Why do young children appear to acquire language more easily than adults?
A) There is a sensitive period during childhood during which children's brains are primed to develop language.
B) Adults are more distracted than children, who can devote more cognitive processing to learning a new language.
C) Children are exposed to a greater variety of vocabulary words than adults typically are.
D) This is a common myth; children do not have an easier time learning language than adults do.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Research shows that there is a sensitive period during childhood during which children's brains are especially adept at developing language skills. This is believed to result from the brain's heightened plasticity during this period, which allows it to absorb and adapt to linguistic input more readily than in later years. As a result, children are generally able to acquire language skills more easily than adults.

Why Do Young Children Appear to Acquire Language More Easily