Maxwell writes:

Why do they need to be smart, motivated, taught and invest in a good bit of
practice?

Motivation is the most important, and they need to be of at least average
intelligence. Smart people make more progress with less effort and therefore
require less motivation. Just about everyone needs some amount of practice.
Being taught accelerates learning but is not essential.

Only yesterday you were insisting good English and spelling was a simple
matter of intelligence.

Language fluency and intelligence are closely correlated.

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