Why can't some people learn the language of their residence no matter how much they try?

I read an article some time ago that said that children pick up languages easily and naturally (almost by osmosis, as it were) up until age 12–14 or so. Then, somehow, a switch goes off in the brain, and it becomes a lot harder to learn a new language. It’s possible, of course, but a lot harder. I don’t remember the publication in which the article appeared, but you could probably Google it.
Maybe something like that has happened to that individual, only to a much greater degree.

There is just some sort of weird disconnect between my ears and my brain. I can speak phrases and have no problem learning that but once I hear a response it just doesn’t compute. Even if I know what the response is my brain just can’t put things together. Maybe something like the McGurk effect is going on.

Odd thing is that from only watching Switched at Birth I am fairly good at ASL. From just watching three season I was able to pretty much get the episode they did in only ASL without using subtitles. And that is my only exposure to ASL. My my brain is capable of other languages. But it all gets lost in my earholes.

For my MIL I think it’s mostly her anxiety. She’s afraid of making a mistake and sounding stupid so she doesn’t speak in English. She doesn’t practice using it. She feels horrible about it. She has tons of regret that she didn’t learn English when she was younger. She made sure all her children started English class in preschool, and every year after that.

As @2davidc8 mentioned, it is much easier for younger children to learn a second (or third…) language. Then, the sounds and mouth movements of their first language are more firmly set in their minds. It is not impossible to learn another, but it is more difficult for older people.

So interesting. Thanks all.

The reason I ask is because some of the natives are convinced that the people who can’t speak their language just must not want to learn it since they are bright enough in other areas.

The thing about starting to learn early in life does apply to everything doesn’t it?

Here is something funny, to me anyway:
“The McGurk efffect…..People tend to get more visual information from the right side of a speaker’s mouth than the left or even the whole mouth.”

Not want to learn is ridiculous. Who doesn’t want to be able to communicate?

@JLeslie
Esp. if they are spending a lot of money energy trying to learn it, it is impossible to think that they don’t want to learn. People against immigrants, and/or some politicians who want to cater to the racists among the population, for example want to believe it.

They’re idiots. I say ship them off to a country that doesn’t speak English for 2 years.

Why is it such a big deal if immigrants, especially older immigrants, don’t learn English? What matters is their children who grow up here do speak English, like every other immigrant population that has been coming to the US for over 200 years. It’s stupid. Plenty of Italians, Germans, Polish, Greeks, and many others, didn’t learn English well when they came here 3–4 generations ago. It’s part of American history.

The more diverse the area they emigrate too, the more likely they learn English I think. If you’re Cuban and wind up in Little Havana Miami, you are so surrounded by Spanish speakers you can get by with no English. In NYC, the Russians, Puerto Ricans, and Iranians communicate with each other in English. Although, even there there are enclaves that people can stay fairly isolated in and use their first language.

I agree. Although I guess some of them could be comparimng them with the ones with very keen brain for languages, no matter how old they are.

The embarrassment of making mistakes of grammar or vocabulary the so called comdey, on TV on top of the regular daily living they have to adapt to, I’m guessing it would take a decade or so for older immigrants.

@JLeslie “I agree” was about most things in your post. Just re. “the Russians…..sp, the Russians, Puerto Ricans, and Iranians communicate with each other in English.” They do that when there’s noone else is around?

I’m saying the Iranian woman uses English when talking to the Russian woman. English is their common language.

I have encounter some people like that. They seem to be not able to communicate in a certain language, no matter how hard they try. And then there are some people who can learn a certain language in a short time (e.g. Chinese) but not able to grasp another language even after much effort (e.g. English). A puzzle of life really.

@JLeslie That would make sense.
@citizenearth Yes, they grasp the harder language faster, that is really a puzzle.

I suppose who’s to say which language is harder.