it. My brain is definitely more plastic than it was in middle school, high school, and college. I can learn new skills quicker than I ever have. My emotional intelligence and analytical reasoning underwent some kind of renaissance around age 25 and I've been learning more efficiently ever since. And you know what? I don't think I'm a genetic anomaly. I've just trained my brain to be increasingly plastic. It was deliberate. The same way people can increase their physical flexibility through years of dedication.

[sydneygunn]

My preschool teacher was half deaf. (deaf in one ear) and my entire class learned sign language. I ran into her about ten years later and she had lost all hearing. I was still able to decipher most of what she said however I couldn't sign as well as I used to. It peaked my interest and now I'm trying to become a more fluent in sign language.

[johnnyvvlog]

I picked up English at the age of 22. Although I do think kids learn fast I believe it also has to do with the amount of time adults can spend on learning a new thing.

[ShellymanStudios]

I was born intelligent but sadly school destroyed it.

[PewDiePieFqn]

Is that a Cyanide and Happiness shirt?

[Natymoraes]

My family is from all over the place, i grew up in England but i have french and Italian heritage so i learned those languages at a very young age, i also learned Spanish at school when i was younger. less than a year ago, i moved to Brazil so i had to learn Portuguese and now im studying Russian. It's really fun to speak a lot of languages but at the same time is sucks cuz i get confused all the time and mix up the languages.

[Eysc]

because if not they will receive a beating!

[marcelovsborges]

English, for me, has been a challenge. I started learning English when I was a child, but the years when away and what remained of my "broken English" was a few words. Of course, I didn't learn it systematically. I was exposed to many different sources and I had the opportunity to afford books when I was 10 years old. I grew up feeling that English basically was in my mind, hidden. Today I try my best to keep in touch with the language. I even think in English the entire day, and I only change to Portuguese when I have to interact with people. I would be fluent if I had the chance to use more rigorously and completely in my everyday.

[sacrilegiousboi]

The whole neuroplasticity thing is ridiculously overblown and I believe many adults use it to conveniently excuse them for being close minded or not willing to make changes.

The truth is that adults are just more busy and have much less time and energy for learning new things due to work, running households, bills, taxes, relationships, finances, shopping, planning/organising events, raising families etc. kids get ferried to and from school where they sit and listen to adults who organise and structure everything for them.

If adults didn’t have these responsibilities, they would learn things faster than kids because they would be more disciplined, focused and self reliant.

Since the early to mid 00’s, kids have been learning at school about computers week in and week out. We had IT classes about files, folders, excel, PowerPoint etc. i even remember having classes about typing skills. We were actively learning about computers at least a few hours a week, then using and honing those skills in other classes for assignments, AND playing on computer in our free time after school playing games, creating and editing videos, roaming the internet etc. for YEARS… so it’s no wonder by the time we’re teenagers our parents think we’re computer/technological geniuses lmao

[gabyenciso]

I learned English as a kid, and I can't really remember the day I thought to myself, huh, I know English now. My native language is Spanish, and thankfully I can speak both fluently now. I had a question though... Can you teach a baby multiple languages without causing total confusion in the brain? I have seen couples from different countries speak to their kids in each of their native tongue, and then they'll go to school and have their kids learn English (and Hebrew, since I was in Israel when I saw this particular case). Can you make a follow up video on this? I'm really curious about this topic.

[israelcanova]

I started learning English 3 years ago when I was 23.
I mastered it so successfully that I can watch American movies, series and cartoons understanding about to 100%.
I can also speak very well with a little Brazilian accent.
And plus, if I spend an entire day listening and speaking English it's quite hard to switch my mind back to Portuguese, because only English pops up into my head.
So, either it was a miracle or adults actually CAN learn faster than children.

Important thing to notice: I started to speak late my mother language (I guess I was older than 3)

I think it all depends on the way we learn.
I mean, children's brain are triggered to learn languages because of our natural human urge to communicate. Their brain is in a sort of warning state constantly turned on, then it gradually turns off as they grow older and get into a more "Comfort zone".
So the question is, how can you turn on this "warning state" into your mind in a way that's beneficial to you to learn a language?

[ThraenBlod]

They integrate their sponsors so seamlessly lol. Almost makes me NOT want to SPAM SELLOUTS :p

[bubbleman]

I think most people(90%) will have an accent when they speak two languages fluently. Language is like math, some people are naturally better at it than others. In general, the earlier you are exposed to a language the better you will be at it. It will take a normal 20-year-old much longer to learn a 2nd language than a 5 year-old person.

[geisterfurz]

"How do that do they do?"
:'D So great ^^

[ambercimburek]

I tried learning spanish in high school but just couldn't pick it up. I'm assuming I'm just not good at learning other languages. However any other class in school I could pick up.

[LeoRizoLeon]

my native language is Spanish, but I learned English when I was about 9. my English is as strong as my Spanish now, but I do have a slight accent. I absolutely love both languages though, so I will do my best for my future children to know both as well.

[kken]

so ... how many ascent can you put into a child's brain. giving the environment. for example what will happen to the kid if his father speaks chinese mother speaks British english, his friends speaks US english, with 4 tutor who each speaks French, Korean, Japanese, and Russian to him everyday....