This skill can protect against dementia
Learning another language has many proven health benefits, but new research has identified another perk of bilingualism, and it’s got to be the best yet. The University of Montreal study found that the ability to speak more than one language protects against dementia and other age-related conditions causing cognitive decline.
In addition, bi- and multilinguals have the added benefit of improving brain power efficiency and being less prone to distraction. “After years of daily practice managing interference between two languages, bilinguals become experts at selecting relevant information and ignoring information that can distract from a task,” lead author Dr Ana Inés Ansaldo explained.
For their study, researchers asked two groups of seniors (one group of monolinguals and one of bilinguals) to complete a task that involved blocking out distractions and “focusing on visual information while ignoring spatial information”. They found that the bilinguals used less brain power to complete the task, suggesting their brains are more efficient than those of us who can only speak one language.
Fortunately, you don’t need to spend thousands on language courses or overseas trips to get started. Here are some affordable (if not free) ways you can learn a new language.
1. Online – There’s hundreds of websites and apps offering language courses for free (or for a small fee). Duolingo is one of the most popular apps available for Apple and Android devices, offering 22 languages for free. The BBC’s Languages site and Google Translate are also wonderful free resources.
2. In person – The University of the Third Age (U3A) has branches all across the country, offering a variety of language courses (and many other subjects) for a small annual fee. Alliance Française and similar organisations also offer affordable, comprehensive classes.
3. Solo – Prefer to do it yourself without needing the internet? There’s a reason why the old-fashioned methods of reading and writing and grammar books are still used today – because they work. Click here to see our picks for the best language learning books.
4. Culture – If you’ve learned a language previously only to find yourself a bit rusty these days, grab some books, movies, TV shows and music in the language you need to refresh. You’ll be surprised at how much you probably remember.
Are you bilingual? What other language do you speak? Let us know in the comment section below.