[steven]

Unfortunately most of the material I've read on the subject of a 'cut-off' age, so to speak, for an L2 is pretty dated so I've never heard much about the neuroscience business.

However, I tend to agree with Realism on this subject. I think I've made my views pretty clear in other threads as well. But I'll just say that immersion is everything. I disagree with the concept that it can be done effectively at home though. I think that using your eyes is a very important aspect of observing a language and its culture. I think every language has its culture, but Japanese language and culture are pretty much the same thing.

I think Japanese, being so differently culturally, turns a lot of people away after a while. I'm not talking about green tea and kimonos-- I'm talking about the kind of language used. It gets overwhelming by about year 2 of college level courses. By year three, most people just give up. In other words, if you are really interested in it you will make the time and put in the effort. If you are kind of on the fence and just want to learn the language as a hobby, you might want to just "wake up and smell the coffee". It's not going to happen in a 4 year college level course. It's not going to happen with your "I'm too busy to study" books. You have to almost make it a lifestyle before you can learn a solid amount of everyday speech.