Learn a language to keep your brain fit

You need not hit the gym for it, but your brain - like, say, your abs - can definitely be trained. You do this by learning something new. For example, a new language! Language Institute Regina Coeli explains.

As you learn, your brain makes all sorts of new connections. And those new connections ensure it stays in top shape. Research has shown that there are ways to maximise how your brain learns. We call them brain principles. Gerjanne Dirksen is the originator of these six principles, which are, in her words: focus, repeat, emotion, using all senses, creation and build upon.

Learning a foreign language has a very strong effect on the brain. People who are bilingual have hugely efficient brains. Because brain structures are so strong in multilinguals, the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, for example, decreases. But how exactly does that work in the brain? What follows is somewhat scientific, but we attempt to explain it as straightforwardly as possible.

That is smooth!

Brain cells (neurons) consist of a nucleus and extensions that receive and transmit messages. These extensions are coated with a layer of fat (myelin): the more fat, the faster messages get transmitted. Various changes take place in the brain when learning happens. Neural networks become stronger, and the fat layer around the extensions grows. The six brain principles - focus, repeat, emotion, using all senses, creation, and build upon - each contribute in their own way to strengthening these neural connections.

Everything you give attention to grows: Focus

When you give something more attention, that thing becomes easier to remember. Think about how many impulses you receive in a day, or even in one minute. These impulses enter the brain through the thalamus. The more consciously we choose which impulses to respond to, the better we can focus our attention.

The reticular activating system (RAS) has offshoots all over the brain and filters which stimuli are relevant. Once the RAS has determined whether stimuli are relevant, brain cells become active and cause neurotransmitters to be released throughout the brain. The neurotransmitters help improve transmission between brain cells in the upper part of the brain (cortex) and make connections easier to establish. As such, neural connections become stronger the more attention they receive.

Elephant paths for your brain: Repeat

Repetition causes the same paths to be taken over and over again in a particular area of the brain. If this happens often enough, an originally tenuous path becomes stronger and more robust. It is quite similar to an elephant path through the grass: the more often it is trodden, the clearer and wider the path becomes.

It is for good reason that we say that certain habits need to be ingrained: your brain needs about six weeks to give new signals that arrive at the hippocampus, a permanent place in the neocortex. The networks that have formed are then easy to activate.

Make it exciting: Emotion

While feelings are conscious, emotions are experienced unconsciously. Both have a direct impact on bodily activities, like that lump in your throat or the knot in your stomach you feel when you are nervous or anxious. Emotions also help you remember experiences better and longer.

Within the brain, the amygdala determines the emotional meaning of stimuli. It causes hormones and neurotransmitters to be released when emotions or memories of them occur. It also controls the RAS, from which many offshoots extend into the brain. The stronger the emotion, the more neurotransmitters the RAS releases and the wider the resulting pathway (neural connection) is.

The neurotransmitter dopamine acts like a built-in reward system and is critical when it comes to learning. Dopamine makes us feel good, even when we merely expect something pleasurable - also known as that wonderful feeling of anticipation. The neurotransmitter adrenaline, on the other hand, is released during stress. It makes us more alert and boosts our energy levels.

Stimulate those senses: Using all senses

The more senses that are involved in an experience, the more intense that experience is and the better it is remembered. Sensory experiences include everything we hear, see, smell and feel, and movement is part of that too! Those experiences are converted into electrical signals that get transmitted to the brain. The thalamus then distributes those signals to various parts of the brain.

The wider the range of sensory information, the greater the number of areas activated and the better the brain is able to reconstruct the whole. This, in turn, makes it easier to recall what was learned later. Did you also know that everyone has different sensory preferences? And that smell plays a very powerful role in memory?

Get active: Creation

You need not be creative to learn effectively. The brain principle of creation involves creating meaning and value yourself instead of merely consuming everything your trainer teaches you and accepting it as truth. This is how you discover relationships and give meaning to what you are learning.

Your brain is geared to create order out of chaos. It becomes bored rather quickly if it is only offered pre-digested chunks; by doing a bit of puzzle-solving, you keep your brain entertained. The brain then creates new neural networks for itself, which, in turn, link to existing networks. Moreover, that puzzle-solving releases the neurotransmitter dopamine, which makes you feel good.

Associate, associate, associate: Build upon

All prior knowledge matters because new information can connect to it, literally. Your brain continuously makes associations with what is stored in its existing networks. If something new connects to it, a new neural pattern links to that existing network. After all, extending a path is easier than creating a new one.

The principles of brain learning are systematically applied in Language Institute Regina Coeli’s language training courses. Would you like to know how? Read more about it on their website: www.reginacoeli.com.