Well, I'm preparing a final 20-page paper for my "Second Language Acquisition" class. I'll summarize the most interesting points here:
Students learning English in other countries (EFL) are just as capable of learning pragmatics (the meaning behind what we say as opposed to the literal definition) as ESL learners, they just need competent teachers who are able and willing to directly teach how English speakers accomplish certain things with language in an appropriate way, such as requesting, inviting, refusing and commanding.
A student's motivation plays a big role in how much he learns in language class. In other words, you have to actively negotiate meaning, notice differences between your first language and the second language, and make an effort to practice the language as much as possible. You can't just passively sit in language class for an hour 3x a week and "absorb" the language.
Group dynamics in the classroom are also really important. If the group norms are positive, students will be motivated to perform more, and vice versa if the norms are not so good. This is especially true for teenage learners, as peer pressure is really strong at this point.
Older language learners actually learn faster than younger language learners at first. After about a year, the younger learners will surpass the older learners in an ESL setting. There hasn't been any research about whether younger learners would surpass older learners in an EFL setting. In conclusion, age is no excuse for not trying to learn a new language. The most important factor in learning a new language is to be aware of your first language's grammar and use and try to notice how the foreign language is different.
Intercultural communication is as important as learning the structure of a language, if not more important. Grammatical fluency is not the same as cultural/pragmatic fluency! Be a bit of an anthropologist and you will have much more success in communicating in your new language! Also it is important to establish your foreign language identity, keeping in mind the norms of the new foreign language. Try to ADD to your existing first language identity, instead of subtracting from it.
What I'm learning is that people's top 2 excuses for not picking up a new language: 1) I can't afford to study abroad and 2) I'm too old to learn, are not true at all! Even if you opt for the "I don't have time" excuse, it is still not entirely true. If you focus your efforts and have realistic goals, you can at least learn enough to interact with people from that language group on a basic level.
A Blog about Travel, Culture and Communication