VLLC Language Courses
  • Home
    • Locations >
      • Victoria
      • South Australia
      • New South Wales
      • Western Australia
      • Australian Capital Territory
      • Queensland
      • Northern Territory
      • Tasmania
    • About VLLC
    • The VLLC story
    • Language Tutors
    • Join the Team
    • Frequently Asked Questions
    • Testimonials
    • The Language Box
    • Online Student Access
    • Code of Practice >
      • Student Information
      • Privacy Policy
    • Blog Articles >
      • Work Blog
      • Travel Blog
      • Mind Blog
      • Language Journeys
      • Videos
  • Languages
    • Learn Arabic
    • Learn Dutch
    • Learn English >
      • General English
      • IELTS Preparation
    • Learn French
    • Learn German
    • Learn Greek
    • Learn Indonesian
    • Learn Italian
    • Learn Japanese
    • Learn Korean
    • Learn Mandarin Chinese
    • Learn Russian
    • Learn Spanish
    • Learn Thai
    • Other Languages - VLLC Tutorial Courses
  • For Individual
    • Language Certificates >
      • Certificate II in Applied Language
      • Social Proficiency
      • Certificate III in Applied Language
      • Intermediate Proficiency
      • Vocational Proficiency
    • Online Lessons
    • In-country Language Testing Preparation
  • For Business
    • Language Certificates >
      • Certificate II in Applied Language
      • Social Proficiency
      • Certificate III in Applied Language
      • Intermediate Proficiency
      • Vocational Proficiency
    • Business Benefits
    • Online Solutions
    • Professional Development Seminars
    • Language Workshop
    • School Solutions >
      • Primary School Language Program
      • VET in Schools
  • Contact
    • Other Language Contact Form
    • Contact Form

It is never too late to learn a new skill, and here is why..

29/7/2019

0 Comments

 
Picture
The saying goes “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks” but that is not entirely true. Dogs may struggle to learn new tricks as they get older but in humans it is not so. In fact, the human brain is often hungry to continually expand and try to learn something new. Growing up, many of us dream, there were things we wanted to do that for any number of reasons could not happen in childhood.

Many adults look on as teenagers, even groups of younger kids excel at doing things they could only dream of, Skiing, computer programming, playing the piano or speaking Spanish, French or even Mandarin. The adults look on, and for some reason they believe it is too late to learn now and write it off and wish the kids a happy future.

It is never too late to learn something new and many university professors around the world would agree. One of these is Professor Jennifer Raymond, an associate professor of neurobiology at Stanford University, who has studied brain plasticity. Understanding how the brain is wired, is rewired and continues to do so, has shown that while it is best to learn as the brain is developing up to the age of twenty, the brain can learn at any age.
Picture
Yes, the learning is slowed down a little but why is that?  The reason is quite simple. The reason is the fear of making a mistake. The brain matures, information is stored and more negative influences come into play. The negative influences become barriers, whereas in children there are fewer of these and they learn faster.  If the negative connotations can be overcome, it is possible to learn anything at any age.
Picture
One of the easiest things for children to learn at a young age is language. Children living in multilingual homes pick both or each language up naturally. For an adult moving in, it would take a while to learn. Likewise, at school, children learn the language or anything new for that matter more quickly than adults do. Everything is about fear.  For adults learning to ski, the fear is not the fear of being unable ski but the fear that they will look stupid. It is a crazy barrier to overcome and it is all in the mind, well, much of it is anyhow.
Picture
With a language, the way in which it is taught makes all the difference for an adult. Rather than focusing on the mechanics of the language as so many schools do, encouraging people to converse with others in that language is a far better method. People who want to learn a language will be put off by trying to learn all the technicalities; they just want to speak it. Learning a language with other speakers who know you want to learn, makes a difference. They know you will make mistakes but they will not ridicule you but rather point out the error and encourage you. This is how VLLC teaches language, they give you the confidence to communicate.

Anything, including another language, can be learnt at any age when we put our minds to it. “You can’t teach an old dog a new trick” is rubbish, older dogs, well people actually, have a lot more to give, and if they are determined to learn, they will do so better. All they need is some encouragement.

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    About

    These blogs are about learning a foreign language and how utilising that skill can help to keep your mind active and assist with your cognitive function.

    Archives

    May 2022
    March 2022
    January 2022
    November 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    November 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    January 2019
    July 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    January 2018
    January 2017
    December 2015
    June 2015

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

About VLLC


The VLLC Story
Language Tutors
Locations
  - Adelaide
  - Melbourne
​  - Sydney
  - Perth
  - Canberra
  - Brisbane
  - Hobart
  - Darwin​
Join the team
Student Information
Online Client
Testimonials

Learning Options

Languages


Arabic
English
French
German
Greek
Indonesian
Italian
Japanese
Korean
Mandarin Chinese
Russian
Spanish
Thai

Courses


Certificate in Social Proficiency

Certificate II in Applied Language


Certificate III in Applied Language

Certificate in Intermediate Proficiency
​

Certificate in Vocational  Proficiency

Blog


Work Blog
Travel Blog
Mind Blog
Case Studies

Contact Us


Contact Us Form
Newsletter Sign up

Language School
Language School Melbourne Adelaide
Copyright © 2015 - 2021  |   VLLC - Vocational Language Learning Centre   | ADL 08 8267 1177   |   MLB 03 9602 1605