French Class: Taking Your Brain to the Gym
For many of us, learning a foreign language in high school ranks right up there with math and science as our least favorite subject. Along with my classmates, I struggled for years conjugating French verbs as I tried to wrap my tongue around the infamous French “r.” I even studied abroad in French-speaking Geneva, Switzerland for three months in college. Upon my college graduation I, like most Americans, promptly left all that work behind in pursuit of a career.
And yet, every Tuesday afternoon, the sounds of a French class drift down the hall to my office door at Cornell Estates Retirement and Assisted Living. I was curious. Everyone says it’s much more difficult to learn a language when you’re older. But is that true?
There was only one way to find out: I joined the class. To my surprise, I discovered that “everyone” is wrong. It isn’t any more difficult to learn a language past school-age, but it is challenging in different ways. The most difficult part is forming the sounds correctly and not being afraid to speak. Children don’t mind if they say something incorrectly; it matters a great deal to adults.
On the plus side, I and my fellow classmates have picked up a few skills through our life-long learning. We’ve already learned to speak one language (possibly more) and can already read in our own language. We have study strategies, tricks for memorization, and a wealth of experience to draw upon. In other words, we adults are better at intentional learning.
To back up my observations, I did a little research. As it turns out, I was not the first to reach these conclusions! Professor Catherine Snow, Harvard School of Graduate Education, has written extensively on the subject. She said in an interview:
“The evidence clearly demonstrates that there is no critical period for second-language learning, no biologically determined constraint on language-learning capacity that emerges at a particular age, nor any maturational process which requires that older language learners function differently than younger language learners.”
But no matter when we learn a second language, the process is never easy. It involves a lot of memorization, critical thinking, and real-world application. And during the mental workout, your brain makes new pathways, new connections, and discovers new ways of thinking. As Carol Wheeler once remarked, “Learning a new language is like taking your brain to the gym.”
Happy Fourth of July! We invite you and your families to tap your toes and clap your hands with us as we head into downtown Hillsboro on Monday, July 4th. Pull up a patch of shade as we watch the annual Hillsboro Fourth of July Parade at the Walters Center. They will provide water and refreshments.
