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.

Department of Applied Linguistics Faculty of Informatics and Management University of Hradec Kralove Hradec Kralove Czechia

Department of Organization Development Cracow University of Economics Kraków Poland

Faculty of Business and Management Wroclaw University of Economics and Business Wrocław Poland

Zobrazit více v PubMed

Adams K. B., Roberts A. R., Cole M. B. (2011). Changes in activity and interest in the third and fourth age: associations with health, functioning and depressive symptoms. Occup. Ther. Int. 18, 4–17. 10.1002/oti.304 PubMed DOI

Barchitta M., Maugeri A., Magnano San Lio R., Quattrocchi A., Degrassi F., Catalano F., et al. . (2020). The effects of diet and dietary interventions on the quality of life among breast cancer survivors: a cross-sectional analysis and a systematic review of experimental studies. Cancers 12:322. 10.3390/cancers12020322 PubMed DOI PMC

Belnap R. C., Bown J., Dewey D. P., Belnap L. P., Steffen P. R. (2016). “Project perseverance: helping students become self-regulating learners,” in Positive Psychology in SLA, eds MacIntyre P. D., Gregersen T., Mercer S. (Bristol: Multilingual Matters; ), 282–304. 10.21832/9781783095360-013 DOI

Bubbico G., Chiacchiaretta P., Parenti M., di Marco M., Panara V., Sepede G., et al. . (2019). Effects of second language learning on the plastic aging brain: functional connectivity, cognitive decline, and reorganization. Front. Neurosci. 13:423. 10.3389/fnins.2019.00423 PubMed DOI PMC

Butler Y. (2019). Linking noncognitive factors back to second language learning: new theoretical directions. System 86:102127. 10.1016/j.system.2019.102127 DOI

CEFR (2020). Available online at: https://www.coe.int/en/web/common-european-framework-reference-languages (accessed July 3, 2020).

Cwirlej-Sozańska A. B., Sozański B., Wiśniowska-Szurlej A., Wilmowska-Pietruszyńska A. (2018). Quality of life and related factors among older people living in rural areas in south-eastern Poland. Ann. Agric. Environ. Med. 25, 539–545. 10.26444/aaem/93847 PubMed DOI

Cwirlej-Sozańska A. B., Wiśniowska-Szurlej A., Wilmowska-Pietruszyńska A., Sozański B. (2020). Factors associated with disability and quality of life among the oldest-old living in community in Poland – a cross-sectional study. Ann. Agric. Environ. Med. 27, 621–629. 10.26444/aaem/115020 PubMed DOI

Dewaele J. M., Chen X., Padilla A. M., Lake J. (2019). The flowering of positive psychology in foreign language teaching and acquisition research. Front. Psychol. 10:2128. 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02128 PubMed DOI PMC

Dewaele J. M., MacIntyre P. D. (2014). The two faces of Janus? Anxiety and enjoyment in the foreign language classroom. Stud. Second Lang. Learn. Teach. 4, 237–274. 10.14746/ssllt.2014.4.2.5 DOI

Dotson V. (2018). Is Losing Interest and Motivation Inevitable as we Age? Available online at: https://psychologybenefits.org/2018/05/31/is-losing-interest-and-motivation-inevitable-as-we-age/ (accessed September 10, 2020).

Fiske A., Wetherell J. L., Gatz M. (2009). Depression in older adults. Annu. Rev. Clin. Psychol. 5, 363–389. 10.1146/annurev.clinpsy.032408.153621 PubMed DOI PMC

Granado-Casas M., Martin M., Martínez-Alonso M., Alcubierre N., Hernández M., Alonso N., et al. . (2020). The Mediterranean diet is associated with an improved quality of life in adults with type 1 diabetes. Nutrients 12:131. 10.3390/nu12010131 PubMed DOI PMC

Gu L., Cheng Y., Phillips D. R., Rosenberg M. (2019). Understanding the wellbeing of the oldest-old in China: a study of socio-economic and geographical variations based on CLHLS data. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 16:601. 10.3390/ijerph16040601 PubMed DOI PMC

Hardach S. (2018). Speaking More Than One Language Can Boost Economic Growth. Available online at: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/02/speaking-more-languages-boost-economic-growth/ (accessed July 3, 2020).

James B. D., Wilson R. S., Barnes L. L., Bennett D. A. (2011). Late-life social activity and cognitive decline in old age. J. Int. Neuropsychol. Soc. 17, 998–1005. 10.1017/S1355617711000531 PubMed DOI PMC

Jin X., Wang L., Liu S., Zhu L., Loprinzi P. D., Fan X. (2020). The impact of mind-body exercises on motor function, depressive symptoms, and quality of life in Parkinson's disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 17:31. 10.3390/ijerph17010031 PubMed DOI PMC

Klímová B, Pikhart M. (2020). Current research on the impact of foreign language learning among healthy seniors on their cognitive functions from a positive psychology perspective – a systematic review. Front. Psychol. 11:765. 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00765 PubMed DOI PMC

Kormos J., Csizer K. (2008). Age-related differences in the motivation of learning English as a foreign language: attitudes, selves, and motivated learning behavior. Lang. Learn. 58, 327–355. 10.1111/j.1467-9922.2008.00443.x DOI

Matsumoto D. (2019). Exploring third-age foreign language learning from the well-being perspective: Work in progress. Stud. Self-Access Learn. J. 10, 111–116. 10.37237/100107 DOI

Mirandola D., Franchi G., Maruelli A., Vinci M., Muraca M. G., Miccinesi G., et al. . (2020). Tailored sailing experience to reduce psychological distress and improve the quality of life of breast cancer survivors: a survey-based pilot study. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 17:4406. 10.3390/ijerph17124406 PubMed DOI PMC

Murman D. L. (2015). The impact of age on cognition. Semin. Hear. 36, 111–121. 10.1055/s-0035-1555115 PubMed DOI PMC

Narushima M., Liu J., Diestelkamp N. (2018). Lifelong learning in active ageing discourse: Its conserving effect on wellbeing, health and vulnerability. Ageing Soc. 38, 651–675. 10.1017/S0144686X16001136 PubMed DOI PMC

Naud D., Généreux M., Bruneau J., et al. . (2019). Social participation in older women and men: differences in community activities and barriers according to region and population size in Canada. BMC Public Health 19:1124. 10.1186/s12889-019-7462-1 PubMed DOI PMC

Phenninger S. E., Polz S. (2018). Foreign language learning in the third age: a pilot feasibility study on cognitive, socio-affective and linguistic drivers and benefits in relation to previous bilingualism of the learner. JESLA 2, 1–13. 10.22599/jesla.36 DOI

Pikhart M, Klimova B. (2020). Maintaining and supporting seniors' wellbeing through foreign language learning: psycholinguistics of second language acquisition in older age. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 17:8038. 10.3390/ijerph17218038 PubMed DOI PMC

Pot A., Keijzer M., de Bot K. (2017). “Enhancing language awareness in migrants. third age to promote wellbeing,” in Third Age Learners of Foreign Languages, ed D. Gabrys-Barker (Bristol: Multilingual Matters; ), 176–200. 10.21832/9781783099412-013 DOI

Pot A., Keijzer M., De Bot K. (2018). The language barrier in migrant aging. Int. J. Biling. Educ. Biling. 23, 1139–1157. 10.1080/13670050.2018.1435627 DOI

Pot A., Porkert J., Keijzer M. (2019). The bidirectional in bilingual: cognitive, social and linguistic effects of and on third-age language learning. Behav. Sci. 9:98. 10.3390/bs9090098 PubMed DOI PMC

Ramirez Gomez D. (2016). Language Teaching and the Older Adult: The Significance of Experience. Bristol: Multilingual Matters. 10.21832/9781783096305 DOI

Seligman M. E. P. (2011). Flourish: A Visionary New Understanding of Happiness and Well-being. Washington, DC: Free Press.

Swain M. (2013). The inseparability of cognition and emotion in second language learning. Lang. Teach. 46, 195–207. 10.1017/S0261444811000486 DOI

Verga L., Kotz S. (2013). How relevant is social interaction in second language learning? Front. Hum. Neurosci. 7:550. 10.3389/fnhum.2013.00550 PubMed DOI PMC

Viktorova L. V. (2020). Educational conditions for implementation of adults' distance learning of foreign languages. Inform. Technol. Learn. Tools 75, 13–25. 10.33407/itlt.v75i1.2797 DOI

Weziak-Białowolska D. (2016). Quality of life in cities – empirical evidence in comparative European perspective. Cities 58, 87–96. 10.1016/j.cities.2016.05.016 DOI

What Is Well-Being? (2020). Definition, Types, and Well-Being Skills. Available online at: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/click-here-happiness/201901/what-is-well-being-definition-types-and-well-being-skills (accessed June 3, 2020).

WHO (2020). https://www.who.int/gho/women_and_health/mortality/situation_trends_life_expectancy/en/ (accessed June 3, 2020).

Woll B., Wei L. (2019). Cognitive Benefits of Language Learning: Broadening Our Perspectives. London: The British Academy.

Wong P. C. M., Ou J., Pang C. W. Y., Zhang L., Tse C. S., Lam L. C. W., et al. . (2019). Language training leads to global cognitive improvement in older adults: a preliminary study. J. Speech Lang. Hear. Res. 62, 2411–2424. 10.1044/2019_JSLHR-L-18-0321 PubMed DOI

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