Learning Chinese keeps aging minds sharp

Many people learn Chinese in Shanghai now, why? No one likes the idea of slowing down as they age, but a new study suggests that challenging yourself to learn a new skill can bring noticeable benefits to an aging mind. 

The Administration on Aging predicts that there will be 72.1 million Americans aged 65 and over by the year 2030 - 19% of the population. And the new research provides insight into how everyday activities contribute to cognitive vitality as we age.

Lead researcher, Denise Park, PhD, from the University's School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, says:

"We need, as a society, to learn how to maintain a healthy mind, just like we know how to maintain vascular health with diet and exercise."

Randomly assigned activities

For the research, published in Psychological Science, Professor Park and her colleagues studied 221 adults aged between 60 and 90 for a period of 3 months.

Lady learning photography

Researchers found that older people who engaged in mentally challenging tasks, such as learning a new skill, were more mentally agile than those who stayed home.

The researchers randomly assigned participants an activity and asked them to engage in it for 15 hours each week.

Some participants were asked to learn a new skill, such as digital photography or quilting. These activities require active engagement and tap into both working and long-term memory, as well as other high-level cognitive processes.

Others were encouraged to pursue more familiar pastimes in the comfort of their own homes. They were asked to listen to classical music and complete word puzzles, including crosswords.

And keen not to overlook the importance of social contact, the researchers assigned a third group of participants to engage in activities with social interactions, such as field trips and excursions.

Interestingly, participants in the study were very open to the idea of new experiences.

Park explains:

"Our participants essentially agreed to be assigned randomly to different lifestyles for 3 months so that we could compare how different social and learning environments affected the mind."

"People built relationships and learned Chinese language - we hope these are gifts that keep on giving, and continue to be a source of engagement and stimulation even after they finished the study."

And it seems that fortune really does favor the brave, as those who were the most mentally challenged showed the biggest improvements in recall and memory.

While acknowledging that all three learning groups were pushed to keep mastering more tasks and skills, only the groups "confronted with continuous and prolonged mental challenge improved."

Park continues:

"It seems it is not enough just to get out and do something - it is important to get out and do something that is unfamiliar and mentally challenging, and that provides broad stimulation mentally and socially."

Park and her colleagues plan to continue the research with follow-up studies in 1 and 5 years to see if the effects remain over the long-term.

Medical News Today reported earlier this month that brain training may boost memory, which ties in with Park's findings that completing less demanding activities, such as word puzzles, probably will not show noticeable benefits.

As Park so poetically says:

"When you are inside your comfort zone you may be outside of the enhancement zone.""When you are inside your comfort zone you may be outside of the enhancement zone."

The Process of Study Chinese

• How to use your time for learning Chinese

Time is the most valuable resource a student has. It is also one of the most wasted of resources. The schedule you develop should guide you in how to allocate the available time in the most productive manner. Sticking to your schedule can be tough. Don't dribble away valuable time. Avoiding study Chinese is the easiest thing in the world. It's up to you to follow the schedule you prepared. A good deal of your success in learning Chinese depends on this simple truth.

 

• Where to study Chinese

 

You can study anywhere. Obviously, some places are better than others. Mandarin school, study lounges or private rooms are best. Coffee shop, study more easily but maybe more noises. Office is a good one, you can learn Chinese with colleagues, then a good learning environment is offered there. Home is a un-recommendation, many thinks will entice you.Above all, the place you choose to study Chinese should not be distracting. Distractions can build up, and the first thing you know, you're out of time and out of luck. Make choosing a good physical environment a part of your study Chinese habits.

Learning Chinese Speaking Versus Writing

Many people have asked me, how did I start learning Chinese? My best friend growing up was Chinese. I started learning Chinese so I could speak to his mother who couldn't speak English. It wasn't easy since the language was very strange to me! It sounded almost like singing with many tones. Some sounds took a longer time for me to learn. I later found that the Chinese I was learning was a dialect of Cantonese. Cantonese has 9 tones and is very different from other dialects of Chinese. Later I learned that Cantonese is the oldest dialect of Chinese. What impresses me about Chinese? Chinese writing or Chinese characters are what separates it from all other languages. Chinese is the only language used today that comes from pictures and has no alphabet! Chinese characters are derived from pictures from 5,000 years ago. Most people do not even realize that there is no alphabet in the Chinese language.

My best friend started showing me Chinese characters and I became very interested in learning how to write. In the beginning I was unable to remember how to write the pictogram or character. Later I found a book that explained how the Chinese characters evolved! It was very interesting but I was lucky to find the book that gave me the savvy on writing Chinese characters. Finding the correct books is very important when learning any subject. The book that helped me to understand the most was, "Chinese Characters: Their origin, etymology, history, classification and signification". This book was written by a Jesuit priest. The other book I used was, "Read Chinese" by Fred Wang. Years later I took a course in Chinese Calligraphy and the professor was using this same book to teach Chinese characters. My friend asked me one day to take a course in Mandarin Chinese given at a church school. Since he didn't know Mandarin he thought it would be a good experience for us to learn together. Chinese speech is very different because there are many dialects and sub-dialects but Chinese writing for the most part is the same! There are some Chinese characters that are regional or archaic. The Mandarin instructor told me to find a Chinese Calligraphy teacher. He was impressed that I was using a Chinese brush to write my lessons. Taking his advice I found a school called China Institute that was near my job in New York City. I registered for two courses: Cantonese and Chinese Calligraphy. This is when I found out that my friend was really teaching me his village dialect or sub-dialect of Cantonese. Now I was in the course that taught standard Cantonese or the language of the city of Canton! When speaking in class, my teacher would tell me that I am not speaking standard Cantonese but a popular county sub-dialect.

Some people ask me what one should learn: Cantonese or Mandarin. Mandarin is the national language of China, Taiwan and Singapore. Today most people learn the national language and most overseas Chinese learn Mandarin in Chinese school. Cantonese is still popular where there is large a population of Cantonese people. These people can be found anywhere in the world since they were the Chinese that first ventured out of China! Any place where money could be made, the Cantonese went. When I was growing up 80% of the Chinese were Cantonese and 80% of them were from the same county speaking a sub-dialect as well as Standard Cantonese if educated.

I quickly realized that knowing Chinese characters had important advantages. It's great to be able to speak Chinese but what happens when someone doesn't understand you? If you can write, everyone understands. All Chinese may not be able to speak to each other but they all can read the same Chinese writing. I have even used Chinese writing with Japanese and Koreans. I found my best Chinese book with my Japanese friend in a book store just looking around. I learned a little Japanese from my Japanese friend. I wanted to know how Japanese and Chinese were related. Written Japanese uses Chinese characters and a phonetic system that was also derived from Chinese. Koreans originally used Chinese characters until a Korean emperor invented the Korean alphabet. Most educated Korean can write their names in Chinese and know many characters.

Chinese Calligraphy is the art of Chinese writing. Calligraphy is written with a special writing utensil called a brush. Many western people enjoy calligraphy as an art form. Japanese and Koreans also highly praise Chinese calligraphy. The writing can be enjoyed and one doesn't even have to know how to speak the language. Many non-Chinese people today enjoy learning Chinese calligraphy. Many don't not even know the meaning in English. Others cannot pronounce it! Some people prefer to speak while others prefer to write, you be the judge. I challenge you to at least to try it, you might like it.