Ever tried to learn a language but failed miserably? It may not be your fault, according to a University of Auckland academic, who has attempted to learn five languages himself.
Professor Lawrence Zhang from Auckland University has tried learning languages ranging from Russian, French, German, Japanese, to Tibetan. But he says he has only successfully mastered English and achieved an adequate level of French, in addition to his mother tongue, Mandarin Chinese.
He says that because of the complicated nature of language learning, many people can become experts in the language or languages they are learning, but others struggle.
Professor Zhang will present the lecture, Digging Deep: Developing Second/Foreign Language Expertise, at the University's Epsom Campus on Tuesday 22nd August.
He tells us what he has discovered.
