How old were you when you started studying?

[DancingLady]

How old were you when you started studying a second language?

I was 14, I didn't get the opportunity to start studying a second language until High School, and then I didn't didn't get to study German until college because my high school only offered French and Spanish.  I really wish I had had the opportunity to start studying German much younger, I think I would have done much better.  I only had two years of HS French and remember very, very little from that now.

[Hemikune]

    I began learning Spanish when I was in Junior High. I did poorly, but I kept up with it, forgot most of it, went on with my life. A few years after college, the chance to visit Cancun, Mexico presented itself, I took it. I was incredibly surprised by how much I had really learned over the years. I even got compliments on how properly I spoke.

  I also think that if I had started learning earlier, I would be much further along then than I was.

[Traveler]

I didn't start until around 16 or 17. That was for high school. I didn't take to it well and had no interest at the time. I took more classes, then three more classes in university. I really wish I had learned a language from a young age.

[Muthoni]

I started learning French when I was in college ( in my twenties). A language was required in the course that I was taking at the time. I was not able to grasp the language after six months; therefore I enrolled in another language school. I am yet to get good at the language. I started learning english when I was ten years old.

[Trellum]

I was just 16 years old or so, I started learning English without even learning it or even thinking it.  I just felt this urge to try to learn a few words and see if I could communicate with others.  That's why I started hanging out around yahoo chat, listening to what the people said and paying attention to what others wrote there.

I then started writing to people around the world, my pen pals.  It was fun.  After that I tried instant messaging.

[Baburra]

I started learning English and Chinese at around 5 years old, though English was more heavily focused on so it stuck with me a lot easier. These days I've already forgotten a good chunk of my Chinese vocabulary but since English is widely used I still am able to use it extensively and thus have only gotten better at it with time.

[gmckee1985]

I started studying Spanish when I was 15. In high school. Of course we studied it lightly in elementary school, but it wasn't very in depth. Most of the stuff we studied in high school was fairly complex and required some studying, at least. Beyond the basics.

[Rosa]

I started studying Spanish at age eleven while I was in 7th grade. The following year French was added to the curriculum and I did both up to ninth grade. I did Spanish because I had to but French was more so because I just felt a strong liking for the language and wanted so badly to speak it, yet I presently know more Spanish. What a twist.

[JessiFox]

I wish I had started earlier, but I was about 13 when I first started with Spanish...definitely think there's something to the thought that it's much easier the younger you are. Your brain just retains it differently.

[sidney]

I was already in my 20's when my interest to study in another language was piqued when I heard a couple of Rammstein's songs being played on local radio. But when it comes to studying English, then I must a say, I was exposed to it as early as pre-school.

[Saholy]

My first 2nd language I attempted to learn was Spanish. While I still find interest in this, it was many years ago when I was in my early 20s and I moved to an area that did not use it and thus lost all of my skill level except for a word pool which I have kept. Before that, I had some exposure to American Sign Language at the age of 5, but did not develop the skill until in my late 20s when beginning to use it for work. The person who I was close to was a very good lip reader and so our family only used limited sign when speaking with that person. This is something I regretted later. I think all language should be encouraged at younger ages as the retention levels are much higher the younger you are. But age is no barrier to language learning, it just makes it more of a challenge.

[thewakeupcall]

I was about 9-10 years old when I started to learn a language, that language was Vietnamese and English,

because my Native tongue is Vietnamese.

[edthebig]

How old were you when you started studying a second language?

I was 14, I didn't get the opportunity to start studying a second language until High School, and then I didn't didn't get to study German until college because my high school only offered French and Spanish.  I really wish I had had the opportunity to start studying German much younger, I think I would have done much better.  I only had two years of HS French and remember very, very little from that now.

I started in fifth grade so I was ten years old. I had to move to United States so it was either learn or be an idiot who doesn't talk to anyone.