The first language academy for seniors in the Czech Republic starts

Elpida opens the first Language Academy for seniors in the Czech Republic, responding to the social trend of increasing numbers of seniors who are regularly educating themselves

press release ~ Prague ~ 6. 2. 2018

As many languages as you know, so many times you are human - a motto that applies regardless of age. The organisation Elpida, which is changing the way we look at old age, knows this and is opening the first Language Academy for seniors in the Czech Republic on 14 February.

Maria Hrstková is 70 years old. Three years ago her husband died and she thought the world had ended for her. But then she heard about English language courses from a neighbour. She wanted to do something, to get out of her grief, so she signed up. Beginners. She didn't really expect anything from it, but today she says English changed her life.

"It was important to me that I found the courage to go out among people at all. That was the very foundation, the rest was added gradually. Even though I chose English blindly, I'm glad I did. In the autumn, I went to Greece with a friend for a week, where I felt like a completely new person: I could order food in a restaurant or ask for directions," says Marie.

Experienced teachers have been running language courses for seniors at Elpida for ten years. In the last three years, interest in them has grown continuously.

"The interest is overwhelming, which is why we decided to establish the first language academy for seniors in the Czech Republic. Our lecturers have a lot of experience in teaching, as we have already taught at different levels ofAt various levels, they have taught more than five thousand seniors a foreign language," says Jan Bartoš, head of the Elpida Centre. He names a trend that is evident in the entire senior population. A growing number of seniors are regularly educating themselves, attending universities of the third age or educational centres such as Elpida in Prague's Pankrác district.

Last year alone, more than 5 000 seniors attended various courses, 60% of whom took language courses.

"An elderly person of retirement age would not dare to go to a regular language school. He doesn't want to measure his learning ability with ordinary people in their thirties. At the Elpida Centre, we pay great attention to adapting our methodology to the needs of seniors. Teachers progress at a slower pace, repeat the material more often, and adapt their verbal expression to the aging hearing of our students. They emphasize communication in the most common situations and do not plague them with unnecessary grammar. This all-round empathetic approach results in a friendly atmosphere in the courses. Our clients look forward to each class. Thanks to their own progress in the lessons, they gain self-confidence, the desire to continue learning and confidence that learning in old age is possible if you know how to do it," adds Jan Bartoš.

"In retirement, seniors have a relatively large amount of free and, above all, unstructured time at their disposal. The combination of bio-psycho-social ageing and its manifestations with an increase in free time can be dangerous for the elderly... Education of the elderly has high impact not only on strengthening the physical and psychological health of seniors, but also on the formation and strengthening of their interpersonal relationships. Participation in educational activities can thus be an effective means of eliminating feelings of isolation andprevention of loneliness and social deprivation," says Naděžda Špetenková in her book Educating the Elderly.

The first semester of the language academy starts in February. On the occasion of the open day of the Elpida Centre on Wednesday 14 February, the first semester of the programme will begin. February, a lecture on language learning in old age will be held under the guidance of an experienced mentor, Lucie Gramelováwho speaks 12 languages herself and advises others on her blog Language Corner on how to learn languages faster and more fun: "Learning a foreign language is much easier than you think. There's no need to spend years abroad or agonize over boring books and sometimes boring teachers. She is also the author of How to Learn Foreign Languages.

Elpida Language Academy for Seniors
A comprehensive language learning system for seniors, Elpida credits its 15 years of experience.

Trends in language learning among seniors
- 500 seniors a year study languages at Elpida.
- English is clearly winning: five years ago there were 6 English groups now there are 30.
- The language group consists of 6-10 clients who meet once a week all year round.
- Multigenerational tutoring team, the youngest tutor is 24 years old, the oldest 80.

Motivating seniors to learn English in Elpida
- Most of the printed product manuals and other materials are in English.
- Love to travel, more time to travel in retirement.
- Best memory training and dementia prevention.
- Those interested in languages are from a generation that did not have the opportunity to learn English, now they have the opportunity.
- A tool to prevent social exclusion: attending a course as a social event.
- They can interact with more people, they are members of various clubs with which they travel the world.

What do seniors face and why is there a need for a specific approach to seniors that regular language schools do not offer
- Hearing impairment is a big problem. But it's important to know that it mainly affects high pitched tones. The ability to understand is then also rapidly reduced when there are distracting background noises or when speech overlaps, as well as in acoustically poorly designed rooms with a lot of echo.
- Among the sensory changes, it is worth noting the visual impairment, which, although it can largely be addressed by optics, is not the case in the absence of light, where visibility deteriorates rapidly.
- Another problem is the slowing down of reaction processes, which slow down especially in more complex tasks or when people are under pressure. Typing is also slower.
- Age also has a significant impact on memory, with the most significant deterioration in immediate and short-term memory, while long-term memory is often unaffected.
- Another factor is certain learning habits, if someone has been used to learning for the whole life by the grammar-translation method, we cannot expect them to immediately and enthusiastically adopt modern methods, which are quite different.

Senior friendly teaching in Elpida
- The teaching spaces in Elpida are well acoustically designed (the blackboard is close so that students can see it well).
- The lecturer speaks slowly, clearly and loudly, the font is large, easy to read and contrasts well enough with the background.
- The material should be explained as cognitively as possible: not only because the earlier-born are used to older teaching methods, but also because they work and think more cognitively and analytically than children. It is therefore necessary to lay out, for example, grammar in a schematic and systematic way and to explain its rules and patterns. Individual experience and learning habits must be taken into account; internal group differentiation is very important.
- There is no doubt that the fact that children learn intuitively, by imitation, plays a role in the acquisition of pronunciation, whereas inadults, it is usually not possible without correction and often an explicit explanation of how to articulate.

Media contact:
Lada Brůnová ~ lada.brunova@elpida.cz ~ +420 739 659 456

Elpida
Elpida means hope in Greek. But it is also the name of an organisation that helps seniors become a confident and respected part of society. In the spirit of the Old's Cool motto, Elpida is changing the way people look at old age - it runs the Elpida Educational and Cultural Centre for seniors fromPrague and the Senior Crisis Line, founded the brand Socks from Grandma, publishes the magazine VITAL, and organises the intergenerational Old's Cool festival. In short, she is trying to make Czech seniors lead a full & happy life.