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Several studies have suggested that becoming proficient in at least one language other than mother tongue is good for the brain, especially in terms of boosting recall, attention span and concentration. In the first episode of a new series of Trust Me, I’m a Doctor on BBC2 tomorrow, Dr Michael Mosley oversees a unique piece of research on the effects of just four weeks of learning Spanish on a group of 20 people who didn’t know a single word of the language to start with.
The aim was to confirm whether the learning of a language improved brain function. But the scientists running the experiment also expected to find that younger volunteers would fare better on the grounds that their brains have greater plasticity, which is the ability to form new connections and ‘rewire’ themselves in response to challenges.
Each of the volunteers (half aged 18 to 30 and half over 56) underwent a battery of tests to analyse their memory, mental flexibility and ability to pay attention. For the next month, they took Spanish lessons for two hours a day, three times a week. In between lessons, they were given homework and told to practise as much as possible. When the month was up, they were subjected to the same tests again. Although all the volunteers improved their mental performance, it was the older age group which improved the most.