A child’s brain has millions of connections of neurons, resulting in complex relationships

that form the basis of learning. The frequently used connections are strengthened in a child's

learning process while the unused ones gradually fade off. Response in children is slower

compared to adults because their nervous system is less myelinated. Myelin insulates the axions

of neurons allowing speedy nerve transmissions. When myelin is damaged or affected in any

way, it may cause various cognitive, muscle, or sensory problems and diseases. For instance,

Multiple Sclerosis attacks the myelin resulting in; loss of balance, movement, walking,

coordination, tremors, weakness, memory loss, poor judgment, decreased attention span,

depression, and pain (Rare diseases 2021). Learning is about connections and connectivity, and

these two processes provide a flexible engine that influences a child's readiness to learn.

Even without the intention to learn, children are naturally born with an innate readiness to

learn. Even without instructions, a child can learn through instincts or interactions with the

environment. While instinctual learning is a natural aspect of development, instructional learning

allows inputs from outsources that influence a child's learning process. Language learning can

best demonstrate these two aspects because of the contrasting relationship between spoken and

written language. Children have equal abilities in language learning and are much better than

adults in differentiating various sounds. Even when fully exposed to a specific language, children

cannot read and write without instruction.

Spoken language differs between cultures, while written language depends on social

structures that determine neurological ability or difficulty when learning to read. Inadequate

practice can contribute to difficulties with words because it hinders effective speaking, listening,

or understanding (Episode 2). Language listening in thirteen-year-olds is dependent on both sides

of their brain, but this process shifts to the left hemisphere when at 20 months. In episode two of
the secrets of the brain, a bilingual child, Ariel, who is natively Spanish but could also speak

English, processed Spanish on the brain’s left side but English more globally. Bilingual Aphasia,

a situation that leads to the loss of one language, can result from damage to either the left or right

sides of the brain. The loss can be regarding a native or foreign language because they are

processed in different brain parts. For instance, Knin, the thirteen-year-old Croatian girl, lost her

ability to speak her native language but could still communicate in Germany, a foreign language

she learned.