BENEFITS BILINGUALISM
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Numerous previous studies argue that bilingualism (the master two languages) improves learning and cognitive processes.
Christos Pliatsikasa, University of Kent (UK), and colleagues studied brain scans of 20 men and women, average age 30, who have lived in Britain for at least 13 months.All of them have started to learn English as a second language, around the age of 10 years. Their analysis of imaging were compared with those of 25 people of similar age who only spoke English.The comparison showed that the people who have started to learn English at the age of 10 years and have continued to use this language, showed improvements in the structure of the white matter of the brain, compared to people who grew up speaking only English and did not learn a second language.
"It 's been suggested that bilingualism, especially if early and maintained over the years, affects the structure of the white matter of the brain and retains more integrity in old age," say the authors of the study "This result is a strong argument for general benefits of language learning. "
Source: Worldhealth
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