A Smith’s School of English Kawanishi student, who is in her sixties, told me that she was studying English for prevention of senility. I found this very interesting. There are many reasons why my students of English study English with me in Kawanishi. Some study it for their jobs, some for travel, some for English tests and some as a hobby. However studying English for prevention of senility (dementia), was new to me, so I did some research.
According to studies made, being able to speak a second language (such as English) could delay the normal cognitive decline that occurs with aging which can bring memory loss. In addition, should dementia occur, being bilingual can delay its onset. In the case of patients who have been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease (a common form of dementia), studies show that the onset of symptoms of the disease are delayed with bilingual people. Bilingual peoples’ brains seem to work better and longer after developing the disease than monolingual peoples’ brains. Why? Well it seems that using a second language improves the cognitive ability of the brain, keeping it sharp. Simply put, using two languages gives you a good mental workout which helps fight off normal cognitive decline and dementia. Very interesting! More great reasons to study English at Smith’s School of English Kawanishi! (^.^)
Derek
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