Oct 28

Oct 28 The DUOLINGO App: How I'm Learning a 2nd Language to Optimize My Brain

Hi, I'm Liz Moser, a Mayo Clinic and National Board Certified Health and Wellness Coach.

In last week’s blog, I talked about, The Alzheimer’s Solution, written by Doctors Ayesha and Dean Sherzai, and mainly discussed their recommendations for exercise, and more specifically for adopting a lifestyle incorporating movement throughout the day.

I shared their five-prong NEURO Plan, N. E. U. R. O., which, to refresh your memory, stands for nutrition, exercise, unwind, restore, and optimize. Last week I explored the exercise piece of the NEURO plan, and this week I want to talk a bit about the O. or optimize.

Optimize is all about a lifestyle of utilizing your brain, just as the Sherzai’s recommend creating a lifestyle of exercise and movement throughout the day.

Part 1 of their online assessment ascertains your 'personal health score' with a quick 19 questions. Along with the obvious questions such as do you smoke, do you drink alcohol, do you have a parent or sibling who has dementia, are also less obvious questions such as your level of education and do you speak a 2nd language.

Are you bilingual?

Then in the more detailed neuro assessment, which homes in on the five separate aspects of the NEURO plan, there's a question in the Optimize section that asks, ‘Are you involved in learning new activities, such as playing musical instruments, learning new languages, dancing or taking classes?’ If yes, how many days per week? With a higher score given for more days a week.

The health and wellness benefits of playing a musical instrument are multifold, and I discussed them in this blog and this blog. I also discussed the benefits of creating art and taking an art class in a blog about a month and ½ ago. Those blogs are full of info you might want to check out 😊

The research is in and learning a language and ultimately becoming bilingual strengthens your brain from the onslaughts of dementia and Alzheimer's. OK, so now what? What are your next steps if you want to learn a new language or refresh your 2nd language skills?

Well, I can recommend what I’ve been up to for the last week or two, and that is Duolingo or Duo for short.

Duolingo or the Duo app for short is either free, which works just fine. There are some commercials but only at the end of your session. Or, for $89 per year (that’s $.25 per day!), you can choose a premium membership, eliminate the commercials, and receive several other perks. You can try out the premium plan for two weeks for free and see what works for you.

I studied French from middle school through college and spent a junior year studying in France. That said, several decades later, I only tested out of the first of 10 modules. And I’ve been on module two for almost two weeks.

Like the SKOOVE app I talked about in the music and learning an instrument blog I wrote, Duo lingo is intuitive, motivating, and addictive, but in a good way! There are plenty of how-to tutorials on YouTube, but I just dove in, and only when l was thinking about writing this blog did I watch some of them, and I did get a few good tips.

For instance, I learned I’d overlooked an icon that I now tap regularly, and it reviews any mistakes I’ve made. My main errors are remembering which nouns are masculine and feminine and those pesky irregular verb conjugations.

I’ve made a few trusty old fashioned flashcards to practice my irregular verbs. Yet, I’m still trying to have fun with this, and I don't want to get too pushy with myself.

I like to learn with Duo either during lunch or at night while I’m winding down using my under-desk elliptical machine on a low setting at the same time. In general, I prefer my larger iPad screen to my phone. However, the phone version of the app works perfectly fine, as well.

The Duo app is about learning a language in a fun, game-like manner. There are several different types of exercises, from word matching to writing in French to dictation, to translating in English. There are a variety of characters, including the mascot Duo himself (or herself, not sure), that cheer you on. There are also stories you can listen to or read and opportunities to speak into the microphone to check your pronunciation.

There are badges, hearts, stickers, rewards. You name it; it’s kind of crazy! It was most definitely created by the generation who received participation rewards. However, all joking aside, Duo is supportive and infections, so they did something right! I enjoy it, and I love relearning a language I was at one time quite proficient in. And I love that I'm shoring up my brain with another layer of defense against cognitive decline with every irregular French verb I conjugate. Ha!

Several friends in the last few weeks have lamented to me the time they spend down the social media rabbit hole or the candy crush or other phone game sinkhole.

If you can relate to my friends and want to spend less time on your phone pursuing mind-numbing activities, then my gentle suggestion is, why not download Duo for free and start playing around with learning a new language. Maybe the language you studied in High school, or perhaps the 2nd language your grandparents speak, or with travel restrictions lifting, why not learn some Greek before your cruise around the Greek islands. (Ooh, doesn't that sound nice!)

Learning a second language with Duo will keep you out of the social media/phone game quagmire, allow you to communicate with a larger number of people, and most essentially, it will assist you in optimizing your brain and, supporting your efforts to mentally thrive as you age.

I’m Liz Moser, a Mayo Clinic and National Board Certified Health and Wellness Coach, and thank you for watching this vlog about optimizing your brain by learning a 2nd language and the super easy and fun language app Duolingo. If you have any questions about this blog, health, wellness, or wellness coaching with me, please reach out via my website at lizmosercoaching.com.