Language Thinking Lab by Tymur Levitin

  Language Thinking Lab Series "The human brain learns language long before it learns grammar." Have you ever noticed something remarkable? Young children often speak their native language correctly years before they can explain a single grammar rule. Ask a five-year-old why one sentence sounds correct and another sounds wrong. Most children cannot explain it. Yet they instinctively choose the correct form. How is that possible? The answer changes the way we understand language learning. Grammar Is Not the Beginning Many people believe that grammar comes first and speaking comes later. In reality, the opposite is usually true. Children first hear thousands of conversations. Then they begin recognizing patterns. Only much later do they learn grammar at school. Their brain discovers the system long before anyone gives it a name. That is why language acquisition is not the same as grammar study. The Brain Collects Patterns Every sentence a child hears becomes another piece of li...