TeechConsult's GELLpad

Using more than one language delays Alzheimer (brain) disease

Nov, 2010 — A Canadian science team has found dramatic evidence that speaking two languages can help delay the onset of Alzheimer's symptoms by as much as five years.

The latest study, led by Baycrest's Rotman Research Institute, examined the clinical records of more than 200 patients diagnosed with probable Alzheimer's disease.

The researchers found that those who have spoken two or more languages consistently over many years experienced a delay in the onset of their symptoms by as much as five years. The study is published in the November 9th issue of the science journal 'Neurology'.

The science team includes cognitive researcher Dr. Fergus Craik of the Rotman Research Institute; Dr. Ellen Bialystok of York University, an expert in bilingualism research; and Dr. Morris Freedman, a clinician in the diagnosis and treatment of Alzheimer's and other dementias.

Real problems of young Malaysians studying English - Case study 01

From Fokus SPM magazine, 'Living English with Teech Airil', September 2007
Time Out: “Hello there Teech, can we ask you something please?”

Untuk majalah Fokus bulan ini, kita berhenti sebentar membincangkan proses menjadi Good English Language Learner (GELL). Saya ingin berkongsi dengan anda beberapa emel yang saya terima dari pembaca setia Fokus, bertanyakan tentang Bahasa Inggeris dan aspek penguasaannya. Dilema, konflik dan masalah yang dihadapi oleh mereka, mungkin juga masalah yang sedang atau akan anda hadapi…

“Teech, I have no friends to speak in English. I don’t disturb them but then they will say that I am pretending to be good or clever and sometimes I even hear my friends labelling me as arrogant if I speak in English. If this is my reality, how am I going to improve my English? Continue to speak ‘alone’ in English or what?” – from Nadya

Dilema Nadya bukan pertama kali kita dengar malah ia sesuatu yang sering berlaku di sekolah, mungkin juga di sekolah anda! Aneh bukan? Teman-teman anda yang sepatutnya berkerja keras untuk menguasai Bahasa Inggeris hanya kuat berdengki dan cepat pula mengutuk – Perangai yang amat buruk dan bodoh pada hemat saya!

Voices 5 - Your background and English

A person’s learning background is made up of many factors, including good and bad experiences, long, hard work and anxious moments. It has been influenced by encounters with different languages and cultures, by teachers, assessments and feedback, various learning environments and education systems.

Another very important factor is your own view of yourself and your English language learning. You bring this history with you to every new language learning situation. It does not necessarily directly explain your current problems, but reflecting on it and writing or discussing it may help you to become a better learner. It may help, for example, with any anxiety you may experience in English language learning situations at school, college or university.

Critical reflection may help you get rid of some attitudes or beliefs that are giving a negative impact on your English language learning.

 

Voices 4 - Your personality and English

As part of their personality, everybody has an individual learning style which determines they way they concentrate on, absorb, process and retain new and difficult information.

Many dimensions of learning style have been recognized. For example, learners differ according to whether they are visual (sight), auditory (hearing) or kinaesthetic (movement). Other personality factors that have been identified are extroversion/introversion, deductive/inductive, concrete, analytical, communicative and authority-oriented.

Other social scientists have suggested that there are four learning styles: the activist, who is open-minded, not sceptical and always ready to try; the theorist, who focuses on the grammar or morphology of a language before having the confidence to produce it. S/he likes to go step-by-step in a logical way; the reflector, who wants to see the patterns in language before trying something new and prefers to think things through first; and the pragmatist, who takes the practical approach, picking up new words or structures and immediately trying to use them. What about your own learning style?

 

Voices 3 - Your motivation and English

Motivation has been defined as the urge to create and sustain intentions and goal-seeking acts. The more motivated you are, the more you are likely to be actively involved in your learning and to take a positive attitude.

Motivation is not one single entity and many factors are involved. The applied linguists Oxford and Shearin have picked out six factors that have an influence on motivation in language learning: attitudes, beliefs, goals, involvement, environmental support and personal attributes.

Attitudes: How do you feel towards learning and using English? / Beliefs: Do you think that you will be able to become a good language learner? / Goals: What are your current and future targets in terms of English? / Involvement: Do you play an active role in English language discussions in your classroom? / Environmental support: Does your English teacher, family members and friends support your English language learning? / Personal attributes: Are you capable of working very hard and not giving up in the process of becoming a GELL?

 

Voices 2 - Your English language skills

Language skills have traditionally been divided into reading, writing, speaking and listening skills, and further into areas like grammar and vocabulary. These divisions are also reflected in most teaching approaches and testing.

Now, however, a broader view is taken: language should also be used appropriately in terms of the specific context. The complexity of language skills is also acknowledged today: there is a significant link between skills and attitudes, beliefs, personality, learning strategies, motivation, teachers’ personalities, methodology as well as our own conceptions of our personal language skills.

The differences that students typically describe between their production skills (speaking and writing) and their comprehension skills (reading and listening) may have something to do with their own language learning background in terms of the quantity and quality of practice.

Good self-evaluation skills are needed to complement external feedback (such as exam results), so that the learners’ perceptions of their own skills are realistic and comprehensive. Talk to your English teacher, tuition tutor or lecturer and ask them to give an honest assessment of your skills. Ask them to help you by giving feedback on your language skills based on your actual ability and future potential!

 

Voices 1 - Your English language needs

What specific English language skills and purposes are important for you now, no matter if you are in school, college or at university level? How about later when you start your dream career?

What factors affect your language learning needs? Is it the requirements of your teachers, your future career choice, your motivation, your ideas about languages and yourself as a language learner?

Needs arise from a combination of factors. It’s worth thinking about these factors, bearing in mind that needs may be very concrete, such as to get the best score for your examination or more psychological, for example to gain the courage to speak up in English language discussions in your classroom.