Learning a foreign language has many benefits for the brain
There are thousands of languages spoken around the world, and many people have the experience of learning a foreign language for different reasons. Whether it’s for a hobby, a love of a country’s culture, or a job requirement, learning a foreign language not only enhances your language skills, but also has many unexpected benefits for your brain!
The benefits of learning languages for children
Scientists in Sweden have used brain scans to study the changes in the brain when people learn a foreign language. They found two groups of people, one group of freshmen soldiers with linguistic talent, and let them learn Arabic, Russian and other foreign languages intensively; the other group of students studying medicine and cognitive science, let them study hard, but not learn foreign languages. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) results showed that some areas of the brain grew significantly in the group that learned the language, but not in the other group, indicating that learning a foreign language is beneficial to the brain.
First of all, language learning is a good exercise for the brain because many parts of the brain are working at the same time when people are learning new words and grammar. For children, learning to speak a second language helps them hear better, remember more, be more creative, solve complex problems better, and have better Cognitive Flexibility, which is the ability to think flexibly.
Benefits of language learning for adults
Adults who are bilingual or multilingual have many greater abilities and benefits than those who speak only one language, such as the following.
Delayed aging and dementia
Better mental flexibility and mental agility
Better planning ability, decision-making ability, and ability to prioritize things
Become smarter and more intelligent
Better memory and memory skills
Better creativity, concentration, and attention span
More able to multi-task on different tasks
Quicker to understand others’ perspectives
More sensitive to the surrounding environment
Better overall cognitive ability
Better listening skills
Better understanding of your native language
Language is an important part of culture, so in addition to the many benefits mentioned above, learning a foreign language also exposes you to a wider variety of cultures, history, art, and more. In addition, knowing one more language and having one more ability will give you more confidence, expand your horizons and enrich your life, whether in work or in relationships!