[Grammar] in its 20's / in the 60's

[Tarheel]

Thank you Tarheel.
I will teach to my students your example and another example of my own;
Language teachers in the eighties said that college students should master at least one foreign language in their early twenties.

Two things. One, look up the word claim. Two, either delete the last four words of that sentence or use GS's suggestion.

 

[emsr2d2]

You could also say that they believed that college students should do that.

 

[magic dragon]

Thank you Piscean. I see your idea, but I think "the eighties" are simply an aggregation of eighty, eighty-one, eighty-two, ---eighty-nine, and has no close connection with a particular person or a group of persons. On the other hand, "their early twenties" are an aggregation of twenty, twenty-one, twenty-two, ---twenty-nine, and is closely connected to college students.
So it seems to me my sentence leaves no room for misinterpretation. If you find my example awkward in terms of style, I'd be ready to accept.

 

[Tarheel]

I wouldn't think they would insist that college students wait until they are twenty years old before they start learning a foreign language. On the other hand, a person who is past 25 is likely to have left college unless that person is doing postgraduate work.

 

[emsr2d2]

Generally, in BrE, we write decades using numbers and we write ages using either numbers or letters.

For me, the sentence would be "In the 80s, language teachers believed that people should master at least one foreign language in their early twenties".

 

[magic dragon]

Thank you emsr2d2. Your sample is better than mine. I'll teach it to my sudents.

 

[Tarheel]

I suppose learning a foreign language in your twenties is better that waiting until your thirties, but the rule for learning a language--any language--is the earlier the better. A person aged 0-6 can learn two or three languages seemingly without effort. That's because at that age the brain is hard-wired to learn language(s).

The human brain is an amazing thing.

 

[emsr2d2]

Thank you emsr2d2. Your sample is better than mine. I'll teach it to my students.

I'm glad you like it. However, please bear in mind the contents of Tarheel's post below. I would be very surprised if language teachers in the 80s really believed people should start learning a foreign language in their early twenties. (Saying they should "master a foreign language in their early twenties" means they should start and become proficient at that age.) I imagine their view then was the same as it is now - people should start learning a foreign language as soon as they can speak. That way, there is a chance they will have mastered it by a certain age. That will only happen if they keep using it - remember "Use it or lose it".

I suppose learning a foreign language in your twenties is better that waiting until your thirties, but the rule for learning a language--any language--is the earlier the better. A person aged 0-6 can learn two or three languages seemingly without effort. That's because at that age the brain is hard-wired to learn language(s).

The human brain is an amazing thing.