Foreign language learning is a complex process, and, in many cases, it takes years for learners to achieve certain fluency in the target language. But what is exactly true about language learning? What is not? Among parents, educators, students, teachers, and school coordinators widespread beliefs on how languages are learned coexist. These beliefs usually influence learners’ perception of the foreign language learning process, sometimes positively and other times not quite. In some cases, these widespread beliefs might even prevent individuals from undergoing the process of learning a foreign language or might limit them when undergoing it. Researchers and language specialists have been trying to dismantle myths as well as some of these widespread beliefs that do not quite match the reality of the foreign language learning process.
In first place, Kim Potowski dismantles some of these widely spread myths in her interesting TedTalk “No Child Left Monolingual“. The first widespread belief – or at least throughout the United States – is that bilingualism or multilingualism can damage societies and individuals. Potowski easily proves that multilingualism does not at all negatively affect speakers, but quite the opposite; it has many advantages. Among these are the capacity to think faster, solve problems more efficiently and have dementia delayed. In one of the studies that she introduces in her TedTalk, results show that learners involved in two-way immersion programs had the best results in English as opposed to those in monolingual programs. The same study also shows that bilingual and full English programs do not affect English results at all. Furthermore, according to Potowski “abandoning the heritage language does not accelerate English learning”. Here she dismantles a second widespread belief, which is that children get confused with a second language. To do so, Potowski explains the concept of organic memory, meaning that children under eight years old use different parts of the brain for language learning. She actually believes that the kindergarten years are optimal to add foreign languages in the educational systems and that beginning to learn a foreign language at fourteen is way too late.
In second place, Cenoz (2009) dismantles another widespread belief which has to do with the early introduction of English and its supposed negative effect on the development of the child’s mother tongue(s). Regarding this belief, in her talk on “Cognitive Advantages of Bilingualism”, Polinsky argues that there seem to be a couple of disadvantages of bilingualism in early years of life. She explains that until the age of five, bilingual children seem to have a lack of vocabulary in both languages. In other words, a five-year-old monolingual child has a greater repertoire of vocabulary in his/her language than a bilingual child in that same language. Another disadvantage that Polinsky reveals is language interference. In some cases, one language is more dominant than the other and that can affect the less dominant language. However, the good news is that bilingual children eventually catch up with vocabulary after the age of five and thus the disadvantages mentioned above disappear later in teenagerhood and adulthood. Therefore, “the early introduction of English does not have a negative effect on the development of the other 2 languages” (Cenoz, 2009: 210).
In third place, Muñoz (2016) dismantles the widespread belief that learning a foreign language needs to be done as early as possible to achieve the best results. In her talk on foreign language acquisition, she explains that age is not the only factor determining a speaker’s attainment of proficiency in a foreign language. Factors such as the learning context, the type of instruction, learners’ motivation, and the amount of input are crucial when measuring speakers’ proficiency. More specifically, she compares instructional with naturalistic foreign language acquisition processes. Whereas learners in naturalistic settings need massive exposure to the target language and therefore are better at implicit learning (e.g., in early years), learners in instructional contexts are better at explicit learning because they are more cognitively mature, think more strategically and faster, and more efficient at learning. In other words, age is not necessarily the only determinant factor in the language learning process, as opposed to what is widely believed.
In conclusion, the role of researchers, educators, teachers, and school coordinators should be to stay as informed as possible on language acquisition theories and language learning processes and to pass this knowledge onto parents, students, speakers, and learners so that they can have a more realistic, accurate perception of what learning a language means. Moreover, all teachers should talk about these widespread beliefs with other fellow teachers, students and even with parents in an open, uncluttered manner in order to dismantle the myths that might limit learners’ foreign language acquisition. Furthermore, all variables influencing the foreign language learning process should be taken into account and should be carefully examined separately to have a better understanding of their impact on learners’ acquisition. In brief, everyone who has undergone or is undergoing the foreign language learning process should share their experiences with others so that we can all together learn from each other.
References
Cenoz, J. (2009). Towards Multilingual Education: Basque Educational Research from an International Perspective. Series Editors: Nancy H. Hornberger and Colin Baker. Bristol, Buffalo and Toronto. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/309910272_Towards_Multilingual_Education_Basque_Educational_Research_from_an_International_Perspective
Muñoz, C. (2016). Professor Carmen Muñoz at the launch of the Centre for Research in Language Throughout the Lifespan. University of Essex. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOP-kmHXapA
Polinsky, M. (2015). Cognitive Advantages of Bilingualism. Serious Science. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-ml2dD4SIk
Potowski, K. (2013). No Child Left Monolingual. TEDx Talks. Chicago. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSs1uCnLbaQ
The Acquisition of English As a Foreign Language in Bilingual and Multilingual Contexts 
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