Abstract:

Currently, the number of older people is increasing, especially in developed countries. However, this demographic trend can cause serious problems, such as an increase in old age diseases, one of which is dementia, the main cause of which is a decline in cognitive function. Although pharmacological research is ongoing on this neurological disorder, there is no satisfactory outcome in terms of treatment. That is why governments around the world are trying to develop alternative, non-pharmacological strategies that could help prevent the cognitive decline in the elderly population, which is still healthy, in order to reduce future economic and social burdens. One of the non-pharmacological approaches that seems to be able to increase cognitive abilities and protect against the decline in cognitive function in a healthy elderly population is learning a foreign language. Thus, the purpose of this article is to describe findings of a case study which focused on this research issue, i.e., on the enhancement and/or maintenance of cognitive skills among healthy older individuals through learning English.

Keywords:

English, cognitive skills, healthy older individuals, findings.