Becoming fluent in a second language is difficult. But for adults, is it impossible? Science says no. In this encore episode, Short Wave host <a href="https://www.npr.org/people/767284140/emily-kwong">Emily Kwong</a> dissects the "critical period hypothesis," a theory which linguists have been debating for decades — with the help of <a href="https://sarahfphillips.com/">Sarah Frances Phillips</a>, a Ph.D. student in the linguistics department at New York University. Together, Emily and former Short Wave host <a href="https://www.madelinesofia.com/">Maddie Sofia</a> explore where the theory comes from, how it applies to second-language acquisition and what it means for Emily's efforts to learn Mandarin Chinese as an adult. Have a linguistics or neuroscience question? Email us at <a href="mailto:shortwave@npr.org">shortwave@npr.org</a> — we'd love to hear from you! Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at <a href="http://plus.npr.org/shortwave">plus.npr.org/shortwave</a>. Learn more about sponsor message choices: <a href="https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices">podcastchoices.com/adchoices</a> <a href="https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy">NPR Privacy Policy</a>

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