First Language Lessons for the Well-Trained Mind

Journal of healthcare communications, 2018

Introduction: A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies. According to scientists, reading offers very tangible benefits for our health except for life cultivation, formation of a person's soul and broadeningof our horizons. Purpose: This reviewaims at delvinginto the effects of reading and studying in order to promote health and quality of life. Review methods: The material of the study has been recent articles concerning the subject. They have been mainly found via electronic databases Medline, Google Scholar and the Hellenic academic libraries Link (HEAL-Link). 30 reference sources were included. Results: Reading is a most beneficial exercise for our brain and mind as it could help the human brain perform all its functions as properly as possible. When people read on a regular basis, they force their minds to think more; as a result, it enables reader to be more insightful. It should be noted that reading is a complex process during which, we use both hemispheres of the brain. At the same time, the Corpus Callosum, which is the tissue that connects the two hemispheres, is activated. Thereby, it contributes to a better exchange of information between them. Reading can be beneficial even for the respiratory or cardiovascular system owing to the fact that it activates the frontal lobe, from which all the automatic functions of the body, such as breathing or the heart function, depend on. Conclusion: Generally, a book seeks nothing,in return, from the reader, as it patiently waits to offer its information, take a person out of a predicament and transport a reader to magical worlds.

There have been a number of experimental and quasi-experimental studies that have demonstrated the effectiveness of ER and to provide support for the use of ER in English as a second language (ESL) and EFL classroom settings. The purpose of this short article is to provide an overview of the studies which can help teachers become familiar with both the benefits and the research.

Journal of Direct Instruction, 2001

Your brain on books is activegrowing, changing and making new connections and different patterns, depending on the type of material you're reading.

2007

Visioning a world class university is certainly an appropriate target for a university. Realizing this vision would need an expansion of knowledge and greater English proficiency as in this period of history, English is the language of IT which is an important key to acquiring knowledge. Using a sample of 40 level one students from UiTM Dungun this study found that in tandem with studies done elsewhere, extensive reading does seem to make a difference in the proficiency level of the students. Further the study also found that students who have a positive predisposition towards English read more and achieved better grades. However the study found no difference in the amount of reading done by boys and girls. The study discussed qualitatively the ability of teachers to inculcate the reading interest in the students, thus it is a triangular study which employs quantitative and qualitative means.

International Journal of Social Sciences & Educational Studies, 2017

Doing large amounts of extensive reading at suitable levels of understanding is a productive tool to increase reading rate, vocabulary, motivation, attitude and general language proficiency. The amount of vocabulary and grammar learners has determines their language proficiency. Extensive reading enables learners to attain competencies in language skills. Graded readers are essential materials for doing extensive reading. They are particularly designed to enable learners practice reading skills and provide an opportunity to reinforce known vocabulary. Through multiple exposures learners become familiar with grammatical structures and vocabulary. Moreover, learners experience how they function in texts and they are motivated to use the vocabulary and structures they have learnt in their communication. Graded readers motivate learners, help them gain reading fluency, enhance their vocabulary and grammar knowledge development. This article defines extensive reading, emphasizes its contributions to language proficiency development and finally stresses out the role of grader readers in language learning.

BRAZ-TESOL Echoes, 2022

In light of population aging, an understanding of factors that promote lifelong cognitive resilience is urgent. There is considerable evidence that education early in the life span, which promotes the development of literacy skills, leads to cognitive health and longevity, but the ways in which activity engagement in later adulthood affects long-term cognitive health is not well understood. The literature on cognitive training focusing on ability and skill training has not only demonstrated the existence of plasticity into late life but also shows that improvements are very tightly tied to the abilities trained. The rush to apply ability training to promote cognitive health has produced a vibrant "brain training" industry that neglects the very limited evidence for transfer to significant functional outcomes. Recent evidence on the neural substrates of reading, language comprehension, and discourse processing, as well as on the lifelong effects of literacy engagement in special populations, hints that reading may well be a "whole-brain exercise" with the potential to promote cognitive health. Such findings suggest promise for education-based approaches to promote lifelong cognitive health, calling for (a) societal investment in science at the interface of education and health, in particular to understand the mechanisms through which literacy engagement affects mind, brain, and physical health through the life span, and (b) innovation in developing models of life span education.

Although books can expose people to new people and places, whether books also have health benefits beyond other types of reading materials is not known. This study examined whether those who read books have a survival advantage over those who do not read books and over those who read other types of materials, and if so, whether cognition mediates this book reading effect. The cohort consisted of 3635 participants in the nationally representative Health and Retirement Study who provided information about their reading patterns at baseline. Cox proportional hazards models were based on survival information up to 12 years after baseline. A dose-response survival advantage was found for book reading by tertile (HR T2 ¼ 0.83, p < 0.001, HR T3 ¼ 0.77, p < 0.001), after adjusting for relevant covariates including age, sex, race, education, comorbidities, self-rated health, wealth, marital status, and depression. Book reading contributed to a survival advantage that was significantly greater than that observed for reading newspapers or magazines (t T2 ¼ 90.6, p < 0.001; t T3 ¼ 67.9, p < 0.001). Compared to non-book readers, book readers had a 23-month survival advantage at the point of 80% survival in the unadjusted model. A survival advantage persisted after adjustment for all covariates (HR ¼ .80, p < .01), indicating book readers experienced a 20% reduction in risk of mortality over the 12 years of follow up compared to nonbook readers. Cognition mediated the book reading-survival advantage (p ¼ 0.04). These findings suggest that the benefits of reading books include a longer life in which to read them.