The glass half full

 

A friend with a lot of experience says that kids are more likely to focus on their language gains and adults are more likely to focus on their language deficits. I've seen this happen with people learning to snowboard. The first day, a kid will fall and cry and need cocoa but to hear them tell it they are pretty good; an adult will fall and cry and need tequila but to hear them tell it they are too old for this shit. Carol and I both feel too old for this shit. But, we have been encouraged to see the glass as half full. It takes kids about 8 years before they start articulating like adults and about 14-16 years before they really start sounding "adult" in content. They get perfect immersion, with mandatory school attendance, and there is a lot of vocabulary that they don't need yet. For instance, "insurance deductible" and "intake manifold." Carol and I have been working on Portuguese for almost six years. Many of those years with very little exposure. We are doing okay. Our glass is half full. We know how to talk about health insurance and car maintenance; we can share ideas; we are not too old for this and we will certainly start sounding "adult" soon.