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It is never too late to learn a new skill, and here is why..

29/7/2019

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The saying goes “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks” but that is not entirely true. Dogs may struggle to learn new tricks as they get older but in humans it is not so. In fact, the human brain is often hungry to continually expand and try to learn something new. Growing up, many of us dream, there were things we wanted to do that for any number of reasons could not happen in childhood.

Many adults look on as teenagers, even groups of younger kids excel at doing things they could only dream of, Skiing, computer programming, playing the piano or speaking Spanish, French or even Mandarin. The adults look on, and for some reason they believe it is too late to learn now and write it off and wish the kids a happy future.

It is never too late to learn something new and many university professors around the world would agree. One of these is Professor Jennifer Raymond, an associate professor of neurobiology at Stanford University, who has studied brain plasticity. Understanding how the brain is wired, is rewired and continues to do so, has shown that while it is best to learn as the brain is developing up to the age of twenty, the brain can learn at any age.
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Yes, the learning is slowed down a little but why is that?  The reason is quite simple. The reason is the fear of making a mistake. The brain matures, information is stored and more negative influences come into play. The negative influences become barriers, whereas in children there are fewer of these and they learn faster.  If the negative connotations can be overcome, it is possible to learn anything at any age.
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One of the easiest things for children to learn at a young age is language. Children living in multilingual homes pick both or each language up naturally. For an adult moving in, it would take a while to learn. Likewise, at school, children learn the language or anything new for that matter more quickly than adults do. Everything is about fear.  For adults learning to ski, the fear is not the fear of being unable ski but the fear that they will look stupid. It is a crazy barrier to overcome and it is all in the mind, well, much of it is anyhow.
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With a language, the way in which it is taught makes all the difference for an adult. Rather than focusing on the mechanics of the language as so many schools do, encouraging people to converse with others in that language is a far better method. People who want to learn a language will be put off by trying to learn all the technicalities; they just want to speak it. Learning a language with other speakers who know you want to learn, makes a difference. They know you will make mistakes but they will not ridicule you but rather point out the error and encourage you. This is how VLLC teaches language, they give you the confidence to communicate.

Anything, including another language, can be learnt at any age when we put our minds to it. “You can’t teach an old dog a new trick” is rubbish, older dogs, well people actually, have a lot more to give, and if they are determined to learn, they will do so better. All they need is some encouragement.

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The Benefits of being bilingual..

24/7/2019

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In 1922, the philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein wrote, “The limits of my language mean the limits of my world.” The words that we have at our disposal affect what we see—and the more words there are, the better our perception. When we learn to speak a different language, we learn to see a bigger world.   
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Language is the instrument of expressing culture and new knowledge.   Many modern language researchers agree with this premise. Not only does speaking multiple languages help us to communicate with a variety of people but bilingualism is great for the developing brain. A bilingual child has the ability to switch between languages, and because of this, the theory goes, he/she develops enhanced executive control, or the ability to effectively manage what are called higher cognitive processes, such as problem-solving, memory, and thought. She/he becomes better able to inhibit some responses and promote others. In summary, a child emerges with a more flexible and agile mind. This is a phenomenon that researchers call, the Bilingual Advantage.  

I understand first-hand the benefits of being bilingual as my family life is multicultural and I work at a language centre where all the staff speak a minimum of 2 languages.    

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On a personal level some of the benefits include:
  1. The ability to engage and be part of two different and diverse cultures and communities; two different customs, habits, food, lifestyles and ways of viewing the world.  It continually challenges my habit of thinking that my cultural perspective is the only one that is right.
  2. The continual expansion of my mind; one of the areas where the bilingual advantage appears to be most persistent isn’t related to a particular skill or task: it’s a general benefit that seems to help the aging brain. Adults who speak multiple languages seem to resist the effects of dementia far better than monolinguals do.
  3. Being in a world where there are two cultural norms creates greater tolerance and open mindedness.
  4. Having learned my second language as an adult, I understand what it takes to learn a language and therefore have more empathy for non-English speakers.
  5. It continually expands my horizons. I tend to notice things that I have never noticed before (about people and cultures) and I have learned things that I would never have thought about in my own world.
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On a travel level some of the benefits include:
  1. Language helps you make friends and acquaintances and you are able to have a deeper understanding about the culture and country – rather than just be a tourist.
  2. You don’t get “ripped off” when you travel.
  3. You can find out the places where locals go, rather than stick to the tourist destinations.
  4. Travelling is not a superficial experience - you have the ability to discover the real country, rather than the ‘tourist brochure’ country. 
I still get a thrill every time I go to Russia and sit in a café and chat with the locals.  I discover so much about life and people and it’s just good fun…….. Most people I know would love to speak another language and be bilingual. Some hope for all the monolinguals in the world is that language learning has nothing to do with how smart you are. One of my favourite quotes about languages is ...
"Think of the dumbest person you know. They speak at least one language fluently." - author unknown.

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Joanne Ammerlaan is the National Manager at Vocational Language Learning Centre. She is married to a Russian man and her family life is a blend of Australian and Russian cultures.
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Speaking out loud..

24/7/2019

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At the moment, in our Melbourne Centre, we have a few students who are learning English as true beginners –when they started they could only say ‘Hello’ and ‘thank you’…

It is interesting to watch that they are having EXACTLY the same problems that we all have in our foreign language journey, yet they are LIVING IN AUSTRALIA, so surrounded by people who speak English. As I have mentioned in many of my blogs, language learning is NOT osmosis – just by living in a country doesn’t mean that you will automatically learn and speak it. You need to do a few things to make it happen.

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Doing your online lesson, tutorials and homework are a great start – but you can supercharge your learning by spending time – even 5-10 minutes a day practising random sentences OUT LOUD to yourself.  When you speak aloud, your brain is actually listening to yourself speak and becomes accustomed to you speaking your new language. It begins to sound normal and you are training your brain to accept your new skill.  You can double the efficiency of your learning ability if you say the words and sentences aloud while reading them. Once your brain has accepted that you are an English, Russian, Spanish speaker – it will start to help you achieve your goal. The more you speak your language, the easier it will become.  Language learning is cumulative – as you build up your phrases, sentences and vocabulary you are building a critical mass of information that will start to form part of your new language brain.
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Don’t make excuses that you need to have someone to talk to; that you need to be in the country etc etc.  Start talking aloud, start practising and it will come….
Happy learning
Jo


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Does age rule you out of further study?

16/7/2019

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Does age rule you out of further study?
This is a very interesting concept. My father is the co-founder of VLLC. After retirement, he became bored and decided to  commence a Masters in Linguistics at the age of 76. He completed his degree in his 80th year. He received a standing ovation on the stage when accepting his Masters certificate at his graduation, when students, a quarter of his age, stood up to recognise his achievement as amazing. The respect in the room was deeply touching, as none of them knew him personally, but realising he was an older student, were sharing in the excitement of his accomplishment.
What this proved to me was, that you are never too old to learn. Here at VLLC we encourage those who now have the time to enjoy learning, to do so. Finally being able to devote some "me" time to a lifelong dream of learning to speak another language and maybe using that skill to start a new adventure by visiting an overseas country.   
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Ludwig Wittgenstein said that “The limits of my language are the limits of my universe”. If you are interested in  truly experiencing a foreign country, do more than just take photos and post them on social media, to get to know the locals, to read signs, menus, etc., knowing the local language is necessary and will make your travel experiences so much better.
A basic ability in a foreign language will help you:
  1. To enable you to safely navigate around your destination.
  2. to immerse yourself in the culture more fully,
  3. to enable you to meet people with very diverse life experiences and outlooks.
  4. to ensure you can order food and drink, find your way around, buy tickets, etc.
  5. to have a more advanced knowledge of the language, you can have real conversations with the people you meet, which can be very interesting and will add a new dimension to your holiday, you may even establish lifelong friendships. 
Learning a foreign language can revolutionise your retirement and your travel experience. Don't put it off. Start your language journey today!
Michele Colledge
CEO VLLC Aust

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    These blogs are about learning a foreign language and how utilising that skill can help to keep your mind active and assist with your cognitive function.

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