As studying abroad affects the brain

When you speak English, not only in the classroom but also on the bus, in the supermarket, at dinner, the brain is reconstructed. Exactly how this happens - we understand with the International School of English Kaplan.

Learning a language abroad - a cool experience that helps you find new friends, see the world and raisesQS Global Employer Survey Report 2011 the chances of finding a good job. Dive into the environment makes the learning process more interesting and efficient. This is because in an unfamiliar environment, our brain works differently.

Foreign language is perceived as a native

When teaching abroad people surrounded by people who speak only in a foreign language. This total immersion causes the brain to change and to connect the same algorithmsSecond Language Processing Shows Increased Native-Like Neural Responses after Months of No ExposureThat when speaking in their native language.

It is empirically proven, scientists at Georgetown University Medical Center. They conducted an experiment

People were taught in different ways: some with the help of teaching materials, others - by immersion in the environment. Navigate the language in a few days began to members of both groups. However, during the measurement of brain activity readings, scientists have noted that only "a group of dive" applies grammar rules in the new language as naturally as in home. People from the traditional class used them as a memorized knowledge.

Five months after the experiment, scientists have tested again. It was found that all the participants will remember the grammar of fictional language, but only "dive group" can use it in the speech as a second mother.

IN Kaplan English language schools Learning takes place in an atmosphere of total immersion into the medium. Students leave for the US, Canada, UK, Ireland, Australia or New Zealand, and are engaged in groups of 12-15 courses from two weeks up to a year. All lessons are held exclusively in English, and students come from around the world. Consolidate knowledge and get even more practice helping a cultural program and conversation clubs, organized by the school. In some schools, you can participate in other creative projects: to play in the theater or prepare weekly newscasts.

Improved cognitive abilities

Immersion in a foreign language environment and improves the well-coachedLanguage Experience Changes Language and Cognitive Ability cognitive (ie, cognitive) abilities. It is surrounded by people who speak only in a foreign language, a person:

• trains concentration;
• effectively sorts the information on the significant and unnecessary;
• less distracted by stimuli.

according to a studyThe Foreign-Language Effect: Thinking in a Foreign Tongue Reduces Decision Biases University of Chicago scientists, dive into the environment positively affects the ability to make decisions.

Teachers in schools Kaplan use academic developments that the company honed over 80 years. The program is based on its own system of K +, which consists of tutorials, applications, online games and resources for after-hour practice. All training materials provide school professionals. They keep track of changes in the language and constantly updating textbooks.

Develop the ability to multi-task

While studying abroad, people constantly use two languages ​​in question. For example, English in the classroom and meet new friends, and Russian - to call home, and correspondence with friends. This involves jugglingBilingualism as a model for multitasking the executive functions of the brain, which are responsible for performing multiple tasks at once.

The ability to multi-task is saved and after mastering a foreign language. This fact has been confirmed by several studies: the Stroop testMultilingual Stroop performance: Effects of trilingualism and proficiency on inhibitory control, Binet-Simon testBilingualism and the Simon effect: A multimodal approach and flankingConflict monitoring in bilingual language comprehension? Evidence from a bilingual flanker task task.

Increases brain volume

With continued use in the speech of the two languages ​​in the brain growsBilinguals of two spoken languages ​​have more gray matter than monolinguals number of gray matter. It is responsible for the amount of memory, intelligible speech, self-monitoring and cognitive functions.

grayGrey Matter Definition substance - nervous tissue formed neuronal bodies. It is located in the cerebral cortex, cerebellar cortex and deep structures of the brain. Gray Matter is responsible for supplying signals to the muscles, sensory perception, memory, emotions and speech.

Immersion in a new language environment also allows you to increase the amount of whiteEffects of bilingualism on white matter integrity in older adults substances, especially in the area of ​​the corpus callosum. This allows the left and right hemispheres of the faster and more efficient exchange of information.

whiteWhite matter of the brain substance is in deep (basal) of the brain tissues. It consists of axons - nerve cell processes - covered with myelin. It accelerates the transfer of nerve impulses from the brain to the body and protects the nerve fibers from injury.

It improves memory

Man, immersed in another language environment, receiving and processing new information all the time, even when not in the classroom. This not only helps to accelerate the process of language learning, but also improves memoryBilinguals' Working Memory (WM) Advantage and Their Dual Language Practices. People who know two languages, better remember names, shopping lists and names of streets.

In Kaplan there are 40 schools in different parts of the world. You are free to choose where to study: in the bustling metropolis, tranquil town or on campus. The advantage is at all options. For example, if you go to New York, you will take classes in the skyscraper Empire State Building, studying in Cambridge will be able to to attend open lectures at Cambridge University, and the Australian Perth spare time to do surfing or diving. To study did not prohibitively expensive, school staff help students find affordable housing: selected host families or in a student dormitory.

Last summer I went to the Kaplan school in California. Three weeks later I was in high school in San Diego, and after I had 5 weeks of free travel for the US and return to San Francisco. I did not book in advance, and before leaving it turned out that accommodation in this city insanely expensive. Then I spontaneously decided to enroll at a school in San Francisco. It turned out that the so goes even cheaper - I quickly found a place in the residence. So I spent another 2 excellent weeks at the school in San Francisco. After two months in the US, I feel that it is not just studying and traveling, but really living in this country.

Patlay Natalia, a student at Kaplan

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