Asya Kazantsev - about how learning a foreign language affects the brain

The cerebral cortex grows thicker

Learning foreign languages ​​makes our brains more. It used to be that for the speech and its perception of certain parts of the brain are responsible. For grammar, such as Broca's area, with the semantics - Wernicke's area. But not so long ago, scientists discovered that a few still understated. To speak and understand it, you need a whole brain completely.

When we think, say or hear something about the objects, their shape, color and other characteristics, all of our brain takes in this process actively.

So, the more we think, the more we strain "muscle" in the skull, the stronger it becomes.

Learning foreign languages, we have a lot of thinking, with a wide variety of subjects, colors and shapes. The conclusion is obvious: learning a new language is useful! And there are scientific evidence.

We decided once the scientists conduct an experiment

Growth of language-related brain areas after foreign language learning and to make the Swedish scouts learn foreign languages. And not some English, but something a little more complicated: Persian, Arabic and Russian. As a control group were invited to medical students, who also have to strain your brain properly. After three months, we compared the results and found that the translators scouts thickening of the cortex was significantly greater than that of the students.

By the way, if you learn a second language from birth, cerebral cortex of this does not get better.

It seems that the increase in the density of gray matter / the thickness of the crust is characteristic rather for those who have started to learn a second language after the development of the first than for those who were bilinguals with early childhood.

Asya Kazantsev, science journalist

At the same time, if the child is immersed in the language environment of up to 7 years old, he easily learn a new language. But if it grows beyond that of the environment, and teaches a new language in parallel with the family, then there will be an adult handicap. We, the adults, to learn the language better, because we have more developed logic, and lack of life experience.

And one more news for parents: no matter the age of 8 or 11 your child began to learn a second language, to 16 years of knowledge and understanding of equals. So why pay more, that is, to teach longer?

We begin to think rationally

Another interesting experimentYour Morals Depend on Language Scientists have spent in trying to figure out how to develop new languages ​​affect the brain.

Imagine a train that is hurtling along the rails. Ahead on the track are five people who firmly attached. You can save them by moving the arrows. Then the die is only one person who is also attached to the rails.

This question was posed to the subjects of the three groups:

• Spaniards in Spanish;
• Spaniards, who knew English above average, in English;
• Spaniards, who knew English below average in English.

As a result, almost 80% of all respondents agreed that it is necessary to sacrifice one to save the five and that is to translate the arrow.

After that, the same comrade asked a little more complicated. The same train on the rails the same five people. But you can save them, throwing off a bridge chubby man that his body will stop the train.

And this is where the answers were interesting:

• Only 20% of Spaniards, when asked in Spanish, agreed to throw a bridge person.
• Among those who understood well in English - about 40%.
• Among those who understand English much worse - 50%.

It turns out that when we think in a foreign language, the brain focuses on the main task, rejecting morality, compassion, and other things that impede rational decision.

When I want to quarrel with her husband, then I turn to English. So I was much more difficult to articulate a claim so that they looked logical. Therefore, the quarrel is stopped and it began.

Asya Kazantsev, science journalist

Knowledge of languages ​​may delay Alzheimer's disease

Elderly people to learn foreign languages ​​is no more difficult than the young. The main thing - to choose the right methods and materials for the study. In this case, those who know at least one foreign language at a good level, win over the disease about five years of life. Not bad for a hobby.