Learning New Languages

By Desert Woman -



Do you speak more than one language?  Have you thought about learning new languages?  If not, you should:


-What is not so obvious are the cognitive benefits that take place when you do.

-Understanding language is one of the hardest things your brain does, making it the ultimate brain exercise.

-Thus, learning a foreign language is one of the most effective and practical ways to increase intelligence, keep your mind sharp, and buffer your brain against aging.


Presently, I am using a free online program called Duolingo.  I study Italian, German and Spanish.  I know a modicum of French from having taken years of it in high school.   


The biggest challenge for me in studying languages is in the comprehension, understanding what the speaker is saying.  Reading and writing are much easier to grasp.


I highly recommend trying that program. There are many languages to choose from on Duolingo, including not only the Romance  and Slavic languages, but more exotic ones such as Hebrew and Greek.  It’s fun and it’s challenging.  So instead of an hour of watching mind-numbing TV, build some new neural pathways by working on learning a new language.


Thoughts, comments?




 

Popular posts from this blog

The Bridge: Suicide Isn't Painless

By -
Image
The theme song to the 1970 movie MASH is called "Suicide is Painless." It isn't, in ways I will try to explain. First of all, let's look at the act itself. Many suicide attempts are horribly botched. I recently asked an emergency medical technician what was the most unusual call he ever dealt with, and his immediate reply was someone who shot himself in the head with a .45 and survived. Rather than getting rid of his worldly problems, the man made them infinitely worse, not only for himself but many others as well. Several years ago, I watched a documentary film called The Bridge (2006) , which was about the people that jumped from the Golden Gate Bridge over the course of a year; 23 of the 24 (known) suicides from the bridge that year (2004) were recorded. Snuff films and/or anything related to them are far from my bag to say the least, but I felt compelled to watch this documentary, as my only brother killed himself by jumping from a bridge elsewhere...
Read more