It is widely assumed that it is easier to learn a new language as a child than as an adult. The belief that age plays a major role in someone’s ability to pick up another language easily has created doubt in many adults starting their Spanish learning journey.
In reality, someone’s age does play a role in how they process and learn new information. For Debra, who moved to Mexico when she was 62, working with a memory coach unlocked a part of her brain that allowed her to confidently speak Spanish without using a translator, something she struggled with initially upon moving here.
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Her teacher, Phil Arseneault, is a language expert and memory coach. According to him, adults can learn Spanish or any language faster than a child given the appropriate framework. During his career, Phil has worked with over 3000 students globally ranging from 9 to 88 years old and the same curriculum takes adults 15 to 20 hours to complete while children require an additional 5 to 10 hours on top. It might seem like just a few more hours, but the percentage is fairly large in comparison.
Phil explains: “Children have better learning patterns but their brains are still developing, while adults have developed brains that are much more powerful and capable, but with horrible habits and learning patterns. In my accelerated class, I’ve simplified the Spanish language into its bare minimum components and used neuroscience to teach in the most efficient way possible. Basic conversational fluency normally takes hundreds of hours over the years. You could get there in 15 hours with the right method.”
Debra, now 65, shares that she still remembers Phil’s phone number from the brain hacks he taught 3 years ago. According to Phil, results such as Debra's are not uncommon for his students. His courses are designed to optimize the adult brain.
“It is more exciting to me as a teacher to work with adults. The learning is faster and it excites me to see how excited adults get from their progress. Adults are more motivated to learn, whereas most children are learning because their parents are paying for them to learn. With children, the motivation needs to come from the teacher. Adult expats who want to learn Spanish have already experienced some consequences of not speaking it such as loneliness, being ripped off or missing out on a date. With the hacks and that level of motivation, they succeed faster.”
Learning Spanish is an essential part of living here. Dealing with the police, medical emergencies, negotiations, buying a house or bureaucracy while in Mexico with no Spanish can be frustrating and costly. Phil recommends practicing any chance you’ve got, whether that’s with the taxi driver or the cashier at the grocery store. A little every day goes a long way. “People love to share and teach. Speaking to locals is the best way to improve and grow your vocabulary and become fluent.”
In his courses, Phil uses a lot of play on words, jokes and innuendos to trigger shock and other emotional responses as part of his tools. Since adults have a better ability to visualize and comprehend this, it results in faster learning.
To learn more about Phil’s course visit www.speaklikealocal15.com or +52 984 256 9344.
Over 5,000 words (that can easily be transformed from your English vocabulary)
12 verb tenses (you only really need the 3 essential ones)
Proper sentence structure (formulating 10-30 word seemingly complex sentences)
Conversational confidence & Flow (it’s one thing to know a lot of words, but the most important part is to be able to string them all together on the spot without stressing).
