We’ve all been there: you’re having a casual, run-of-the-mill conversation, and all of a sudden you just… can’t… quite… think of… the… umm… hoo boy. At this point, you may try to make a joke to play off the situation, and if you’re of a certain age, that joke probably involves the phrase “senior moment” [...]

Of all the issues around brain development, the most interesting to me has always been that of language learning- especially relating to second language learning. It probably has to with my background: my Dad is from Iran, and in my early childhood I spoke Farsi with him and English with my Mom. Eventually, though, my [...]

“No man fully capable of his own language ever masters another.” George Bernard Shaw said that, and as someone who aims to learn as many languages as one lifespan permits, I am delighted to report that the findings of cognitive and linguistic research have actually demonstrated au contraire. Take this Dartmouth College study from way [...]

I recently returned from a 3 week trip to the Middle East. In preparation, I took Arabic lessons for about 6 months, in hopes that it might aid my communication on my trip. I am bilingual in English and Spanish, and was surprised to find that learning Arabic was a great deal more challenging than [...]