Learning A Second Language As An Adult

Short Wave

NPR

Daily News, Nature, Life Sciences, Astronomy, Science, News

4.7 • 6K Ratings

🗓️ 13 May 2025

⏱️ 16 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Becoming fluent in a second language is difficult. But for adults, is it impossible? Science says no. In this encore episode, Short Wave host Emily Kwong dissects the "critical period hypothesis," a theory which linguists have been debating for decades — with the help of Sarah Frances Phillips, a Ph.D. student in the linguistics department at New York University. Together, Emily and former Short Wave host Maddie Sofia explore where the theory comes from, how it applies to second-language acquisition and what it means for Emily's efforts to learn Mandarin Chinese as an adult.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	This is Irid Glass, the host of This American Life. So much is changing so rapidly right now with President Trump in office. It feels good to pause for a moment sometimes and look around at what's what. Just try and do that. We've been finding these incredible stories about right now that are funny and have feeling and you get to see people everywhere making sense of this new America that we find ourselves in. This
0:21.6	American Life, wherever you get your podcast. You're listening to Shortwave from NPR.
0:29.6	So Maddie, you and I have known each other for a while now, and I think we're ready to take it to the
0:34.8	next level. Oh my God. Are we going white water rafting?
0:37.7	No.
0:38.5	Are we doing it?
0:39.0	No.
0:40.4	Not today.
0:47.3	But I have brought you something just as invigorating and just as vulnerable, a Kwong family home movie. Yes, I think there's more eggs.
0:51.4	Do you leave more eggs?
0:52.5	My baby Kwong.
0:55.0	So I'm two years old, and we're on an Easter egg hunt.
0:58.8	I got my floral Easter dress.
1:00.8	I got my grandparents, Hui and Edgar Kwong, and they are all about this right now.
1:05.7	Please.
1:07.2	There's chocolate for you.
1:09.6	Oh.
1:10.6	Oh. Oh.
1:12.4	Honestly, you still react that way to chocolate.
1:14.6	Let's be real.
1:15.2	It's true.
1:15.9	Emily, you want an egg?
	...

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