Learning to Breathe

CALLING ON AN EMPTY HOME Familiar streets, familiar buildings, An old key to match the rusting lock A stubborn door, weathered and wise - Lift it to the right and it creaks open. The old wooden table, with notches and scratches, The same burn from the spilt milk. I wince - I feel the sting, a decade too late. The same wall with incomprehensible dashes Like ants crawling in zigzagged fashion, A letter, a dash, a number, An unraveled code of growth and wisdom, With dusty trophies as evidence. A worn desk with crumbling papers And jammed books, All holding the memories of a time that once was, A time, never found again. Familiar walls, familiar pages - An absence of faces, an absence of voices. Memories volleyed from wall to wall, Fate decreed, page after page, Now lying undisturbed, unheard. A flood of nostalgia unleashed Through the opened door Into a cold, fragile mind, Brimming, overwhelmed, Screeching with echoes. So...

The 21 st century has seen a revolution in the way humans communicate with each other. The importance of learning foreign languages has received great impetus among working professionals in recent years. While knowledge of a foreign tongue can be an asset in business or tourism, research indicates that learning a second language during childhood is more beneficial. Studies in linguistics have asserted that language is not merely a verbal activity, but a cognitive one. Learning a foreign tongue helps strengthen the brain, and opens it to newer possibilities. Better problem solving skills, critical thinking, and creativity are characteristics seen among multilingual children. The more the brain is exercised, the sharper it gets. Learning a foreign language at a younger age also has linguistic benefits. Children respond to it in the same way they would their mother tongue. Pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary skills are better inculcated, and children do not have to s...