Learning another language is easier in conjunction with exercises according to a new study.

Learning another language is easier in conjunction with exercises according to a new study.

Learning another language is more important than ever, since your work or your relationships may depend on it.   Like many of you, I have always found it hard to learn to speak another language.   Sure there are tools such as duolingo, a fun free app that can help you learn many languages through your smartphone.  Babel takes another approach, however, even though these apps make learning the language convenient and fun, speaking the language can be a challenge without full immersion, no matter what the program is.

Recently, a study published in PLOS One, by researches in China and Italy.  The researches recognized that children have a much easier time learning languages than adults do due to neuroplasticity.

They discovered that after weeks of learning a language, students that exercised regularly retained more and were able to better speak than those who were sedentary.   Check out this article in the NY Times

How Exercise Could Help You Learn a New Language

By GRETCHEN REYNOLDS AUG. 16, 2017

Learning a second language as an adult is difficult. But the process may be eased if you exercise while learning.

A new study reports that working out during a language class amplifies people’s ability to memorize, retain and understand new vocabulary. The findings provide more evidence that to engage our minds, we should move our bodies.

In recent years, a wealth of studies in both animals and people have shown that we learn differently if we also exercise. Lab rodents were given access to running wheels create and maintain memories better than animals that are sedentary, for instance. And students consistently perform better on academic tests if they participate in some kind of physical activity during the school day.
Many scientists suspect that exercise alters the biology of the brain in ways that make it more malleable and receptive to new information, a process that scientists refer to as plasticity.

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