Wrong information can manipulate someone to believe on something even if it is not the fact. Fallacies can make people believe so much in somethings that it reflects in the way they treat ideas, concepts, or even people. Myths and misconceptions become potent precursor for believing in something.

This is much true even in teaching second language. Some teachers are preluded by myths and misconceptions. Recognizing these assumptions can aid further in developing a more comprehensive teaching method and understanding the possible barriers in teaching a second language.

Listed are some myths and misconceptions on teaching and learning a second language. The discussion focuses on the easiness and rapidness of a child's ability to learn a second language, the best age to begin a second language, the significance of one's exposure to the second language, relationship between oral communication skills and academic language skills as well as cultural and individual differences in learning a language.

Children are better learners of second language than adults

Most people assume that children have the ability to learn a second language faster than adults or adolescents. This is accorded to the critical period hypothesis wherein it is premised that a child's mind is more flexible thus learning is easier. However, biological evidence of this assumption have been challenged. The truth of the matter is, adults and adolescents can learn a second language faster than a child. Learning a second language entails pronunciation and adults and adolescents have performed much better than children.

Even so people still presume that children learn faster than adults. It is perhaps this perception depends on the the criteria of language proficiency to both the child and adult. The demands for a child to communicate is unlike that for an adult. According to studies, “The child's constructions are shorter and simpler, and vocabulary is relatively small when compared with what is necessary for adults to speak at the same level of competence in a second language as they do in their first language. The child does not have to learn as much as an adult to achieve competence in communicating. Hence there is the illusion that the child learns more quickly than the adult, whereas when controlled research is conducted, in both formal and informal learning situations, results typically indicate that adult (and adolescent) learners perform better than young children.”

Younger children are more skilled in learning a new language

Once again, people misconstrue that the younger the child, the more he or she is able to acquire a second language. However, studies have shown that this is not so. Learning a second language does not only entail speaking the language but includes grammar and pronunciation. Conclusions from the studies between older children and those from the 8 year old bracket in Britain in 1975, conclude that older ones excel in terms of acquiring a new language because they are keen and attentive to the instructional approach. As conclusion, “The research suggests that younger children do not necessarily have an advantage over older children and, because of their cognitive and experiential limitations when compared to older children, are actually at a disadvantage in how quickly they learn a second language--other things being equal. “

A child has acquired a second language when they start speaking it

Another common misconception of learning a language is if one already speaks it. But to learn a language is multifaceted and learning to speak is just one of the process of learning a second language. There is much more involved in learning a second language. It is the ability of the child not to only speak it but advances to abstract and disembedded language. Speaking the language does not naturally follow for children to be proficient in writing or reading. Thus, a caution to teachers not to gage the child's grasp of the language just being to be speak with it.