Myths surrounding age and language learning

The perception that children have a great advantage in learning languages does not correspond to the school experiences of millions of people with many language courses behind them. This talk presents results from recent studies of language learning in schools across various countries that challenge traditional myths about the effects of age on learning, myths that have led to the introduction of second languages earlier and earlier in educational settings. These studies highlight the importance of other contributing factors, especially the context, the degree of immersion, and use of a language in its learning.

Carmen Muñoz is Professor of Applied Linguistics at the University of Barcelona. Her areas of interest include the effects of age and context on second language learning, individual differences, and the effects of multimodality on language learning. She has coordinated a large number of national and international research projects and has published numerous papers. In 2016 he received the Distinguished Scholar Award from Eurosla (European Second Language Association).