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Author: Tony
Born and raised in Malaysia between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore. Educated at Wycliffe College in Stonehouse, Gloucestershire, England. Living in the foothills of Mount Etna since 1982 and teaching English at Catania University since 1987. View all posts by Tony
Ingliando 
The different meanings of English words is a thorn in the learners sides, while phrasal verbs are a pain in their neck. What makes me sadder is that native speakers of English not even know what phrasal verbs actually are.
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Native speakers are often quite ignorant of the rules of their native tongue. It’s nothing new. We mostly learn our native language through full immersion (listen and repeat) with little attention to rules. I learnt Italian this way, just by being here in the country and listening. I didn’t study the rules until I needed them for my own teaching purposes.
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Experts say that there are two way for learning a language: by imitation and by studying. It is estimated that children learn their native language by imitation, without criticism or comparison since they do not know any grammar rule. Adults already know their native language and its rules, consequently their learning is built by comparison and criticism, can’t be just copy and paste.
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Which is why it is so much more difficult for adults and a very good reason for teaching a second language at a young age. 🙂
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