San Bei Ji

Vitamin L

The Globe and Mail: Bilingual older adults found to stay sharp longer

Being fluently bilingual may help stave off the forgetfulness and inattention associated with aging, according to a new Canadian study.

Interesting. I suspect any intensive mental exercise would be good for you though. But it’s nice to see fringe benefits from learning more languages and teaching multiple languages to your children. We have been trying to speak three languages to Max at home - English, Mandarin, and Taiwanese, and I’ve been studying a lot of Mandarin myself lately in an effort to stop being so half-assed at the language and actually try to achieve real fluency.

Indeed, I have noticed in myself an increased ability to concentrate, solve problems, and think creatively since I began intensive studies in CSS and web standards last year, and Mandarin Chinese earlier this year. I don’t know, maybe it’s just the coffee. I have nothing to measure it against, but I just feel a bit more clear-headed than before, now that I’m keeping my head busy with all this stuff.”