Language researchers would probably agree that your second language acquisition would have been more easily-achieved had you started before age five.

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There’s an abundance of research out there confirming that young kids pick up languages more easily than adults. The relative ease with which children learn a second language may have something to do with a linguistic theory called “language transfer.”

This term refers to the learner’s attempts to apply the rules, forms and sentence-structures of their native language to the new language they’re trying to learn. Transfer is an important factor in language learning at any age, but studies suggest that children have an easier time with language transfer because they’re still in the process of learning their first or native language. When we learn a language, we begin by transferring sounds and meanings, as well as incorporating various usage rules. As we gain more experience with the new language, the role of transfer typically diminishes. “The more children learn about a foreign language, the more they understand about their own language,” said Nancy Rhodes, Director of Foreign Language Education at the Center for Applied Linguistics in Washington, D.C. Children use what they learn in one language to reinforce concepts and terms they’ve learned in another, while older folks–even adolescents–have to contend with years of thinking and speaking in their first language.
For young kids, language learning is intuitive and natural. What educators call a “window of opportunity” may be what experts say is a greater neural and linguistic plasticity, which allows kids to acquire language with relative ease and speed. Researchers led by neurologist Dr. Andrea Mechelli studied the brain images of bilinguals and concluded that learning a foreign language at any age increases the grey matter density in the brain, according to a 2007 New York Times article. Though learning a foreign language at any age adds to grey matter density, the most significant advantage exists for people who acquired that language before age five.

Learning a new language as an adolescent can be just as hard as learning it as an adult, but memorizing new sets of vocabulary and grammar rules as a teen could have helped your SAT scores.

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The 2007 College Bound Seniors report, issued by the SAT-administering College Board, reported the significant benefits of studying a foreign language for four or more years: students scored an average 140 points (out of 800) higher on the Critical Reading section than students with only two semesters of foreign language, 150 points higher on Writing, and another 140 points more in the Math section. And if the SAT-bolstering benefit isn’t convincing enough, Web MD reports that learning multiple languages can ultimately delay the onset of dementia by nearly four years in elderly patients. So don’t give up hope on building up your own grey matter. Researchers are finding that, just because kids can learn a new language quicker or easier than adults, doesn’t mean that adults are unable to.
Although children may have an advantage in achieving native-like fluency in the long run, adults actually learn languages in their early stages faster than kids, according to a study comparing the rate of second language acquisition. An often-cited 1979 study showed that attaining a working ability to communicate in a new language was more rapid for an adult than for a child. Linguists and educators have said that, due to experience and deeply rooted connections to their native language, adults find it hard to mimic never-before heard sounds in other languages. Children, on the other hand, are natural copycats, often delighting in repeating and mimicking sounds and words. Kids can pick up slight differences in tones and sound, which can be helpful when imitating a natural-sounding, native-like accent that may take adolescents and adults years of practice to achieve. Half the world speaks a tone language, or a language that uses the same words–spoken in a different pitch or tone–to mean different things. Mandarin Chinese, the most difficult to learn for English speakers, is a tone language, but a study conducted by researchers from UCLA and the University of Hong Kong shows that even adults with significant exposure to the language in childhood can end up speaking like a native.

Learning a language in the typical classroom, where the instruction often happens in English as you stumble over new words and phrases for an hour at a time, is very different than the way you picked up new words as a kid. Immersion–where all or nearly all of the verbal inputs a person receives are in the language they’re trying to learn–can be enormously helpful for learning a new language quickly and in a manner that lasts. Linguists suggest that, if you can’t study abroad in a place where you’re immersed in the language, consistently exploring the language may be your next best bet. Using new words and phrases in everyday situations and hearing them used around you really helps to get familiar with a language outside of one-hour classes.

So stick with your foreign language classes in college or sign-up for them as an elective and your grey matter will thank you.

The study compared the ability of 15-year-old students with other students from countries that are part of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in solving real-life mathematical problems. It found that students in the US are below average in math and placed in the bottom quarter of countries that participated and trail nations such as Estonia, China and Finland. More than half of the participating countries outscored U.S. kids.

And it’s not just the young ones—American high school students aren’t grasping basic math concepts as well as their counterparts in leading industrialized nations, according to the Program for International Student Assessment.

There are many theories on why U.S. students lag behind their peers abroad in math, but most critics agree that the education system, their teachers, and their parents can have a profound impact on how well our students do in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM).

The U.S.’s education system has long been criticized for relying on standardized testing, which can teach children how to take a test rather than what is on the test. Coupled with the fact that the U.S. is a more diverse country than most of the nations that participated in the study, and has a large portion of minorities who traditionally score lower on standardized tests, the U.S. was sure not to come out on top.

The country that did come out on top in the study is a nation that has rejected the idea of standardized testing altogether. Teachers in Finland focus on students grasping the concepts in lessons and not simply regurgitating them for tests.

That’s why it’s so important for kids to be encouraged by their teachers in STEM subjects. Seventy-two percent of students in 3rd to 12th grade think a person needs to do well in science and math to get a good paying job in the future, but as they enter high school, they are less likely to believe that science and math are necessary for workplace success, according to an American Society for Quality survey. The report found that the drop was related to the scores that teachers received for connecting subject material to careers in science and math, and students’ ability to pursue them.

Because of a shortage of math and science teachers, some critics of the education system suggest paying teachers in areas of critical need (math, science, foreign language and special education) more money. The National Education Association, which represents teachers, argues against such a proposal. “Simply being a teacher of a hard-to-staff subject does not equate with effective instruction,” the organization said in a position statement in 2009.

So how can the U.S. ensure that good math and science teachers will be heading to our classrooms?
In January, President Barack Obama announced a $250 million public and private effort to increase the number and quality of STEM teachers. As part of this effort, the presidents of more than 75 public universities have committed their schools to preparing 10,000 science and math teachers in the next five years. Beyond this benchmark, it seems that parents and teachers need to be encouraging students—especially underrepresented women and minorities—to pursue science and math careers.

The support of students’ parents has been shown to be crucial to a child’s continued interest in science, technology, engineering and math. Making kids aware of the range of science and engineering careers available and their relevance to society works to attract more men and women to STEM careers.

Students in high-scoring math and science countries like China and India feel parental, peer and community pressure to achieve high academic goals, according to Two Million Minutes, a documentary film on global education. But the major difference in their countries and the U.S. was that abroad, parents take primary responsibility for their child’s education. Indian and Chinese parents often organize their lives around their child’s studying, extra tutoring and educational exercises on par with the physical exercises like high school and team sports that can take up a lot of time, energy, and money. In India and China, parents are deeply involved in their child’s education, and their encouragement seems to make a profound difference in how their children learn in school.

Though the Barbie doll that proclaimed, “Math is hard” is off the shelves, many still believe the sentiment. A striking number of U.S. adults are not confident in their math abilities. This attitude towards math and science can impact the way their children look at school subjects. In elementary school about as many girls as boys have positive attitudes toward science. A recent study of fourth graders showed that 66 percent of girls and 68 percent of boys reported liking science. By eighth grade, boys are twice as interested in STEM careers as girls are. Gender differences in self-confidence in STEM subjects start in middle school and increases thereafter, with girls being less confident in their math and science abilities, and boys being more likely to see those in math and science fields as “nerds.”

These “nerds” are in some of the country’s most important careers. The five highest paying jobs in the U.S. are all in STEM subjects, according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers, which tracks the salaries of college graduates.

The future jobs in important and high-paying areas like energy will go to workers proficient in math, engineering and sciences, according to the secretary of Education, whose office has been calling attention to the lacking math and science performance of U.S. students. Students from elementary school to college need individuals—teachers, parents, and peers—making the connection between doing well in STEM subjects and success in meaningful, high-powered positions.

“Our future is on the line,” said Obama. “The nation that out-educates us today is going to out-compete us tomorrow.”

Math skills set recent grads apart from other majors, according to a recent survey from the National Association of Colleges and Employers, which tracks college graduates’ starting salaries. Overall, the average salary offered to recent graduates is down 2 percent from last year, netting student-loan-owing young adults with about $48,351 a year. There are far fewer students graduating with math-based majors compared to their liberal-arts counterparts, which is why the starting salaries for the top five highest-earning college degrees are so high, according to CNN.

How high is high?  Here are the top 5:
1. Degree in Petroleum Engineering

Average starting salary: $83,121

Petroleum engineers design and supervise the process of getting oil and natural gas out of the ground and into storage tanks. Most of these engineers work for oil companies, but some are employed by banks that lend money to oil companies while others work for government agencies that regulate oil production. Petroleum engineers across the board command the highest starting salaries among bachelor’s degree holders, according to CNBC. The demand for these skilled workers is expected to increase exponentially as energy issues vie for attention on the political stage, according to CNBC.

Though some schools offer a bachelor’s degree specifically in petroleum engineering, geology, geophysics, mining, or civil or mechanical engineering, plus course work in petroleum engineering, can serve just as well. It’s the best deal for students who don’t want to go into graduate course work—the average annual salary comes in at about $114,000.

2. Degree in Chemical Engineering

Average starting salary: $64,902

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Chemical engineers may have the second highest starting salary, but their employment opportunities are far broader than for petroleum engineers.

Chemical engineers often use physics, mathematics, statistics and chemistry in their jobs, which usually involve the design, testing, approval and maintenance of various chemical processes. They can specialize in several fields—such as pharmaceuticals, nanotechnology, biomedical, electronics, aerospace and environmental engineering—and have research, technical and production skills necessary in the manufacturing of chemicals and products for a multitude of companies.

After completing a chemical engineering degree program, a graduate can work in multiple industries for planning, development, and production, and can look forward to pulling down an average of $107,000 after their first ten to fifteen years, according to Payscale.com.

3. Degree in Mining and Mineral Engineering

Average starting salary: $64,404

Mining and mineral engineering majors use math and science to study minerals like coal, iron, diamonds and gold, and study the processes for locating and extracting them from naturally occurring environments. These engineers use technology to develop systems that help process or refine minerals that are essential to our modern world, and yet have to be conscious of and mitigate the damages these processes can make to our planet. Mining engineers are typically employed in oil and gas extraction, metal ore mining, and coal mining.

There are fewer than 7,000 employed mining engineers who make an average of $75,960, according to Payscale.com. As older mining engineers retire, the industry will be looking to hire freshly-educated engineers to plan mining operations, design underground and surface mines and equipment.

4. Computer Engineering

Average starting salary: $61,738

Computers, cell phones, gaming systems and other technical devices are getting smaller and lighter for both mobility and convenience. Technology changes rapidly, and those who enjoy staying on top of these changes may find themselves well-suited for a degree in computer engineering.

A computer engineer uses computer science and mathematical analysis to solve programming problems, designing new software, hardware and electrical equipment, and keeping abreast of trends in this ever-evolving field. Computer engineers work in a variety of industries such as industrial, media, web development and manufacturing, and can expect a mid-career salary of as much as $105,000, according to Payscale.com. The upper 10 percent of earners in this field took in more than $125,750 last year, according to the NACE.

5. Degree in Computer Science

Average starting salary: $61,407

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Robots, toys, operating systems—oh my! There’s a wealth of possibilities for computer science majors once they graduate. A computer science engineer can design applications for software, create operating systems, research artificial intelligence, or build robots and other computer-controlled mechanical devices. Other jobs in computer science are related to computer networking and communication, database systems, parallel computation, distributed computation, computer-human interaction, computer graphics, and numerical and symbolic computation.

The size of the IT employment market in the United States today is higher than it was at the height of the dot.com boom, according to the Association for Computing Machinery, a professional development organization. A mid-career computer science degree-wielding engineer can make upwards of $94,000 a year, according to Payscale.com.

Other majors that made top-earning degree lists include civil engineering, political science and economics. Forbes Magazine ranked economics high on their list in 2009, saying that the average salary with five years in the field nets college grads about $48,100.  That makes accounting, economics, finance and business administration grads among the fastest-growing earners, according to the financial magazine.

An education.

When Forbes Magazine rated the world’s most powerful people in November 2009, the financial magazine found that the world’s top political leaders, economists and internet gurus used their educations as stepping stones to power.

#1:  Barack Obama, U.S. President

Courtesy: Flickr – Barack Obama’s Profile

Degree: B.S. in Political Science, J.D. in Law

So how did the leader of the free world and commander and chief of the world’s largest and most powerful military get where he is today? Barack Obama, the nation’s first African American president, spent his high school years at a college preparatory school in Honolulu, Hawaii, before starting his college career at Occidental College in Los Angeles, Calif. on a full scholarship. Feeling stifled at the small liberal arts school, Obama transferred to Columbia University in New York, where he got a B.A. in political science with a specialization in international relations in 1983. Obama worked as a community organizer in Chicago for several years before entering Harvard Law School in 1988. While at Harvard, he became the first African American president of the Harvard Law Review, and served on the Black Law Students Association’s board of directors. Obama graduated with a juris doctor magna cum laude in 1991. Obama so valued the educational process that the Nobel Peace Prize-winner taught constitutional law at the University Of Chicago Law School for more than a decade.

#2:  Hu Jintao, President of China

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Degree: B.S. in Hydraulic Engineering

The political leader of more than 1.3 billion Chinese might have spent a year as a construction worker during the Cultural Revolution in the 1960s, but President Hu Jintao put his education first. Hu attended Tsinghua University in Beijing, where he first flexed his leadership skills as chairman of its Student Union. Hu graduated with a degree in hydraulic engineering in 1965, and began postgraduate work while working as an instructor and in research and development at the university. Hu has called education the basic way of raising cultural and scientific levels, and though Hu’s education hasn’t led China to acknowledge Taiwanese independence, Tibetan freedom or given much power to the press, the country’s economy is projected to overtake the U.S. as the world’s largest in 25 years.

#3: Vladimir Putin, Prime Minister of Russia

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Degree: B.A. in International Law, doctorate in Economics

Russia’s Prime Minister may no longer be president, but Forbes called Vladimir Putin “vastly more powerful” than head-of-state Dmitry Medvedev, the man he chose to succeed him.  His influence stretches well beyond Russia’s vast land—one-ninth of Earth’s surface—rich with energy and mineral resources. Under Putin’s direction, the nuclear power cut off gas supplies to the Ukraine and Western Europe, and invaded neighboring Georgia in 2008.

But before rising to power, Putin attended a respected high school in Russia that only accepted students with near-perfect grades and stressed chemistry as part of its curriculum. After receiving his B.A. in International Law, Putin graduated from the Leningrad State University law school in 1975, where he also earned a doctorate in economics. After spending 15 years in the KGB, and serving in city and national government, Putin rose to prime minister, then became acting president when his predecessor left office, and was officially elected and re-elected before sliding back into the role of powerful prime minister.

#4: Ben Bernanke, Chairman of the United States Federal Reserve

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Degree: B.A. in Economics, Ph.D. in Economics

The man at the head of the world’s largest economy was well on his way to success in high school. Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke—just tapped for a second term as chairman in January— was valedictorian of his Georgia high school and scored 1590 on his SATs. The impressive score may have helped land him at Harvard University, where he earned a B.A. in economics and graduated summa cum laude in 1975. Bernanke got his Ph.D. in economics from Massachusetts Institute of Technology four years later, and went on to teach at Stanford Graduate School of Business, New York University and Princeton University, where he chaired the University’s economics department for six years before leaving for public office. A Great Depression scholar and TIME magazine 2009 person of the year, Bernanke has taken the Fed from less than $900 billion in liabilities in August 2008 to more than $2.1 trillion.

#5: Sergey Brin and Larry Page, Google Inc. founders

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Degree: B.S. in Computer Science/mathematics, B.S. in computer engineering, Ph.D. in Computer Science

Not many people can say that they’ve invented a verb anyone with an internet connection has probably used. Google founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page, both 36, Their Mountain View, Calif.-based company, Google Inc., offers an email client, social networking tools, photo sharing and other web-browsing services. The internet gurus have a combined net worth of $30.6 billion, all thanks to their desire to continue their education.

Soviet-born Brin and American Page met while attending Stanford University’s computer science Ph.D. program. Brin had graduated with honors from the University of Maryland with a B.S. in computer science and mathematics in 1993, and went to Stanford on a graduate fellowship from the National Science Foundation. He showed new computer science Ph.D. candidates around the campus in March 1995—Page was among the students, having just graduated with honors from the University of Michigan with a B.S. in computer engineering. The two later became friends and, eventually, business partners.

Though the five most powerful people in the world have varying educational backgrounds, it appears the old saying it true— knowledge is power.