Senior citizens have a blast learning foreign languages

BENGALURU: Ravi Iyengar is bursting with excitement because he's completing his B2 level in French this month. The 87-year-old retired doctor doesn't hesitate to speak in French even though at times, he doesn't get the gender of some things right.
"I lived in France for about eight years many years ago and wrote my doctoral thesis on parasitology in French.My wife and I visit France once every two years" said Ravi.
His wife Shanta Iyengar, 77, will complete her A2 level this month. She said, "I always knew a little French when we lived there. We look forward to our weekend classes - we do plays and small activities; it's so much fun! I borrow some books from the Alliance Francaise library, watch a few French films and listen to songs as well to become more proficient."
Mikael de la Fuente, director, Alliance Francaise said, "We have students from 8 to 87 years. The main reasons for joining the classes are either professional or academic or love for a foreign language."
Geeta Ramu, for instance, is a 62-year-old A2 level student of Spanish who travelled to Spain last year and was able to talk to locals easily. "I felt so good. Knowing the language really helps in the interior areas of Spain where English isn't spoken. They felt happy too." She pursued both Spanish and French as hobbies and this has opened up a window to new cultures.
Similarly, David Azariah, 67, took it up just for funt. "It was a two-month course and very interesting. I heard that many people in California speak Spanish and since my daughter lives there, we visit once in a while and knowing the language helps," he said.
Ranjeet Kumar, director, Institute of Spanish Studies, said, "A small but significant number of retired persons are learning Spanish. The demand for Spanish-speaking professionals has grown tremendously but the availability is still quite low."
Similarly, German is a much sought-after language, given all batches of German classes are full at the Goethe-Institute/ Max Mueller Bhavan in Indiranagar.
"We have a few persons who retired recently and are learning a new language. There are 50% working professionals and 50% students who want to pursue higher studies in Germany" said Canute John D'Souza, counsellor, Language Courses and Examination, Goethe-Institute. He added, "Most public universities do not ask for tuition fees which is an attractive option for those pursuing higher education in Germany."
Spanish hot favourite
Spanish is possibly the most popular and most widely spoken language, followed by French. German is concentrated in a few areas and is yet to become populary. Most of these languages, and Mandarin, are drawing students because of business reasons. Some students want to study abroad while many do it to work for MNCs which may prefer people who know different languages. Nowadays, learning is more focused and goes beyond mere curiosity. There's a demand for foreign languages in colleges and institutions too.
-- Mohana Devi | French professor
Japanese popular too
There are over 100 persons learning Japanese in our institute and probably 800 in Bengaluru who appear for the proficiency test. Most students have professional goals, and less than 1% out of sheer interest. About 60% are MNC professionals in Japanese companies. Many of these employees either work with people from Japan or have to relocate there for work, especially engineers. Next are the students who have got admission to Japanese universities, followed by homemakers who'd like to be translators or freelancers. Japanese story reading is a fun experience as the words are written top to bottom and the sentences are read right to left.
-- Srividhya Anantapadhmanaban | head of languages, Sakuraa Nihongo Resource Center
With inputs from Shravani Bheema