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the claim

Adults are worse than children at learning a second language.

the verdict
CONTESTED PARTIAL
Recorded sources
3 sources for · 5 against

Counts group repeated records of the same source within each side. They do not measure evidence strength or source independence.

Is it true that adults are worse than children at learning a second language?

Partly. Evidence is mixed and only partial: some sources report children outperform adults in naturalistic settings, while others report adults do better in classrooms or on explicit learning, so the blanket claim is not settled either way.

Verdict: CONTESTED PARTIAL · 3 sources for, 5 against · Last checked

The private library was unavailable for some searches in this check. Missing library results are not evidence against the claim.

Evidence for · 3
Children and Adults in Second-Language Learning
2018
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Suryantari, H. (2018). Children and Adults in Second-Language Learning. doi.org. https://doi.org/10.30651/tell.v6i1.2081

Evidence against · 5
The Handbook of Informal Language Learning
2020
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Dressman, M. & Sadler, R. W. (2020). The Handbook of Informal Language Learning. books.google.com. http://books.google.com/books?id=fT_ADwAAQBAJ&dq=Adults+are+worse+than+children+at+learning+a+second+language.&hl=&as_pt=BOOKS&source=gbs_api

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More for · 2
Starting Big: Why Is Learning a Language Harder for Adults Than for Children?
2023
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Arnon, I. (2023). Starting Big: Why Is Learning a Language Harder for Adults Than for Children?. doi.org. https://doi.org/10.3389/frym.2023.1011546

Starting Big: Why Is Learning a Language Harder for Adults Than for Children? · Frontiers for Young Minds
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Starting Big: Why Is Learning a Language Harder for Adults Than for Children? · Frontiers for Young Minds. (n.d.). kids.frontiersin.org. https://kids.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frym.2023.1011546

More against · 4
Encyclopedia of Perception Volume 1 and 2
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Encyclopedia of Perception Volume 1 and 2. (n.d.). archive.org. https://archive.org/details/Encyclopedia_of_Perception_Volume_1_and_2

The contributions of global spectral and amplitude structure to speech perception by English-speaking adults and children and Mandarin-speaking adults
2007
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The contributions of global spectral and amplitude structure to speech perception by English-speaking adults and children and Mandarin-speaking adults. (2007). doi.org. https://doi.org/10.1121/1.2942848

Age effects in naturalistic and instructed second language acquisition
2022
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Age effects in naturalistic and instructed second language acquisition. (2022). doi.org. https://doi.org/10.1075/bpa.14.10dek

Poorer verbal working memory for a second language selectively impacts academic achievement in university medical students
2013
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Mann, C., Canny, B. J., Reser, D. H., & Rajan, R. (2013). Poorer verbal working memory for a second language selectively impacts academic achievement in university medical students. doi.org. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.22

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held for human review17 Oct 2026
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