Learning complex linguistic structures beyond the age of 60. A comparison of four age groups over the lifespan and an analysis of facilitating factors for learning

Are people beyond the age of 60 years able to learn complex linguistic structures as successfully as younger people, if their educational backgrounds are similar? Can facilitating factors for learning be identified? A sample of 321 well-educated subjects aged between 15 and 79 years were given identical fictional texts containing systematic stylistic features, subdivided into three different conditions inducing explicit, implicit or incidental learning The oldest group of 60-79 year olds showed no differences in learning results or in the ability to verbalize the stylistic features compared to the younger groups, neither in the overall results nor under the different learning conditions For the additional analysis of factors facilitating learning, another 15, less well-educated elderly subjects were included in the study. Better learning results were influenced by higher scholastic and vocational qualifications and an age of under 70 years, and were correlated with more reading and out-of-home activities