Native languages and foreign languages are learnt differently
“Native vs. foreign language learning” series: Part 1
When the topic of “language learning” is discussed (by those without a background understanding of the science of language), “native language learning” and “foreign language learning” are often conflated.
It is often believed that our “native language(s)” and our “foreign language(s)” are just different languages learnt in the same way, with the same cognitive processes in the brain.
This is a big misconception because, actually, the cognitive processes involved in learning a native language and those involved in learning a foreign language are completely different.
Namely, our “native language knowledge” is gained and stored implicitly, in a brain area that has evolved for this specified purpose, whereas our knowledge of “foreign language(s)”, if we ever learn any, is gained and stored explicitly, through more general mechanisms of learning and memory. This is what scientific research in Linguistics tells us.
The common misconception that “native language learning” and “foreign language learning” involve the same processes is harmful to us and needs to be unpacked if we want to learn foreign languages in a scientifically informed manner.
It is actually understandable that many people would conflate “native language learning” and “foreign language learning” because, on the surface, “native language(s)” and “foreign language(s)” are just different languages.
It is only natural for us to think, instinctively, that we as humans have one process for language learning, and our “native language” is the one that we happen to learn as children in our home environment, whereas a “foreign language” is a language not found in our home environment that we happen to learn, in the same way, later in life.
Because of this understandable misconception, we often hear misguided opinions, from people learning or even teaching foreign languages, such as “everyone can learn a foreign language perfectly through exposure alone because we all learnt our native language perfectly this way.”
Such opinions are misguided and false, and we need to understand why in order to approach foreign language learning with as much clarity as possible.
We, as human beings, acquire our native language(s) naturally, intuitively, and passively in our early childhood development through cognitive processes that are hard-wired for this purpose. Acquiring our native language(s) requires no explicit instruction or learning. It is simply a universal developmental ability that we are all evolved to have as human beings.
Every single human that is not deprived of an environment of language input (both spoken language or sign language) acquires one (or more) native language(s) perfectly. We have a brain area with specific mechanisms hard-wired for this.
Just like every human being (without disabilities) learns how to walk naturally, every human being acquires a native language naturally. The human brain is wired to turn the language input we receive in early childhood into a perfect grammar for that language--our “native language”--without any conscious effort or special abilities.
However, we do not learn foreign languages in the same intuitive and passive way we learn our native language(s)--not at all, in fact.
This is because there is an age window--or a “critical period”--for the natural, hard-wired cognitive process of native language learning to take place.
After this “critical period” (which ends in childhood), we as humans lose the ability to acquire a “native language” through exposure to input alone. At this point, we can only learn languages as “foreign languages,” through active, conscious, explicit learning.
Learning a “foreign language”--to any level of proficiency, let alone a high level of accuracy--is not a universal human ability like acquiring a “native language.”
We learn the grammar and lexicon of foreign languages explicitly, through active analysis, memorization, repetition, and practice, and how well or accurately we learn that foreign language depends on how well we analyze, memorize, and practice.
If we compare the acquisition of native languages to learning to walk, learning a foreign language would be like learning how to ride a bike. It is an ability that we can only gain with explicit learning and practice. It is not an ability that we are hard-wired to learn perfectly.
Because cognitive processes involved in acquiring a native language and learning a foreign language are completely different, even if an adult is immersed in an environment filled with input from a foreign language, he/she still would not be able to absorb this input passively and transform it into perfect grammatical knowledge in the brain like a native language.
Foreign languages are simply not learnt in the same way as native languages. This is a scientific fact.
If we could have a basic understanding of the difference between native and foreign language learning, we can inform our foreign language learning with much more clarity.
We would know that it is not true that “everyone can learn a foreign language perfectly through exposure alone because we all learnt our native language perfectly this way.”
We would know that grammatical knowledge of a foreign language must be explicitly learned, and so, if we want to gain a maximal level of accuracy in a foreign language, we cannot rely on immersion and exposure alone and must put conscious effort into active analysis.
母語和外語的學習過程並不相同
「母語學習 vs. 外語學習」系列：第1篇
當討論「語言學習」這話題時，很多對語言科學不太了解的人，經常會將學習母語和學習外語混為一談。
大眾通常認為，無論學習「母語」還是「外語」，在我們大腦中的認知過程都一樣，不過是以相同的方法來學習不同的語言。
這是個很大的誤解。實際上，學習「母語」和學習「外語」所涉及的認知過程完全不同，這分別之大，以至語言學家會看待它們所產生的「成果」（即「母語」和「外語」) 為大腦中兩樣全然不同的東西。
我們是用大腦中特別的「母語區域」，自然和被動地吸收及儲存「母語」知識的；「外語」知識（如有的話）則是通過一般的，即學習其他知識的認知過程，有意識地學習及儲存的。這是語言學的科學研究告訴我們的。
錯誤地認為「母語」和「外語」的學習過程相同肯定不利於我們學習外語。如果想以更具科學性的方式學習外語，我們必須先破除這誤解。
這種把學習「母語」和「外語」混為一談的情況其實是可以理解的。畢竟從表面看來，「母語」和「外語」也似乎只是不同的語言而已。
我們很自然會直覺地以為，人類學習語言的過程只有一個，「母語」剛巧只是我們從小就在生活中需要學習的語言，而「外語」則沒有從小就出現在生活環境中，是後來才進入我們人生的語言，但其學習的過程和母語無異。
由於這種誤解表面看來如此合理，我們經常會聽到許多學習外語、甚至是教授外語人士的誤導性意見，例如「每個人都可以單從日常接觸外語就能完美地學會外語，因為我們也是這樣完美地學會母語的。」
這些意見是錯誤並具誤導性的，我們需要了解這點，才能清晰地學習「外語」。
作為人類，我們在幼兒發展時期會自然、直覺、且被動地透過一個與生俱來的認知過程來吸收「母語」。獲取「母語知識」是不需要明確指導或學習的，它是一種人類普遍擁有的能力。
任何人只要置身於一個可以正常接觸語言（包括口語或手語）的環境，都能夠完美地學會一種（或多種）「母語」，因為我們大腦中有一個區域，是專門吸收母語的。
正如每個（沒有殘疾的）人都能自然地學會走路一樣，我們都會自然地吸收到至少一種「母語」。我們無需刻意努力、或擁有甚麼特殊能力，因為人類大腦天生就能將幼兒時期所接收的語言轉化為對該語言 （即我們的「母語」）的文法的完整知識。
（本系列的下一節將會通過比喻，更詳細地探討我們如何吸收及儲存母語的知識。)
然而，我們在學習「外語」時，並不是像學習「母語」時一樣。
因為人類天生能自然吸收「母語」的認知過程，其實只會發生於一段有「年齡窗口」的學習期，或稱為「關鍵時期」。
當「關鍵時期」隨著童年完結而結束，人類也同時喪失了單憑日常接觸便能獲得「母語」的能力。此後，我們只能通過主動、有意識、顯性的方法來學習「外語」。
學習外語，無論水平及程度的高低，不像吸收母語一樣，是人類與生俱來的能力。
我們要透過分析、記憶、重複和練習，明確地去學習外語的文法和詞彙。而外語學得多好，也正取決於我們的分析、記憶、重複和練習做得有多好。
如果我們將學習母語比喻為學習走路，那麼學習外語就像學騎自行車。這是一種只有通過顯性的學習和實踐才能獲取的能力，而非我們與生俱來就可以完美地學會的能力。
由於吸收母語和學習外語的認知過程完全不同，即使成年人沉浸在充滿外語的生活環境中，他還是無法像吸收自己母語時一樣，將該語言自動地在大腦中轉化成完美及完整的文法知識。
外語的學習方式與母語並不相同。這是科學性的事實。如果我們對它們的差別有基本了解，便能更清晰透徹地學習外語。
我們會明白到，如「每個人都可以單從日常接觸就能學會完美的外語，因為我們也正是這樣學會完美的母語」這種意見其實並不科學。
我們也會知道外語的文法知識是必需通過顯性的學習而獲得的。因此如果想要達到最高最精準的外語水平，便不能只靠日常的沉浸和接觸，更應該有意識地對外語文法進行主動的分析和學習。