Speaking four or more languages could lower risk of dementia — study

New research has found that having a strong ability for learning languages may help to reduce an individual’s risk of developing dementia.

Carried out by researchers at the University of Waterloo in Canada, the study looked at 325 Roman Catholic nuns in the United States who were taking part in the larger, internationally recognized Nun Study, which is a longitudinal study of religious sisters aged 75 and over.

The nuns were asked to report on how many languages they spoke, and 106 samples of the nuns’ written work were also provided for analysis.

The findings, published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, showed that just 6% of the nuns who spoke four or more languages developed dementia, compared to 31% of those who only spoke one language.

However, speaking two or three languages did not appear to have a significant effect on reducing dementia risk in this study, a finding which goes against those found in some previous studies.

When the researchers analyzed the nuns’ written work, they found that written linguistic ability appeared to have an even greater effect on reducing dementia risk than the ability to speak different languages.

“The Nun Study is unique. It is a natural experiment, with very different lives in childhood and adolescence before entering the convent, contrasted with very similar adult lives in the convent,” explained lead author Suzanne Tyas. “This gives us the ability to look at early-life factors on health later in life without worrying about all the other factors, such as socioeconomic status and genetics, which usually vary from person to person during adulthood and can weaken other studies.”


“Language is a complex ability of the human brain, and switching between different languages takes cognitive flexibility,” said Tyas. “So it makes sense that the extra mental exercise multilinguals would get from speaking four or more languages might help their brains be in better shape than monolinguals.”

“This study shows that while multilingualism may be important, we should also be looking further into other examples of linguistic ability,” Tyas stated.

“In addition, we need to know more about multilingualism and what aspects are important — such as the age when a language is first learned, how often each language is spoken and how similar or different these languages are,” she added. “This knowledge can guide strategies to promote multilingualism and other linguistic training to reduce the risk of developing dementia.” RGA/JB

source: technology.inquirer.net

Traveling to a foreign country? Google just named a language app as best app of 2018

A language learning app that promises to teach users the basics in as little as five minutes a day has been named Google Play’s Best App of 2018.

Drops is a visual-based learning system that teaches vocabulary through illustrations and fast-paced micro-games.

For travelers headed to a foreign country, the app might come in handy, particularly in restaurants, hotels and for public transport.

Because Drops doesn’t prioritize grammar. That’s more for people who want to become fluent in a language. Instead, the basic level focuses on vocabulary, teaching 1,700 words in 99 topics.

For languages like Korean, Japanese, Chinese, Hebrew, Arabic, Russian and Hindi, the app teaches a beginner alphabet course.

Users can also choose between different dialects and accents, from Mandarin or Cantonese Chinese, Castilian Spanish or Latin-American Spanish, American or British English to European Portuguese or Brazilian Portuguese.

Overall, the Drops app features 31 languages.

source: technology.inquirer.net

Music helps babies learn speech — study

MIAMI, United States — Babies who engage in musical play may have an easier time picking up language skills, suggested a study Monday.

US researchers compared nine-month-old babies who played with toys and trucks to those who practiced banging out a rhythm during a series of play sessions.

They found that the musical group showed more brain activity in regions involved with detecting patterns, an important skill when it comes to learning language.

“Our study is the first in young babies to suggest that experiencing a rhythmic pattern in music can also improve the ability to detect and make predictions about rhythmic patterns in speech,” said lead author Christina Zhao, a postdoctoral researcher the University of Washington’s Institute for Learning and Brain Sciences (I-LABS).

“This means that early, engaging musical experiences can have a more global effect on cognitive skills.”

The study was small, enrolling just 39 babies and their parents, who took part in a dozen 15-minute play sessions over the course of a month.

Twenty of the babies listened to recorded children’s music while they sat with their parents and helped pound out drum beats to music that included waltz rhythms and tunes like “Take Me Out to the Ballgame,” a baseball classic.

The other 19 babies also attended active play sessions that used toys and blocks, but without music.

“In both the music and control groups, we gave babies experiences that were social, required their active involvement and included body movements — these are all characteristics that we know help people learn,” Zhao said.

“The key difference between the play groups was whether the babies were moving to learn a musical rhythm.”

When the babies underwent brain scans — known as magnetoencephalography (MEG) — at the end of the month, researchers wanted to see how they differed.

So they had the babies listen to speech and music sounds that occasionally contained a disruption in the cadence, or flow of sound.

Babies in the music group showed stronger brain responses in both the auditory and the prefrontal cortex, which are involved in controlling attention and detecting patterns, the study found.

“Pattern perception is an important cognitive skill, and improving that ability early may have long-lasting effects on learning,” said co-author Patricia Kuhl, co-director of I-LABS.

“Schools across our nation are decreasing music experiences for our children, saying they are too expensive,” added Kuhl.

“This research reminds us that the effects of engaging in music go beyond music itself. Music experience has the potential to boost broader cognitive skills that enhance children’s abilities to detect, expect and react quickly to patterns in the world, which is highly relevant in today’s complex world.”

The study was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a peer-reviewed US journal.

source: technology.inquirer.net

Second language linked to better brain function after stroke

People who speak two languages are twice as likely as those who only speak one to regain normal cognitive function after a stroke, according to a new study.

In recent years it has become clear that life experiences modify the way disease expresses itself in the brain, said lead author Dr. Suvarna Alladi, a neurology professor at Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences in Hyderabad, India.

“One study in Toronto demonstrated that people who could speak two languages had later onset dementia,” Alladi told Reuters Health.

Using multiple languages challenges the brain, as it can be harder to find a particular word switching between languages, and this challenge promotes neuroplasticity or “cognitive reserve,” which prepares the brain to deal with new challenges, like disease, she said.

Researchers reviewed the medical records of 608 patients in the stroke registry at Alladi’s institution between 2006 and 2013. In Hyderabad, Telugu, Urdu, Hindi and English are all common languages and children learn three languages in school, Alladi said.

More than half of the stroke patients spoke at least two languages.

After accounting for other lifestyle factors like smoking, high blood pressure, diabetes, age and education, the researchers found that about 40 percent of those who were bilingual had normal cognitive function after a stroke, compared to 20 percent of those who spoke only one language.

Bilingual people also performed better on tests of attention after a stroke, but there was no difference in the likelihood of experiencing aphasia, or loss of ability to understand or express speech, according to the results in Stroke.

“They develop stroke at the same age but outcomes appear to be better for bilinguals,” Alladi said.

Using a second or third language regularly, or speaking it fluently even if you do not use it regularly, seems to provide the benefit to the brain, she said.

“The most important factor would be long-term language use,” she said. Learning a second language in school and then never using it may not confer the same benefit, she said.

“The take-home message would be that cognitively stimulating activities are something you can do in midlife to protect yourself. One is speaking two languages, but it could also be playing a musical instrument,” or other challenging activities, she said.

“This is heartening because you know that you can do something to protect yourself,” Alladi said.

Three languages may be better than two languages, though that is still unclear, “but I suspect the additional positive effects of further languages falls off quickly as more languages are learned,” said Fergus Craik of the Rotman Research Institute at Baycrest in Toronto, who was not part of the new study.

He and his colleagues previously found that bilingualism delays the onset of Alzheimer’s disease by four to five years.

“People should learn a second language to communicate in a second living situation or to absorb a different culture – or out of interest and enjoyment,” Craik told Reuters Health by email. “The neurological benefits are a bonus, not a primary goal.”

In many parts of the world, like India, Africa and Europe, speaking multiple languages is already common practice, Alladi said.

“In places where two languages are existing, it’s a good idea to encourage that,” she said. — Reuters

iPhone finally to get crowdsourced translation app LinqApp

Good news for iPhone owners in a foreign land: a crowdsourced translation app has finally landed in the App Store.

Linqapp, which was previously available only for devices running Google's Android, is now available on the App Store.

"Real people assist in situations where computer-based systems like Google Translate meet their limitations: providing translations based on audio recordings or pictures, answering cultural questions, and sharing native-speaker expertise on grammar, vocabulary and slang," Taipei-based startup One People Co. Ltd.

The app "connects" language learners to participating native speakers, and sends notifications to the learners once an answer is available.

Users build reputation within the app by helping each other learn. In the process they provide practical translation assistance that goes beyond what Google Translate can offer, the developers said.

“With Linqapp, we are making the expertise of native speakers easily accessible to anyone, anywhere,” said co-founder Sebastian Ang.

“We believe that Linqapp can fundamentally change how people get fast assistance in situations that require the skills of a native speaker. We’re helping language learners around the world make progress on their language learning adventure,” Ang added.

How it works
 
Language learners can snap a picture or record an audio clip, then attach a question or request for translation, and submit it to the Linqapp community.

Native speakers of the language are notified about the new question and can answer with text, audio recording or picture.

Answers can arrive in less than three minutes for popular languages like Spanish, English and Chinese. — Joel Locsin/TJD, GMA News

source: gmanetwork.com

US firm looking for Tagalog-speaking sales staff

Vonage, the voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) provider, which lets you make and receive calls using your Internet connection rather than a telephone line, is looking to hire sales people, especially those fluent in Tagalog.

The hiring will be done by Retail Business Development (RBD), which will train the staff and boost sales of retail stores.


RBD provides a wide range of retail services geared toward revenue generation and product and services sell-through. Our expertise is in augmenting retail sales as a whole – assisted sales, event sales, and kiosk sales – and providing sales force management and retail consulting services. We have the experience and know-how to support your retail business from planning to execution, including go-to-market strategies, pop-up retail design, retail sales training and operations management.

RBD is headquartered in St. Petersburg, Florida, and operates nationwide.

After decades spent operating and owning retail companies of their own, our executive team created RBD to provide two resources they found sorely lacking in the retail industry.

The first was a company that could deliver an instant sales force… one that could provide dozens or even hundreds of qualified sales consultants at a moment’s notice, allowing store owners to quickly meet staffing needs, augment campaigns, expand into new markets, and immediately impact the bottom line.

The second was an organization led by people who truly understood the core competencies of the retail industry… a team that could deliver the consistent qualities necessary to execute retail “the right way.”

With the launch of Retail Business Development in 2003, retailers could finally work with a team that understood the ins and outs of the retail business and knew how to solve its pain points. Since that time, the company has grown to provide a whole suite of services that reflect our commitment to “Retail Done Right.”



Over the years, RBD has established a niche in tailoring our in-demand services to retail environments and products that require a more hands-on, consultative approach to making the sale. Examples include selling wireless plans, Internet services, satellite subscriptions, home improvement products and technology solutions. And with sales teams at the ready nationwide, we can move quickly to address your needs. Tell us what your goals are and let us craft a solution to help you reach them. - The FilAm Metro DC

source: gmanetwork.com

Multilinguals do better at finding statistical patterns, study shows

Since most Filipinos are multilingual, does this mean we’re all in some way better at math?

In a recent study published in Psychological Science, researchers and psychologists from Hebrew University performed a series of experiments which suggest that those who had an easier time learning a new language may be better at detecting statistical patterns.

Ram Frost, lead researcher and psychological scientist, and his team from Hebrew University tested American students in overseas program on how well they picked up the structure of words and sounds in Hebrew. The students were tested two times, once in the first semester and again in the second semester.

Visual patterns

The students were also tested on their ability to detect visual patterns when asked to watch a stream of complex shapes. The students didn’t know that the 24 shapes they were watching have already been organized into eight triplets.  The order of shapes within the groups have been randomized but the shapes within each triplet always appeared in the same sequence.

Their results show a strong correlation between statistical learning and language learning. The students that who were able to detect the patterns in visual pattern test were the ones who had an easier time learning Hebrew and were able to understand the language better than their counterparts at the end of 2 semesters.

This study, which was supported by the Israel Science Foundation (159/10) and by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (RO1 HD 067364 and PO1HD 01994) provides us with a new insight on how people learn a new language and why some people are better at picking up different languages.

Language and visual perception

In the story in Science Daily on the study, Frost says "These new results suggest that learning a second language is determined to a large extent by an individual ability that is not at all linguistic…It's surprising that a short 15-minute test involving the perception of visual shapes could predict to such a large extent which of the students who came to study Hebrew would finish the year with a better grasp of the language."

This study presents the possibility that statistical learning may have a broad impact on other cognitive skills. And if a certain level of statistical or mathematical acuity is needed to learn a second language, then this implies that Filipinos, who are mostly bilingual, may have a higher level of statistical learning that may have not been exploited or explored.

In their paper, the researchers concluded that "This finding points to the possibility that a unified and universal principle of statistical learning can quantitatively explain a wide range of cognitive processes across domains, whether they are linguistic or nonlinguistic.” — TJD, GMA News

source: gmanetwork.com