Second language acquisition
How many of you are simultaneous or sequentially bilingual? Respectively, that is being proficient to understand, speak, read, and write in two languages from infancy or early childhood or acquire the second language after the first language has been established. Unfortunately, I am neither which is why I am currently studying a new language. You may question why I’ve decided to learn a second language in my 70’s. I have numerous reasons: for personal enrichment and lifelong learning, to gain insight into another culture and traditions, to break down language barriers when visiting another country or communicating via a virtual platform, to expand my social and professional networks, and to feel more interconnected as a global citizen in my roles as the founding editor of WORK and the program director of a global online post-professional doctoral in occupational therapy (pp-OTD) program. Despite being highly motivated, and persistent in making a consistent effort to daily use an online language learning app, it is a slow process. I wonder if being exposed to another language in early childhood or up to puberty would have made a second language acquisition easier. Such a question is something that educators and researcher ponder, and I welcome your thoughts.
This issue of WORK contains a special section, Developing Ergonomic Practices: From Companies to Territories developed by guest co-editors, Dr. Pascal Béuin and Dr. Marianne Cerf. The seven papers are on topics such as gardening work in an urban environment and the notion of territory; searching for a sustainable economy; and analyzing the relationships between work and territory on the margins of territorial indicators. My gratitude is extended to Drs. Béguin and Cerf for this informative special section.
The Editor’s Choice paper is The impact of coworking spaces on workers’ performance, mental and physical health: A scoping review authored by Drs. Kinsman, Marris and Oakman from the Centre for Ergonomics and Human Factors, School of Psychology and Public Health, La Trobe University, Bundoora, Australia. This scoping review identified 11 relevant papers and explored the relationship between coworking spaces, mental and physical health, and workers’ performance. The authors concluded that “ . . . coworking spaces offer potential benefits for tele-workers, including opportunities for collaboration/networking and productivity gains. However, attention to the CWS physical design is important to optimise the experience for workers and mitigate risk of adverse mental and physical health effects”.
2024 marks the 34th anniversary of WORK. I am delighted to share that our monthly Learn at WORK podcast starts this month. The mission of the podcast is to bring you insightful conversations and thought-provoking discussions on topics that matter most in the realm of occupational health, prevention, assessment, and rehabilitation (https://workjournal.org/learn-work-podcast). Our first guest is Editorial Board member and author, Dr. Leonard N. Matheson who reflects on his career and discusses his column “Bridging the Gap: Hospital to Workplace.” Thank you for subscribing to our Learn at WORK podcast.
As always, I welcome hearing from you.
Founding Editor, WORK
Occupational therapist & ergonomist
