It’s never too late to learn a language – nor enjoy the brain benefits!

Learning a language doesn’t just help with getting a job or travelling overseas – new research has found that a second language can have a positive effect on the brain, even if it is taken up in adulthood.

Academics including Dr Thomas Bak from the Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology at the University of Edinburgh, have revealed research findings this week which detected a slower pattern of mental decline among the bilingual.

A group of 835 people born in 1936 were tested for their intelligence at 11 years old in 1947, and then retested in their early 70s between 2008 and 2010. Of these, 262 were able to communicate in at least one language other than English.

The astounding results showed that those who spoke two or more languages had significantly better cognitive abilities in their 70s than would be expected from their baseline tests, and were far better than their peers! The strongest effect of bilingualism was seen in reading, verbal fluency and intelligence.

Commenting on what this means, Dr Bak said: “These findings are of considerable practical relevance. Millions of people around the world acquire their second language later in life. Our study shows that bilingualism, even when acquired in adulthood, may benefit the aging brain.”

This just goes to show that it is never too late to twist your tongue around another language, and we are here to help you on your first steps with the 1000 Word Challenge! Our collaboration with Speak to the Future and Oxford University Press means that whatever your age, now is your chance to sign up for free and learn the first 1000 words of a new language.

So why not challenge yourself and see if you can experience these benefits and more? You can sign up for free at www.vocabexpress.com/speaktothefuture.

J’adore un bon défi

They call French the language of love, which feels rather fitting as we begin our Valentine’s Day celebrations today. The ability to speak another language, French or otherwise, is certainly an attractive quality, but one that can be few and far between in the UK. Here at Vocab Express, we are on a mission to change that and are setting all secondary school students and adults the challenge of learning 1000 words in a different language with our 1000 Words Challenge.

A thousand words!? It sounds a little crazy, we agree. So to help you out, the team at Vocab Express has joined forces with dictionary publisher Oxford University Press to provide a free online platform where you can practice, revise and test your knowledge, as part of the Speak to the Future campaign. With Vocab Express at your fingertips, there is no reason why you can’t become a language whizz in no time.

With the chance to learn French, Spanish and German, and more languages to come, you’re guaranteed to impress with your new language prowess. And if that isn’t incentive enough, those who successfully reach 1000 words will be given a certificate to reward their amazing achievement, as well as the chance to win a number of other goodies!

Up for the challenge? Want to know more? Pop by our stand E86 at the Education Show (20-22 March, NEC, Birmingham) and see for yourself what it’s all about. We will also be showcasing some of the exciting additions to the new version of Vocab Express, including the ability for teachers to upload custom lists of vocabulary, a dictation mode to make the most of the 50,000+ audio files and a new Android mobile app allowing students to learn and test their vocabulary knowledge on-the-move, with all results linked back to their real-time school scoreboards.

We look forward to seeing you at the Education Show 2014 in March! In the meantime, step up to the challenge and register today at: https://www.vocabexpress.com/speaktothefuture/

The European Day of Languages Championship: Get ready, get registered, go!

Here at Vocab Express we’re pleased to announce that registration is open for our European Day of Languages Championship 2013 and this year we’ve got 50 – yes, 50 – free school places to give away! Each free school entry is for up to 150 students. What’s more, enrolment is free for subscribing schools; all they need to do is follow the instructions when they log in to their Vocab Express account.

Running from Thursday 26th September until Wednesday 2nd October 2013, the Championship is the perfect way to get students to brush up on their language skills at the start of a new academic year in an exciting and engaging way.

Don’t just take our word for it – last year’s winner Dartford Grammar School for Girls said: “The Championship appealed to a competitive side for languages we didn’t know [students] had! It created a great buzz; everyone was talking about it… we would definitely recommend it to other schools.”

We all know how hard it can be to get to students to settle back down into academia after the summer, but the challenge of a nationwide championship can be a great motivating tool and can encourage them to assist their classmates in language learning even after the competition finishes. To keep students on their toes and biting their nails, the real-time leader boards will enable staff and student to track the action as it happens, hopefully spurring you on to close the gap with your closest competitors!

In the language news this week, studies have shown there is a severe lack of multilingual graduates. An article in the Guardian claims that language learning needs to be addressed if the UK wants to compete with its multilingual counterparts overseas. By raising the profile of your language department within your secondary school through Vocab Express’ European Day of Languages Championship, we hope students will work harder in language lessons, and some may even be convinced to continue their language studies at college or university.

The Championship will feature language competitions in a wide selection of languages, namely German, Italian, French, Spanish, Mandarin, Japanese, Russian, Urdu, Arabic, Hebrew and Latin. So, if you think your students would relish the chance to flaunt their French or show off their Spanish, sign up today to obtain one of the 50 free school places available to non-subscribers, each for up to 150 pupils!

Places go quick so make sure you hurry!

For more information, visit http://www.vocabexpress.com/championships.

Keep the languages alive: Community languages in the classroom

Did you know that in London alone, a staggering 300 languages are now spoken? If recent news stories are anything to go by, figures look set to increase too; in one Birmingham primary school a total of 31 languages are spoken! Several of these are community languages.

What is a community language?

The term ‘community language’ refers to ‘all languages in use in a society, other than the dominant, official or national language’ (McPake et al., 2007). It does not refer to any particular language or group of languages, but to the context in which the language occurs.

Why are community languages important?

In 2001, UNESCO adopted the Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity. This included an action plan which recommended the learning of several languages from an early age for reasons including ‘safeguarding the world’s linguistic heritage and ensuring that traditional knowledge is preserved’, to ‘ensuring that everyone can benefit from information and communication technologies and can participate in social, cultural and democratic activities.’

Government statistics show almost 15 per cent of UK primary school pupils and more than 10 per cent of secondary school students speak a first language other than English. In fact five years ago, Ofsted said that community languages should have the same status as French, German and Spanish in schools!

Community languages in Britain: case and point for Urdu
Developed from Persian, Arabic and Turkish, Urdu is the national language of Pakistan and the most widely spoken community language in Britain. Britain’s Pakistani community is one of the oldest and largest outside of Pakistan, with more than 1.2 million British Pakistanis living here today.

How hard is it to learn?

Amazingly, modern Urdu has taken almost 900 years to develop to its present form! Although Urdu grammar, word construction and sentence structure are very systematic, the language presents some challenges; Urdu uses formal and informal verb forms, each noun has a gender and pronunciation is not always regular. Interestingly though, learning Urdu makes it far easier to speak and understand Hindi – on a day-to-day functional level, spoken Urdu and Hindi are almost identical!

How can teachers introduce Urdu in the classroom?

Try playing Urdu music and using native audio files to help students become attuned to the sound of the language and refine their pronunciation.

Make the most of Urdu speaking students and provide opportunities for collaborative learning/peer mentoring. This develops relationships between pupils and gives those fluent in Urdu a chance to share more about their culture. Perhaps dedicate a language lesson to community languages, asking students to bring in food and music from the different countries which speak community languages. You could even ask the language speakers amongst the class to put a short presentation together on why they think having a second language is important to encourage their peers!

With students spending the vast majority of their free time logged on to the net, online vocabulary tools such as Vocab Express allow students the opportunity to practice their vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation skills in the comfort of their own homes.

¿Habla Español? The benefits of being bilingual

With a bilingual English-Spanish speaking father, and a set of grandparents who can impressively speak fluent Croatian, Spanish and Italian, I can certainly appreciate the benefits of speaking more than one language. Growing up hearing my father speak to his relatives on the phone, long holidays to Argentina throughout my childhood, not to mention three years of study at university, has equipped me with a good grasp of Spanish and in turn (I hope!) has helped me to develop a number of skills, the most obvious being communication, improved memory and the ability to multi task.

In fact, you may be interested to know that today more of the world’s population is bilingual or multilingual than monolingual. So why does there seem to be an aversion to learning languages in this country, with most Brits happy to just ‘get by’ on a few stock French phrases on their trip to the South of France? ‘Je ne comprends pas’ anyone? Let’s take a look at the educational benefits to speaking more than one language…

Intellectual growth: Individuals who are bilingual/multilingual generally perform better in exams and many believe they fare better at IQ tests. Being fluent in two or more languages enhances a person’s mental development and awareness, they have cognitive flexibility and are able to scrutinise various arguments to derive a suitable conclusion.

Picking up another language is easier: Ever wondered how your bilingual peers make learning a third, fourth or even a fifth language seem like a breeze? This is because studies show that different languages reinforce one another, and provide tools to ‘strengthen phonologic, morphologic and syntactic skills.’ Applying language skills from one language to another is a critical cognitive function that makes it easier for an individual to learn successfully.

Greater self esteem and confidence: Confident students believe in their abilities and feel hopeful they can achieve their goals. They are also able to comfortably interact with other people to form relationships and are more willing to try new things. Generally speaking, bilinguals are able to express emotion better and adapt more easily to change than monolinguals.

Cultural advantage: Living in a multicultural UK, it is incredibly important young people develop greater tolerance and are open-minded about other cultures. Bilingualism offers greater exposure to different cultures and an insight into another country’s history, folk stories, music and literature.
Employability: With recent government figures stating that one in five 16-25 year olds are not able to find work in the UK, a broad range of skills can increase chances of finding a job at the end of formal education.An additional language is not only beneficial in jobs that require extensive travel and communication with other offices in other countries, but in the business world in general; through their language skills, bilinguals and multilinguals are able to bring in new clientele from around the world.

For more information on the benefits of being bilingual, check out this link to Voxy’s infographic on the topic which can also be used an engaging learning tool in the classroom.