DIR Return Create A Forum - Home
---------------------------------------------------------
Even Greener Pastures
HTML https://evengreener.createaforum.com
---------------------------------------------------------
*****************************************************
DIR Return to: General Discussion
*****************************************************
#Post#: 19923--------------------------------------------------
How foreign language learning is good for your brain and is imme
rsion better?
By: SHL Date: April 25, 2020, 5:37 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
Here‘s a great article on the positive benefits of language
learning. It’s mentions immersion being a bit more effective
that old fashioned language instruction. Do you agree? I think a
combination is the most effective for adults (over age 18 or
so):
What do you think?
HTML https://www.theguardian.com/education/2014/sep/04/what-happens-to-the-brain-language-learning
#Post#: 19928--------------------------------------------------
Re: How foreign language learning is good for your brain and is
immersion better?
By: Aliph Date: April 28, 2020, 9:46 am
---------------------------------------------------------
That’s an old story. Language teachers adore this kind of
articles, I am more than skeptical.
Surely learning languages, playing chess, video gaming,
resolving math problems, playing the violin, being curious about
any novelty are activities that are beneficial for your brain.
Even driving a taxi in a big city without using a GPS or taking
a Zumba class twice a week.
But unfortunately, I know a person who is barely older than you,
spoke four languages plus two dialects, graduated as one of the
first women from a prestigious technical university, earned more
money that we can ever dream of, never smoked nor drank alcohol
and is now living in a nursing home. She forgot everything, even
her name.
She isn’t the only one. I can go on with this depressing list.
Genetics play an enormous role.
So if you love languages learn them! But do not count on any
long lasting cognitive benefit.
In French there is a nice expression “faire quelque chose pour
la beauté du geste”. To do something for the beauty of doing it
with no other aspiration.
#Post#: 19931--------------------------------------------------
Re: How foreign language learning is good for your brain and is
immersion better?
By: MartinSR Date: May 2, 2020, 3:20 am
---------------------------------------------------------
I agree that genetics plays enormous role. Besides there are
many other factors from our environment that influence the
probability of developing this or other disease. We can change
some of them but not everything. This example of the woman who
worked hard with her brain all her life but still got dementia
showes it. On the other hand we have examples of people, who
were heavy smokers and died being older than 90 without a
cancer. And we have also people who died because of the lung
cancer before 50 without any history of smoking or even living
in a polluted environment. I think it is the same with the brain
degeneration.
But we should have in mind that avoiding unnecessary risks and
doing things which are known to be beneficial to our health can
help a little.
So I think it is good to have any mental activity that we like.
It may be learning languages or whatever else we feel is
suitable for us. Even this mentioned GPS-free driving, zumba,
orientation runs, some kind of computer games, chess, cards
playing, whatever...
#Post#: 19932--------------------------------------------------
Re: How foreign language learning is good for your brain and is
immersion better?
By: MartinSR Date: May 2, 2020, 4:03 am
---------------------------------------------------------
[quote author=SHL link=topic=1439.msg19923#msg19923
date=1587854251]
Here‘s a great article on the positive benefits of language
learning. It’s mentions immersion being a bit more effective
that old fashioned language instruction. Do you agree? I think a
combination is the most effective for adults (over age 18 or
so):
What do you think?
HTML https://www.theguardian.com/education/2014/sep/04/what-happens-to-the-brain-language-learning
[/quote]
Talking about the immersion... In my opinion it should be the
essential part (at least 50%) of the learning process, for most
people... maybe except for the individuals who learn just for
the learning itself (being rewarded by the learning activity -
I met a few such people). I don't say it must be from the very
beginning done by travelling to a distant land and talking to
natives. The best results are when the learner can watch videos
of his own choice, read books which are in the range of his
professional interests or hobbies, talk to people about whatever
he wishes to. These things give almost immediate reward and may
be introduced at a very early stage when someone knows a few
hundreds of words and a few most used grammar constructions.
Most of us need this feeling we learn for some purpose, even
though this purpose may have nothing in common with our careers
and earning money.
On the other hand relying on the immersion only may slow down
the learning process or limit our level to the one when we are
satisfied by using the language in situations on which our
everyday lives depend.
It was interesting to read about the problems with hearing the
difference between the 'r' and 'l' sounds... and about the
method of overcoming these problems.
From my point of view, I see many Polish people who learned
English in a few recent decades have little to no problems with
the 'th' sounds. It's probably because of the better teaching
methods and the immersion possibilities. We have no similar
sounds in Polish, so the best solution is to teach the learner
how to produce it (or at least produce something close, which
will not be confused with other sounds). When I hear people
older than me, speaking even fluent English, I realise that
many of them put one of these: d z w / t s f in place of th. And
talking to a few of them I realised it's not a problem with
producing the sound, they say that they hear native speakers
pronounce it like that. It seems strange that two people
listening to the same sounds hear them completely different way.
It may me sometimes connect to having the 'musical ear', but not
always.
Another thought that came to my mind is that we consider some
dialects or accents as easier to understand when they use more
familiar sounds. It's not a problem with young people who were
taught differently, but I feel comfortable hearing 'r' spoken by
the Scottish or American people. The way people in England speak
sound much softer and beautiful to me, but... I'm always nervous
about how much will I understand of it. Is it the lack of strong
'r' that prevents me from detecting the words I well know?
*****************************************************