Foreign Language Learning: A Comparative Analysis of Relative Difficulty

Students and teachers frequently speculate as to which foreign language is the most difficult for Englishspeaking students to learn and what makes some languages harder to learn then others. No qualitative or quantitative analysis of language learning difficulty has been applied thus far to answer these questions satisfactorily. In this article, we attempt to put forth a set of criteria by which foreign languages can be classified according to the degree of learning difficulty which they present to English-speaking students. These criteria are not intended to be a definitive basis for classifying learning difficulty. We believe, however, they can provide a useful framework for guiding operational decisions and testing policies at NSA. Language teachers realize that many difficulties in learning a second language are a function of the extent to which the second language differs from the first. Differences in pronunciation, grammar, and levels of politeness and honorifics can cause learning difficulties. If we describe the fundamental characteristics of the two languages and identify the set of characteristics which is unique to the second language, we can arrive at an approximate aggregate measure of relative learning difficulty. It is impossible to describe a specific number of characteristics that will do full justice to all the peculiarities of a given language. Language has so