Learning second language 'slows brain ageing'

Image copyright Thinkstock Learning a second language can have a positive effect on the brain, even if it is taken up in adulthood, a University of Edinburgh study suggests. Researchers found that reading, verbal fluency and intelligence were improved in a study of 262 people tested either aged 11 or in their seventies. A previous study suggested that being bilingual could delay the onset of dementia by several years. The study is published in Annals of Neurology. The big question in this study was whether learning a new language improved cognitive functions or whether individuals with better cognitive abilities were more likely to become bilingual. Dr Thomas Bak, from the Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology at the University of Edinburgh, said he believed he had found the answer. Using data from intelligence tests on 262 Edinburgh-born individuals at the age of 11, the study looked at how their cognitive abilities had changed when they were tested again in their seventies.

La voix de l'enseignant Vous est-il une fois arrivé de suivre un cours magistral et de vous dire : voici un bon prof ! Généralement, cette appréciation ne tient pas seulement au contenu du discours mais aussi à la communication verbale et non-verbale mise en oeuvre par le conférencier. On en parle peu mais un bon enseignant c'est celui qui sait bien utiliser sa voix et son corps pour faire passer un message. Ce diplômé du Conservatoire de Lyon et formateur permanent à l'IUFM (Institut universitaire de formation des maîtres) est aussi responsable d'une Unité d'enseignement à l'Université Lyon 1 intitulée : "Voix, corps et communication". Sur le site de Jean Duvillard, chaque sujet est traité par une série de vidéos plus ou moins courtes dans lesquelles il intervient lui-même ou fait intervenir d'autres spécialistes. La physiologie de la voixLa voix en actionLe corps en actionAspects psychologiquesEntretenir sa voix ? Référence Duvillard, Jean. Illustration : Sergey Nivens, Shutterstock.com

Nine Do's and Don'ts for Cultivating Student Autonomy - Education Week Teacher Published Online: March 19, 2014 By Sandy Merz I'm on a quest to find how students learn best and what they need to know most—and every day I'm moving toward the conclusion that the sweet spot is student autonomy. Through reading, professional development, and classroom practice, I'm learning how to implement "Build Your Own Unit" projects. These projects are special because students are (mostly) in control of their own learning—they plan and create units that they themselves execute. My ideas about how and what students should learn have been influenced by a few different sources. How Autonomous Student Learning Works In my engineering class, students tell me what they're going to learn, how they're going to learn it, and how they're going to prove they learned it. In their unit plan, students have to explain how specific evidence in their final product will prove that they learned their unit's content. The Dos and Don'ts of Student Autonomy Do: Create intention and structure. Don't: