Bilingualism: the earlier, the better

Age is a significant factor in the ability to learn a second language, recent research has confirmed.

Years ago, neurologists discovered that the area which is activated in the brain for learning and speaking a second language depends on the age at which the second language is acquired.

Second languages learnt in adulthood use a different brain network from native languages. However, when acquired during the early language acquisition stage of development, native and second languages tend to be represented in common frontal cortical areas.

Now, a research team from the University of Basle in Germany have confirmed that children only build up and use one network for two languages if both are acquired early on in life, while those who grow up with just one language build a separate network for each foreign language acquired.

But the researchers, according to a report in Frankfurter Allgemeine went a step further, finding that children who grow up with two languages - using just one network - will also use that network for a third language acquired later in life instead of building a new one.

Building a new network involves an immense effort for the brain. And the network will also be different from the first network for the mother tongue, which is based on intuition. Later networks function through more conscious processes, and learning would work much more on the basis of rules.

Many researchers believe that the crucial age after which children will no longer be able to learn a second language intuitively via their first network is about three years.