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Impact of Learning a Foreign Language on the Enhancement of Cognitive Functions Among Healthy Older Population

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Abstract

The purpose of this article is to discuss to what extent foreign language learning may enhance cognitive functions among healthy older population. The methods used in this study included cognitive assessments using standardized tests, intervention through English language teaching and learning, and statistical analysis. Out of 60 older Czech citizens, 42 cognitively unimpaired participants were selected for the experiment. These participants were randomly divided into an experimental group (20 subjects) studying English for 12 weeks (three 45-min lessons per week) and a control group (22 subjects) whose members did not have any language training. The results of the research show that there has been a slight enhancement of cognitive skills in the experimental group. Nevertheless, on the whole, the scores of the experimental and control groups did not considerably differ. Despite this fact, the results indicate that cognitive functions among healthy older population can be maintained through regular foreign language training.

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Acknowledgements

The paper is supported by the IGS Project 8173/2019, run in the University Hospital Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurology, Medical Faculty of Charles University and University Hospital in Hradec Kralove, Sokolska 581, Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic

    Martin Valis, Gabriela Slaninova, Pavel Prazak, Jaroslav Kacetl & Blanka Klimova

  2. Department of Management, Faculty of Informatics and Management, University of Hradec Kralove, Rokitanskeho 62, 500 03, Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic

    Gabriela Slaninova

  3. Department of Informatics and Quantitative Methods, Faculty of Informatics and Management, University of Hradec Kralove, Rokitanskeho 62, 500 03, Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic

    Pavel Prazak & Petra Poulova

  4. Department of Applied Linguistics, Faculty of Informatics and Management, University of Hradec Kralove, Rokitanskeho 62, 500 03, Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic

    Jaroslav Kacetl

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  1. Martin Valis
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  2. Gabriela Slaninova
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  3. Pavel Prazak
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  4. Petra Poulova
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  5. Jaroslav Kacetl
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  6. Blanka Klimova
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Correspondence to Blanka Klimova.

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Ethical Approval

All procedures performed were in accordance and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards and ethical approval was obtained from the Ethics Committee of the University Hospital of Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic, 201811S18P.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Valis, M., Slaninova, G., Prazak, P. et al. Impact of Learning a Foreign Language on the Enhancement of Cognitive Functions Among Healthy Older Population. J Psycholinguist Res 48, 1311–1318 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10936-019-09659-6

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