Learning Another Language: How Does the Brain Process Language?

Learning and memory are both very interesting. Our brains have a virtually limitless storage system, so why is it that sometimes we will get up, go into another room, and completely forget why we are there? It's because we couldn't possibly remember every single thing that happens to us or that is said to us or we would quickly become overwhelmed by the sheer volume of useless data running around in our heads. So our brain needs to figure out a way to filter and store - or discard as unimportant - all the little bits of data we encounter each day. Sometimes, like forgetting why we got went into the other room, our brains decide a fact isn't important enough to keep. This explains why we can take years of a foreign language in school and not retain any of it.

Language occupies its own section of the brain. Actually, there are two main areas; Wernicke's area allows us to understand words spoken to us and Broca's area allows us to speak to others. Interestingly, for people who learn a second language later in life, Wernicke's area doesn't show a separation of activity based on the language being listened to, whereas Broca's area does. Studies show that when we learn a second language as teenagers or adults, each language has its own little compartment inside Broca's area. However, for young children raised bilingually (or trilingually), there is not as much compartmentalization, in fact, there is quite a good bit of overlap. This seems to be due to the way their developing brains process language. That's why bilingual children can slip back and forth between languages - or even mix them together - with such ease. For them, it's all stored in the same, easily accessible place. Their brains do learn to distinguish between the languages, but both are stored in the primary, easy to use language center.

While this may all be very interesting and technical, how does it all apply to learning language?

First, it helps to explain why we can learn to listen to and understand another language well before we learn to speak it. The brain center for understanding and comprehension of language isn't compartmentalized, so new words and concepts fit more easily into existing structures. So if you are at a point in your studies that you can understand another language but still can't express your own ideas verbally - take heart. That's a natural step along the path.

Second, it also helps us to see that we need to help our brains develop the new compartment for our new language. If we are just sitting in a classroom learning vocabulary and grammar, our brain isn't necessarily going to be able to distinguish those facts as language. It may categorize them in the same way it files away history or geography. Facts to know, but if not considered important enough, facts that may be removed from the files later if they turn out not to be useful. In order to help our brains file this new language in the proper place so we can use it later (Broca's area), once again we need to watch children and imitate how they learn language.

For some tips on how children are able to learn and use language so quickly, I invite you to take a look at some of the other articles in my series on Keys to Learning Another Language.