Why You Are Never Too Old to Learn Greek
Last updated on August 14th, 2024
It is well-known that the younger someone is, the easier it is to learn new things, especially a new language. I’m sure you’ve heard how kids are like sponges and can become easily multilingual at a young age.
I have had the privilege to watch and experience this wonder with my daughter who, by the time she was 5, she was trilingual speaking Greek and Japanese fluently, communicating in English fairly enough, and could even understand (but not speak) some Spanish. And no, she never mixed or confused the languages because we followed the ‘one person, one language’ approach.
Of course, you’ve also heard that as we grow older, our cognitive abilities decline subtly. We pay less attention, we think slower, and it becomes harder to multitask, retain information, and find the right words sometimes.
So the thought of picking up a new language at a more advanced age might sound intimidating to some and rightfully so. But there’s more to that than just the age of an individual. Other factors play an important role as well.
Table of contents
- What Else Holds Us Back as We Grow Older
- Other Important Factors Through My Personal Experiences
- The Benefits of Learning a New Language at a Mature Age
- Conclusion
What Else Holds Us Back as We Grow Older
Apart from our cognitive abilities that peak at around 30 and then slowly start diminishing, usually the older we get, the more self-conscious we become. This can lead to feeling shyer speaking the language and holding back, compared to a young child who has no hesitation simply because being judged doesn’t even cross their mind. They just speak, with mistakes sometimes, yes, but they don’t care.
Also, as we grow older, we usually get busier. Dealing with a job, daily chores, family, children, grandchildren, and problems, makes it more difficult to focus, learn, and retain language information because our brains have so many things to deal with daily.
So our lifestyle and attitude toward learning matter regardless of age. If your lifestyle allows you to have time to study Greek or any other language and if your attitude toward learning is positive and you don’t hold back, then your age doesn’t matter as much.
Other important factors through my personal experiences
Greek is my first native language but Spanish was also introduced to me as a baby by my Costa Rican mom. However, the more Greek she learned the less Spanish she would use with me. I wasn’t fluent in Spanish until my grandmother flew from Costa Rica and came to live with us when I was 5 and a half years old. Because she spoke nothing but Spanish to me, I became conversational within 6 months, and during the two years that she lived with us, I became fluent. I was at the perfect age you’d say, so that helped me advance so fast.
When I was in 4th grade, I started learning English and it took me much longer (6+ years) to reach the same level of fluency as my Spanish. I was past the perfect age to learn and it was the first time I had to study systematically a foreign grammar, so many concepts were completely new to me, for example, modal verbs (which we don’t have in Greek) or the structure of the passive voice which is different from the passive voice in Greek. My 2-hour lessons were scheduled twice a week and I would never miss a lesson. Here, consistency was key.
In 7th grade (or 1st year of middle school) and until the end of high school, I studied French at the public school system for another 6 years. Again for just a few hours per week. However, I only reached a beginner or upper beginner level despite being still young, and the fact that I already spoke Spanish, a language of the same family (Romance languages). My not-so-great progress was not due to me getting older, but it was due to the very slow pace of the curriculum we were following. So lesson efficiency is another important factor regardless of age.
Later on, in my mid-twenties, I found myself in Vienna where I enrolled in a very intense German course (8 hrs a day). Within 4 months only (!) I reached the upper-intermediate level. While the grammar has some things in common with Greek (eg. the existence of 3 genders and the declension system), the vocabulary and certain structures were something completely new to me. Many would dread the idea of studying a language for 8 hours a day and think that too much studying may be counterproductive, but the immersion factor (living in a German-speaking environment), the rich cultural program, and the method of that particular academy was the secret of success because it’s what made learning a fun and exciting process.
Then life brought me to Japan where I lived for 3 years and I studied the language for 6 months. Unfortunately, that didn’t take me very far (just at a lower beginner level) so I quit. I was older and busier but although I really liked the language and was immersed in a Japanese-speaking environment, I just wasn’t motivated enough to see how long it takes to memorize all the thousands of Kanji characters it takes to read texts. Also, the program I joined didn’t include cultural activities, so it was not exactly fun and mind-stimulating being inside a class all the time studying from a boring book method. Looking back, I can definitely say motivation is another powerful factor. You can read more about motivation in this blog post of mine.
My language-learning journey didn’t end in Japan. In my early 30s, I went to Italy for a month to study Italian intensively. Again I chose intensive courses with cultural programs and everything was fun and exciting again, and with my Spanish giving me a significant advantage I went from zero to upper intermediate within a month. So previous language experience can be very useful in some cases.
I don’t know where my language-learning journey will take me next, but I’m sure that age won’t be the reason I will quit learning a new language before I even start and that’s why I write this blog post, so that you won’t quit too!
In fact, I have had many students who are past their 60s and they all did great at their own pace. They were the ones most likely to persist and keep studying Greek for a longer time, and become conversational discussing a variety of topics. Perhaps this is due to a generational trait because they grew up in an era before the internet and social media, where the pace of life was much slower, they had more patience and persistence instead of the short attention span and lack of patience that characterizes younger generations due to our comfortable lifestyle of fast food chains in every corner, on-demand video entertainment, and excessive scrolling on social media all day long.
So if you are hesitating to start learning Greek because you feel you are too old, DON’T! In the end, it’s always a rewarding experience and there are also many benefits to learning a new language at a more mature age.
The Benefits of Learning a New Language at a Mature Age
1. Brain Exercise
As we age, it is important to perform intellectual activities as the stimuli help our brains stay healthy by creating new connections. This is called brain plasticity or neuroplasticity. Imagine this as something similar to our muscles and how exercising helps them stay strong and healthy. Numerous studies show that things like solving puzzles, doing crosswords, or Sudoku can be very beneficial activities from a medical point of view as this could delay or even prevent brain degenerative diseases like dementia. Language learning offers the same benefits.
2. Filling Your Free Time
Entering retirement age means you will probably have more free time available. Picking up Greek or any other language is a great way to fill in your free time and fight boredom at the same time.
3. It’s Easier to Learn Fast
I personally think that the age of retirement is ideal for language learning because you could be dedicating a lot more time to your learning and focus more because of having fewer distractions. So your study could be much more effective in the end, if done right of course.
4. It’s Easier to Do Long Travels in Greece
Having more free time means also that could even choose to go on a long language retreat trip in Greece where you could spend a month or more doing just that, learning Greek daily. To me, language retreats in the country of the target language are by far the most effective way to learn a language super fast. As I mentioned above, I’ve done that with German in Austria and Italian in Italy and within a matter of weeks or months I’ve reached results that normally take at least a year to reach if learning with a group in a language school or with a personal tutor. A plus to this is experiencing first-hand the culture, the food, and the people which can be incredibly rewarding. You could be making new friendships that will stick even after you return home.
5. Meeting Other Learners and Making New Friends.
If you feel that growing older makes it more difficult to meet new people, you could be joining a Greek language group class where you will learn alongside other learners too. Usually, such classes include cultural activities that are very fun and bond the group together. These social interactions can really improve an individual’s well-being and quality of life.
Even if it’s impossible to find such a group in your area, you could soon join the online community here at Speak Greek to Me so you can start connecting with other learners online. Stay tuned as the community will be open to join very soon!
Conclusion
Learning a new language at an advanced age may have some cons but it is not an impossible task and offers many benefits. If your time and lifestyle allow you to dedicate the time needed, with the right attitude toward learning (determination and motivation), consistency, and an effective program that keeps your interest high, you can still make remarkable progress! Just remember, to be patient and follow your own rhythm.
I hope these reasons motivate you to start or keep learning Greek at any age! What are your thoughts about this? Let me know in the comments below!
Γεια χαρά!
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