1) Introduction & Summary :
This article was published by Emma Sheppard in 2018. It was retrieved from “The Guardian”. It deals with the fact that the care home residents are able to learn a new language, even for those with dementia.
The author emphasizes that Robbie Norval had the idea to create Lingo Flamingo in 2015 to provide language classes for older adults. In this programme, Norval suggests courses in various languages (i.e., French, Italian, German and Spanish) and material adapted to the population (e.g., use a larger font, easily recognizable colours or sensory learning). For each language, it consists of one-hour sessions per week for ten weeks. Norval worked with Thomas Bak, a psychologist from Edinburgh University, who studies dementia over 20 years. She says that Bak’s research has shown that by learning a new language, people who have had a stroke will enhance their cognitive capacities thanks to cognitive reserve (i.e., that can help to better cope with the stroke repercussions).
She also stresses that according to Bak it is never too late to learn a new language. Indeed, people with dementia have the capacity to learn things that are completely different from what they can have learned before their disease. For instance, languages have their specific sounds and grammar. So, it is important for them because it can help them to believe on their memory capacities and it can improve their well-being, their self-confidence and their cognitive reserve.
She adds that in the care home there are residents suffered from dementia who stopped speaking English because they come back in the past and speak their mother tongue (e.g., Urdu, Punjabi or Polish). So they can feel isolated. In order to avoid this, Norval has introduced a volunteer befriending programme which implicated pairs composed of one linguist and one of these residents.
The author also reports the testimony of Mari Dougan whose parents attend French and Italian courses. She reports that her parents like language classes because for that period of time the dementia get almost irrelevant.
2) Analysis :
This text was written for society in general.
I found it really interesting that Emma Sheppard challenges preconceptions about dementia. In fact, generally speaking, I don’t like the way the media address dementia because they often speak about the negative points of these diseases. Contrary to this point of view, this text seems to focus on capacities preserved in dementia such as learning a new language.
To my mind, the document give a good overview of the questions it addresses because it is well-documented. Indeed, the reader can see the case of Mari Dougan’s parents, they can understand how Lingo Flamingo has been developed, they can know the point of view of the psychologist Thomas Bak and the main positive effects of learning a new language on cognition, well-being and self-confidence.
3) Related information :
In addition to that I would recommend this to French care homes because this article demonstrates that learning new languages has positive effects. However, these courses may have less effect in retirement homes in France because residents would be less motivated.
4) Words I have learned :
– Care home residents = résidents de la maison de retraite
– A stroke = une attaque
– Befriending programme = programme de jumelage
– To attend courses = participer à des cours
– To challenge preconceptions = défier les préconçus