is it possible to speak a foreign language like a native if you learnt it as an adult? (movies, schools)

[CMDallas]

Some people have a knack at languages, but to speak it fluently your going to have to speak it a lot! My mother came to the US when she was 18 knowing no English and can speak like a native now.

[whoIam]

I also learned that we lose our ability to hear and reproduce new sounds (such as those belonging to a foreign language) at a relatively young age. That would mean that an adult who had never before been exposed to certain sounds found in the target language would most likely have difficulty picking those up, and therefore speak with an accent even if they did become fluent. It would seem that the more commonalities between the tones of the home language/s and the new language, the less difficult it would be to sound like a native speaker.

[BlueWillowPlate]

Originally Posted by whoIam

I also learned that we lose our ability to hear and reproduce new sounds (such as those belonging to a foreign language) at a relatively young age. That would mean that an adult who had never before been exposed to certain sounds found in the target language would most likely have difficulty picking those up, and therefore speak with an accent even if they did become fluent. It would seem that the more commonalities between the tones of the home language/s and the new language, the less difficult it would be to sound like a native speaker.

Yes.
There have been several times when my kid tries to teach me the proper way to say a French word.
I'll make Zoolander's "Blue Steel" face, I'll struggle to emit the word exactly as the kid does, but it is really difficult to form the correct accent.
Another hassle for me is that I will see a French word in print and I'll want to pronounce it in Spanish.
I really admire and respect all y'all who have conquered one other language, let alone any more than that!

[Luke81]

More than possible! During WW2 my grandafther's brother and his wife emoigrated from Austria to Australia, today they hardly understand German (yes Austrians speak German no Austrian ) anymore and speak english luently in the worst aussie accent I ever heard.

[happynoodleboycey]

If you pack up your bags, move to the country where they speak the language you want to learn and live there with absolutely no contact outside of the country then yes, you probably could pass yourself off as a native after a few years. You won't achieve it by just going to night school once a week though.

[Travelling fella]

Originally Posted by nativeDallasite

I have a talent for languages and can still fool native French speakers sometimes; I started studying French at 14.

My degree is in French, but the concentration was in applied linguistics. Very few people can attain native fluency with no accent in a foreign language after adulthood because of the way languages are acquired; the brain simply isn't as elastic as you age and the ideal age to acquire another language is in very early childhood. Once you pass a certain age it's practically impossible to become fluent in a foreign language.

imho this is true to some extent, the brain is pretty tweakable, if it were a computer you could say that it's a computer whose hardware mutates according to the software you develop.

I learnt Brazilian portuguese at the age of 26, 3 years ago. I spent 2 years in this country and I became brazilian people won't know I'm foreign unless I tell them, but it's also to the fact that having all sorts of accents here people will usually think you come from another state hehehe, it was hard in the beginning though, specially learning how to properly make the sounds, I had to practice until it became natural, but it was cool

Maybe it was easier for me because I learnt english at a very young age, when I was about 6 years old, right now my accent is kinda rusty, but when I've spent enough time in the states very few people actually notice I'm foreign.

[thomas.cl]

Originally Posted by boycew02

If you pack up your bags, move to the country where they speak the language you want to learn and live there with absolutely no contact outside of the country then yes, you probably could pass yourself off as a native after a few years. You won't achieve it by just going to night school once a week though.

ditto

*Claudia*

[tpo123]

depends on age, but if you're talking about 18+ learning a new language, i'm going to bet my bonus that one WILL have an accent no matter how long they only speak the new language.

i recall from my psych/linguistics classes that puberty is the age at which ones ability to prounounce certain words become ingrained.

personally speaking- i learned cantonese and english at the same time when i was a child- i speak both without any "accent" - my parents started learning english at age 18, they have the typical chinese accents. sure it can get better over time, but the original language and it's pronounciation of words will always stick.

i had an english accent - when i was age 12 i moved here, and started doing an american accent- at first by imitating people, then it came naturally. you cannot tell i have an english accent anymore (unless i put it on). my brother who is was 18 when moving here is unable to do an american accent. granted, this is just my personal experience, and i'm no naive to the fact that it doesn't represetn the rest of world. but combine my personal experience with studies done (such as one below), and again, i'm willing to bet my bonus that it's impossible (less the few outliers)





EPR5: MYTHS AND MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT SECOND LANGUAGE LEARNING


"Pronunciation is one aspect of language learning where the younger is-better hypothesis may have validity. A number of studies have found that the younger one begins to learn a second language, the more native-like the accent one develops in that language (Asher& Garcia, 1969; Oyama, 1976). This may be because pronunciation involves motor patterns that have been fossilized in the first language and are difficult to alter after a certain age because of the nature of the neurophysiological mechanisms involved. It may also be that we do not understand very well how to teach phonology in a second language. Perhaps if we could develop more advanced (e.g., computer-assisted) methods of instruction, older learners might do better at acquiring a native-like accent in the second language. "

[Moth]

As the question is phrased, yes, it is pretty much impossible. "Speaking like a native' is impossible simply because you are not a native. End of story.

Now, if you asked is it possible to gain proficiency or fluency in a language as an adult, the answer would be yes. But it requires a tremendous committment and I doubt most adults would find themselves with the proper tools or more importantly, incentive.

Is a family man going to go to French class once per week, do his homework, watch French movies and as a result achieve fluency? Probably not. But should that man have to move to France for life, its sink or swim and with the proper effort would see impressive results after a year or so. But he would never speak it like a native as its not his language. Does not mean he will not assimilate and function properly.

[Threestep]

I did it and I basically talk for a living now. No interpretations.