Learning a new language has numerous benefits - it boosts your career opportunities, opens doors to studying abroad, helps you communicate with friends from other countries, makes you more confident, and allows you to understand a wide range of information in other languages. Do you know that language learning also has many positive effects on your brain? Here are some of them:
IMPROVES CRITICAL THINKING
Learning a new language is like solving puzzles. Every language has its own words, rules, structures, and patterns. As one learns them, the brain constantly processes their meanings and arranges them in significant order. When learners try to communicate in a foreign language they develop cognitive thinking and problem solving skills, as they navigate through the stored information and form meaningful sentences and expressions from them.
IMPROVES MEMORY
Communicating in a new language requires one to recall words, expressions, patterns and rules, and apply them to form meaningful sentences. Pulling out these pieces of information is an excellent workout for the brain. That is why, most of the time, multi-linguals have sharper brains that easily remember names, places, events or numbers.
IMPROVES MULTI-TASKING SKILLS
People who learn new languages and use them alongside their other languages greatly improve their multi-tasking skills. Switching from one language to another can serve as a practice for the brain to manage multiple tasks at a time. This skill may come in handy not only in language learning, but also in school, at work or at home, where we are normally required to juggle different assignments and activities.
KEEPS THE MIND SHARP FOR LONGER
Several studies suggest that language learning keeps the mind healthy for longer. Signs of dementia or other brain-related conditions have been proven to appear at a much later age for people who communicate in two or more languages.
IMPROVES DECISION-MAKING SKILLS
Communicating in a foreign language requires the speaker to constantly choose among words, analyze the appropriateness of expressions or judge the applicability of verbs or tenses - in short, make spontaneous but accurate decisions. Studies therefore show that multi-linguals are often more confident of their decision-making skills. This obviously is important in all situations in life, since we are always faced with various choices.
Language learning has myriad benefits ranging from professional, academic, social, physical, even mental. Learning a new language now will provide perks and advantages that could last for a long time. So, what language would you like to learn?
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