> Most people will only ever be able to speak a language as fluently as a native speaker if they learn it before they're about 13-14 years old.
Very few people both have a ton of exposure to a language and actually study the grammar and stuff as adults.
If you don't learn the grammar you will still speak like a dog after living in a country for 20 years.
A lot of people in an average company don't write hard things at their job, didn't read any textbooks etc. and spend loads of time in meetings etc.
> Very few people both have a ton of exposure to a language and actually study the grammar and stuff as adults.
Very few people actually learn to speak a language as a native speaker by "studying the grammar."
I remember people trying to learn what was and what wasn't a run-on sentence in junior high school, and being shocked that they had a hard time telling the difference.
And studying language explicitly doesn't change the brain regions used to the same that are used by a native speaker.
And that's my point. I didn't really "study" programming explicitly as much as understanding it intuitively. When exposed to a new concept, I just immediately internalize it; I don't need to use it a bunch of times and intentionally practice it. I just need to see it and it's obvious and becomes part of my tool-set.
Very few people both have a ton of exposure to a language and actually study the grammar and stuff as adults. If you don't learn the grammar you will still speak like a dog after living in a country for 20 years. A lot of people in an average company don't write hard things at their job, didn't read any textbooks etc. and spend loads of time in meetings etc.