Discuss the following questions in pairs.

BRAINS!!!!!

QUOTES. Read the following quotes and decide which one you liked the most. Explain your choice.

Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.― Rumi

Biology gives you a brain. Life turns it into a mind. ― Jeffrey Eugenides, Middlesex

Humour is by far the most significant activity of the human brain. Edward de Bono

Remember that politics, colonialism, imperialism and war also originate in the human brain. Vilayanur S. Ramachandran

"The human brain starts working the moment you are born and never stops until you stand up to speak in public." — George Jessel

BRAIN: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word 'brain'.

BRAINPOWER: What boosts it? Complete this table with your partner.

	Effectiveness?	Why?
Learning languages
Crossword puzzles
Exercise
Reading
Maths
Food

Being bilingual boosts brain power

A study by the USA's Northwestern University provides biological evidence that people __________ are bilingual have a more powerful brain. American scientists investigated __________ bilingualism affects the brain. They found __________ studying another language "fine-tunes" people's attention span and enhances __________ memory. __________ particular they discovered that when language learners attempt to understand speech in another language, it activates and energizes the brainstem – __________ ancient part of the brain. Professor Kraus stated: "Bilingualism serves __________ enrichment for the brain and has real consequences when it comes__________ attention and working memory." Professor Marian explained__________ studying and learning another language was __________ beneficial for the brain. She said: "People __________ crossword puzzles and other activities to__________ their minds sharp, but the advantages we've discovered in dual language speakers come automatically simply from knowing and using two languages." She added: "It seems __________ the benefits of bilingualism are particularly powerful and broad, and include attention, inhibition and encoding of sound." She said bilinguals were better listeners because they are "natural jugglers" of sound. She said: "The bilingual juggles linguistic input and, __________ appears, automatically pays greater attention __________ relevant versus irrelevant sounds."

Who, how, that, their, In, an, as, to, why, so, do, keep, that, it, to

Discuss the following questions in pairs.

1. What effect do you think language learning has on your brain?

2. What would your life be like if you could not understand or speak English?

3. Are monolinguals disadvantaged in life?

4. Should bilingualism (or trilingualism / multilingualism) be part of a country's education system?

5. What new language would you like to learn and why?

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