rdearman Senior Member United Kingdom rdearman.orgRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5032 days ago 881 posts - 1812 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Italian, French, Mandarin
| Message 1 of 4 02 June 2014 at 10:26am | IP Logged |
Saw an interesting article on the BBC about a study done on bi-ligualism.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-27634990
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shk00design Triglot Senior Member Canada Joined 4240 days ago 747 posts - 1123 votes Speaks: Cantonese*, English, Mandarin Studies: French
| Message 2 of 4 02 June 2014 at 10:18pm | IP Logged |
Thanks for sharing.
Besides language, there are other factors including diet, exercise, your attitude. I know a lady who plays
flute & piccolo. At age 91 with mobility problems she belongs to 3 bands. Besides performing regularly,
she arranges music for the groups. In terms of language she speaks English and used to teach high
school drama class in French. As a member of a band, I perform regularly as well.
Many of us living in Canada came from other non-English-speaking countries. Naturally we'd be
bilingual. Learning any more languages we'd be multilingual. A month ago our family had a wedding.
Many of the out of town guests lived in Hong Kong. Being fluent in both languages we were conversing
back and forth in English & Chinese.
When we get older, finding an activity such as painting, photography etc. to keep active will keep
yourself active and slow the aging process...
Edited by shk00design on 02 June 2014 at 10:25pm
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sctroyenne Diglot Senior Member United StatesRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5187 days ago 739 posts - 1312 votes Speaks: English*, French Studies: Spanish, Irish
| Message 3 of 4 02 June 2014 at 10:43pm | IP Logged |
shk00design wrote:
When we get older, finding an activity such as painting, photography
etc. to keep active will keep
yourself active and slow the aging process... |
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Also keeping your world "large" helps. Many elderly people become more and more reclusive
and their peers start dying off so their world grows smaller (a problem we're having with
my mother who telecommutes so rarely leaves the house). Knowing multiple languages would
also mean being open to multiple cultures and "worlds" which I imagine helps a lot as
well.
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shk00design Triglot Senior Member Canada Joined 4240 days ago 747 posts - 1123 votes Speaks: Cantonese*, English, Mandarin Studies: French
| Message 4 of 4 03 June 2014 at 4:00am | IP Logged |
sctroyenne wrote:
Also keeping your world "large" helps. Many elderly people become more and more
reclusive and their peers start dying off so their world grows smaller (a problem we're having with
my mother who telecommutes so rarely leaves the house). Knowing multiple languages would
also mean being open to multiple cultures and "worlds" which I imagine helps a lot as well. |
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When it comes to making new friends when you're older, it depends on how well you associate yourself
with the younger crowd. Some people are brought up in cultures where they are brought up around
extended families (relatives) and only occasionally socialize with others outside the family so knowing
several languages wouldn't help. Learning a new language like learning anything require time, discipline
and commitment. Older people like my parents may have mobility problems, failing eyesight & hearing.
They may not be willing or able to commit themselves to a language class even once a week. At the
same time they may feel at their age they won't be able to learn anything. My father once took classes in
Japanese but never went further than a few words & phrases. My mother managed to learn to type &
receive E-mail and watch TV shows on a portable tablet. Something that she did not grow up with. When
it comes to learning a music instrument or a new language there is still the perception she won't be able
to learn anything at her age.
Edited by shk00design on 03 June 2014 at 4:21am
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