Learning a new language?

According to a study, A Critical Period for Second Language Acquisition: Evidence from 2/3 Million English Speakers the best time to learn a new language with native-speaker proficiency is by the age of 10. Children under 10 can more easily absorb information and excel in the new language.

Young people under the age of 18 can still show great skill at mastering the grammar of a new language, but things start to get more challenging beyond this point.

For the study, researchers assessed 670,000 people of different nationalities and ages to determine their grammatical skills in a second language.  Why do young children learn languages faster than other ages?  Well, one reason could be that as we age, we apply discipline and intellect to our approach. We become rigid in our methods of learning, and we are afraid, or nervous about making mistakes in our new language, so we are hesitant when speaking.  

Watch a young child as they learn a language, they feel it, and are recklessly spontaneous and dive right in but most significantly, they are never afraid to say something incorrectly, which increases their opportunities to speak, be understood (even when mistakes are made), learn faster, and have more fun with it.

Whereas we, as we age take a logical approach, we learn how to conjugate verbs, remember genders, and we often refrain from speaking entirely, limiting our chances to practice. By not practising we ensure that we won’t be understood, so making advancement is so slow, so we don’t’ have any fun and we get frustrated and we quit.

This got me wondering... where else in your life has your fear of making little mistakes held you back from major gains?

As I count the ways, that my fears might have held me back, I want to invite you to consider the same... maybe at work, trying out new hobbies, learning new skills, falling in love, communicating with family, or making more money?

They walk among us

Some oldies but still funny.

My husband and I went through the McDonald's driveway window and I gave the cashier a $5 bill.
Our total was $4.25, so I also handed her 25c.
She said, 'you gave me too much money.'
I said, 'Yes I know, but this way you can just give me a dollar back.'
She sighed and went to get the manager who asked me to repeat my request.
I did so, and he handed me back the 25c and said 'We're sorry but we don’t do that kind of thing.'
The cashier then proceeded to give me back 75 cents in change.
Do not confuse the people at MacD's.

We had to have the garage door repaired.
The repairman told us that one of our problems was that we did not have a 'large' enough motor on the opener.
I thought for a minute, and said that we had the largest one made at that time, a 1/2 horsepower.
He shook his head and said, 'You need a 1/4 horsepower.'
I responded that 1/2 was larger than 1/4 and he said, 'NOOO, it's not. Four is larger than two.'

We haven't used that repairman since...

I live in a semi-rural area.

We recently had a new neighbour call the local city council office to request the removal of the DEER CROSSING sign on our road.

The reason: 'Too many deers are being hit by cars out here! I don't think this is a good place for them to be crossing anymore.'

IDIOT SIGHTING IN FOOD SERVICE.

My daughter went to Mexican fast food and ordered a taco.
She asked the person behind the counter for 'minimal lettuce.'
He said he was sorry, but they only had iceberg lettuce.

I was at the airport, checking in at the gate when an airport employee asked,
'Has anyone put anything in your baggage without your knowledge?'
To which I replied, 'If it was without my knowledge, how would I know?'
He smiled knowingly and nodded, 'That's why we ask.'

The pedestrian light on the corner beeps when it's safe to cross the street.
I was crossing with an 'intellectually challenged' co-worker of mine.
She asked if I knew what the beeper was for.
I explained that it signals blind people when the light is red.
Appalled, she responded, 'what on earth are blind people doing driving?!'
She is a government employee.....

When my wife and I arrived at a car dealership to pick up our car after a service, we were told the keys had been locked in it.
We went to the service department and found a mechanic working feverishly to unlock the driver’s side door.
As I watched from the passenger side, I instinctively tried the door handle and discovered that it was unlocked.
‘Hey,' I announced to the technician, 'its open!'
His reply, 'I know. I already did that side.'

STAY ALERT!

They walk among us, they breed, and they vote…...

The best laid plans of mice and men

We suffer cultural amnesia about pandemics, since 1918, the world has experienced three additional pandemics, in 1957, 1968, and most recently in 2009. These pandemics were less severe and caused considerably lower mortality rates than the 1918 pandemic. The 1957 H2N2 pandemic and the 1968 H3N2 pandemic each resulted in an estimated 1 million global deaths, while the 2009 H1N1 pandemic resulted in fewer than 0.3 million deaths in its first year.  Earlier this century the CDC wrote The Deadliest Flu: The Complete Story of the Discovery and Reconstruction of the 1918 “could a high severity pandemic on the scale of 1918 could occur in modern times?”

They answer the question with a qualified yes “Many experts think so”, and they go on to say that “If a severe pandemic, such as occurred in 1918 happened today, it would still likely overwhelm health care infrastructure, both in the United States and across the world. Hospitals and doctors’ offices would struggle to meet demand from the number of patients requiring care. Such an event would require significant increases in the manufacture, distribution and supply of medications, products and life-saving medical equipment, such as mechanical ventilators. Businesses and schools would struggle to function, and even basic services like trash pickup and waste removal could be impacted.” Sound familiar, it should this is our world today.

When considering the potential for a modern-era high severity pandemic, it is important; however, to reflect and recognize that there are a number of ways that global preparations for the next pandemic still warrant improvement.

As part of WHO’s International Health Regulations (IHR), countries must notify WHO within 24 hours of any case of human infection caused by a novel influenza A virus subtype. This requirement is designed to help quickly identify emerging viruses with pandemic potential.

Since 2010, CDC has used its Influenza Risk Assessment Tool (IRAT) to evaluate and score emerging novel influenza A viruses and other viruses of potential public health concern. The score provided by the IRAT answers two questions: 1) What is the risk that a virus that is novel in humans could result in sustained human to human transmission? and: 2) What is the potential for the virus to substantially impact public health if it does gain the ability to spread efficiently from person to person? Results from the IRAT have helped public health experts target pandemic preparedness resources against the greatest disease threats and to prioritize the selection of candidate vaccine viruses and the development of pre-pandemic vaccines against emergent viruses with the greatest potential to cause a severe pandemic.

When pre-pandemic vaccines are made, they are stored in the Strategic National Stockpile, along with facemasks, antiviral drugs and other materials that can be used in case of a pandemic.

In the United States, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) maintains a national Pandemic Influenza Plan and this plan was updated in 2017, but the Republicans disbanded the plan in 2018. The World Health Organization (WHO) has published instructions for countries to use in developing their own national pandemic plans, as well as a checklist for pandemic influenza risk and impact management. 

So, the plans were in place and everything was in place, in theory, to stop or slow down a pandemic. But as the poet Robbie Burns said in his poem “To a Mouse” “The best-laid schemes of mice and men, Go often askew, And leave us nothing but grief and pain, For promised joy!”

Can life suddenly turn around?

It's not as if one could be bored enough, feel frustrated enough, or complain enough that their life would suddenly turn around. It doesn't work that way.

Whatever anyone is they become more of. And anyone can change what they become by thinking new thoughts. 

Happily, it is easy to change your thoughts if you want to change.

Decide how you want your thoughts to sound. Words that sound good and describe you, should resonate with you and help you start to change your thought patterns. Some words that may help are:

Pragmatic
Flexible
Confident
Considerate


Now, these are my terms, use them or find other terms that resonate with you.

Each time you are attuned to your inner signal and you see that the noise you are hearing is negative, question that reasoning.

Be positive toward yourself and thank your self for working on your behalf. When you think a negative thought, don’t criticize yourself for having it just tell yourself that those thoughts are no longer needed. Then ask: What could I think instead that would be more constructive? Now as you think positive thoughts do so with energy and determination.

You may feel strange and self-conscious but just connect to the emotions you want to feel (e.g. relaxed instead of stressed, calm instead of angry, loving to yourself rather than unkind, etc.).

Notice how your feelings change when you think consciously and energetically. This is because your thoughts and beliefs create your emotions. 

Decide what you want to achieve or change? Write down a couple of goals to focus on for now, e.g.:

I want to feel less stressed and be able to relax more.
I want to feel better about myself and become more healthy.
I want to ditch my awful job and start my own business.


Don’t pursue too many goals at once as you may not achieve all your goals and fall back into old patterns. Focus on one thing at a time, and build on that success.