A Comparative Psycholinguistic Study on the Subjective Feelings of Well-Being Outcomes of Foreign Language Learning in Older Adults From the Czech Republic and Poland

Abstract

Positive psychology has recently seen unprecedented rise and has reached vast achievements in the area of quality of life (QoL) improvement. The purpose of this study is to show that there are different aspects of well-being that make healthy older people motivated to learn a foreign language at a later age. The research was conducted in the Czech Republic and Poland in two groups of learners aged 55 years and more. The experimental group consisted of 105 Czech respondents who were targeted with an online questionnaire with the aim to determine the level of FLL outcomes connected to QoL in healthy older adults in their L2 acquisition. The second experimental group (n = 100) was established of Polish seniors who attended similar language courses. The findings of the research clearly show that FLL has an irreplaceable role as one of several non-pharmacological strategies utilized to improve the aging process and reduce drawbacks of aging. The results indicate that seniors' overall satisfaction and subjective feelings of well-being are enormously high when attending foreign language classes at older age. FLL, therefore, creates an environment that can enhance QoL of older adults that can be supplemented by other means such as well-balanced diet, other social activities, sport and physical activity, music, or computer games. All these intervention methods can significantly improve QoL of older adults and the parties engaged and/or responsible for taking care of older generation should take it into serious consideration.

Enhancing Foreign Language Learning Approaches to Promote Healthy Aging: A Systematic Review

“…Moreover, one of the studies (Hertzog et al, 2020 ) showed that older adults manifested a lower region of proximal learning due to their lack of belief in their ability to learn. Furthermore, according to Klimova et al ( 2021a ) and Pikhart et al, ( 2021 ), there is a correlation between the level of education, age, the sexes, and the number of languages studied during the response to the perceived effects of a foreign language learning impact.…”

“…Altogether nine studies were detected. Four articles of the eight selected originated in the Czech Republic (Klimova et al, 2021a , 2021b ; Pikhart & Klimova, 2020 ; Pikhart et al, 2021 ). The five remaining studies are from Austria, Germany, Ukraine, and the USA (Grossmann et al, 2023 ; Grossmann et al, 2021 ; Hertzog et al, 2020 ; Pfenninger & Kliesch, 2023 ; Sandal et al, 2019 ).…”

“…Most studies (Grossmann et al, 2021 ; Klimova et al, 2021a , 2021b ; Pfenninger & Kliesch, 2023 ; Pikhart & Klimova, 2020 ; Pikhart et al, 2021 ) used experimental groups, except for two studies (Grossmann et al, 2023 ; Hertzog et al, 2020 ; Sandal et al, 2019 ), which conducted controlled trials. In addition, three articles compared experimental groups between the Czech Republic and Poland (Klimova et al, 2021a , 2021b ; Pikhart et al, 2021 ). The outcome measures usually involved questionnaire surveys, statistical analysis, and study trials.…”

“…Based on the findings on the L2 variability, teachers should consider the individual characteristics and needs of their older students Grossmann et al, ( 2021 ) Germany To evaluate the effects of short and intensive foreign language learning on executive functions in healthy older adults 60 native German-speaking monolingual healthy older adults, aged 65–80 years; two trial arms: Language Learning Group (LLG) and waiting list control group (WLCG). The LLG group will attend a face-to-face Spanish course for beginners for 90 min from Monday to Friday for 3 weeks Baseline Variables, Vienna Test System (VTS), Cognitive Reserve Index Questionnaire (CRIq), Language and Social Background Questionnaire (LSBQ), Cognitive Functions Dementia test (CFD), Flinders Handedness survey (FLANDERS), Stroop Interference Test (STROOP), Divided Attention (WAFG), Statistical Analysis Learning a foreign language could promote healthy cognitive aging and prevent cognitive decline in older adults FLL can promote cognitive reserve which is attached to mental activity, thus it benefits cognitive functions Klimova et al, ( 2021a ) Czech Republic To investigate the motives to learn a foreign language at a later age and the different aspects of well-being that stimulate L2 acquisition for healthy older people Two experimental groups, one from the Czech Republic with 105 respondents and a second experimental and comparative group from Poland with 100 respondents. Both groups of learners aged 55 years and more Questionnaire survey, Statistical Analysis, t-Student test, and ANOVA test with post-hoc, the Spearman coefficient The results indicate that seniors’ positive learning outcomes and overall satisfaction are to some extent high when attending foreign language classes at an older age Teachers should take into consideration the student’s characteristics and traits and teach using, for example, drilling exercises, scaffolding, and providing materials in a visible font Klimova et al, ( 2021b ) Czech Republic To explore the positive effects that foreign language learning (FLL) might have on healthy older individuals Two experimental groups; participants aged from 55 to 80 or more years old, one from the Czech Republic, 92 participants, and another from Poland 100 participants Questionnaire Survey, Statistical Analysis, and Research Questions The results revealed four significant factors involving the positive effects of learning a foreign language.…”

Urban–Rural Differences in Subjective Well-Being of Older Adult Learners in China

“…These results align with previous studies. For example, Klimova et al (2021) showed that older adults’ overall satisfaction and SWB were very high when they participated in foreign-language courses. Bo (2017) also showed that participation in learning activities was significantly and positively associated with SWB.…”