I agree. They both learn rules, but mostly unconsciously. Adults generally bring a lot of baggage. They already have a language with which they will compare the language they are learning. A lot of classes focus on teaching the rules of grammar and pronunciation in a direct way.<p>I would guess that most second language learners that learn well do so through interaction with speakers of the target language with an attempt to imitate the native speakers. Through imitation you pick up on the patterns and get a feel for what is correct, but you aren&#x27;t necessarily listing formulas in your head about how to create those sentences. Prosody is an important part of speech and second language learners can attain that as well, but it is general not formally taught or generally documented in a rule format for most languages, mostly learned through observation and imitation.