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i speak decent SpanishBegan working as a news and sports reporter in Spain several decades ago, Mexico And argentina,
Now I report from tokyoEven after seven years I don’t understand JapaniMy weekly language classes have taught me humility more than anything else,
Ayaka Ono, my current Japanese teacher, estimates that she has taught about 600 students over 15 years. Their age is mostly between 20 and 50. I am more than a decade older than him.
“I think older students take small steps and then fall back,” Ono-san – “san” is a respectful word in Japanese to show respect – tells me. “They can’t concentrate for long. I teach something one minute and the next minute they forget.”
It is well established that children find it easier to learn second languages. In recent years, scientists have studied whether being bilingual can help reduce the loss of memory and mental acuity that comes with the aging brain. Most research on the potential benefits has involved people who spoke two or more languages for most of their lives, not older adult learners.
“Science shows that managing two languages in your brain – throughout your life – makes your brain more efficient, more resilient and more protected against cognitive decline,” said Ellen Bialystok, a distinguished research professor emeritus at York University in Toronto, who is credited with putting forward the idea of a possible “bilingual advantage” in the late 1980s.
There’s good news for older people like me: It’s worth the effort to learn a new language, and not just because it makes it easier to read menus when traveling abroad. Cognitive neuroscientist Bialystok recommends studying a new language at any age, comparing the challenge to word puzzles and brain-training games that are promoted to slow the onset of dementia.
“Trying to learn a language late in life is a good idea, but understand that it will not make you bilingual and is probably too late to provide the protective effects of cognitive aging that come from early bilingualism,” he told The Associated Press. “However, learning a new language is a stimulating and engaging activity that uses your whole brain, so it’s like a whole-body exercise.”
latest research
A large study published by the science journal Nature Aging in November shows that speaking multiple languages protects the brain from aging more rapidly, and the effect increases with the number of languages.
The findings, based on research involving 87,149 healthy people aged 51 to 90, “underscore the important role of multilingualism in promoting healthy aging trajectories,” the authors wrote.
The researchers acknowledged the study’s limitations, including a sample population drawn from only 27 European countries with “diverse linguistic and socio-political contexts.”
Bialystok was not involved in the project, but has conducted research on second language acquisition in children and adults, including whether being bilingual delays the progression of Alzheimer’s disease or aids in multi-tasking and problem-solving. He said the new study “ties all the pieces together.”
“Over the life span, people who have managed and used two languages have brains that are in better shape and more flexible,” he said.
Judith Kroll, a cognitive psychologist who heads the Bilingualism, Mind, and Brain Laboratory at the University of California, Irvine, used the expressions “mental athletics” and “mental somersaults” to describe how the brain works in more than one language.
He noted that many efforts have been made to examine language learning and its effects in older adults.
“I would say there probably haven’t been enough studies yet to be completely sure about this,” she told the AP. “But the evidence we have is very promising, suggesting that older adults are certainly capable of learning new languages and benefiting from that learning.”
More study is needed on whether language lessons help people maintain certain cognitive abilities in midlife and beyond. Kroll compared the situation in the field to that of the late 20th century, when the dominant thinking was that exposing infants and young children to two or more languages caused them educational harm.
“What we know now is the opposite,” she said.
learning a language later in life
When I worked in Madrid in the 1990s, I visited Spain’s Mediterranean coast. I was surprised by how many non-Spaniards had lived in the country for years and could only speak a few words in Spanish.
Now I understand. When I attempt Japanese, the response is often incredulity, “And how long have you been here?”
I have solutions to deal with my hostile linguistic environment. One saying “Itsumono.” It means “the same as always,” or “usual.” It is enough to order a morning coffee at a neighborhood café or lunch at one of the many regular stops.
On the one hand, Japanese is one of the most difficult languages for English speakers, along with Arabic, Cantonese, Korean, and Mandarin. Romance languages like French, Italian, or Spanish are easy.
My once-a-week classes are rigorous, and one hour is my limit. I use this analogy: My brain is a closet without enough empty hangers, and the Japanese keep nothing in my wardrobe. The writing system is intimidating to an English speaker, the order of words is reversed, and politeness is given more importance than clarity.
During the 4 1/2 years I reported from Rio de Janeiro, I came to know Portunol — an improvised mix of Spanish and Portuguese — and the patience of Brazilians. There is no such halfway house for the Japanese. You either say it or you don’t.
I’ll never get beyond preschool level in Japanese, but the burden of lessons may work on my mind in the same way my regular weight-training sessions help maintain physical strength.
My Japanese teacher Ono-san called language-learning apps “better than nothing.” Bialystok said technology can be a useful learning tool, “but of course using the language in real situations with other people is essential to progress.”
“If older people try to learn a new language, you’re not going to be very successful. You’re not going to become bilingual,” Bialystok said. “But the experience of trying to learn a language is good for your brain. So that’s what I say. What’s hard for your brain is good for your brain. And learning a language, especially in later life, is hard but good for your brain.”