Why is good to learn another language

Learning a new language means your brain has to cope with complexity as it makes sense of and absorbs new patterns. As our brains work out the meaning, endeavoring to communicate, we develop key learning skills such as cognitive thinking and problem-solving. Highly developed critical thinking skills are a significant benefit both personally and professionally.

Use it or lose it. How many times have you heard that phrase? It is a simple fact — the more the brain is used, the better its functions work. A new language requires not only familiarity with vocabulary and rules, but also being able to recall and apply this knowledge.

Learning a language gives your memory a good work out in the brain gym. This means that multilingual people have brains that are more exercised and quick to recall names, directions, facts, and figures. According to a study from the Pennsylvania State University, people who are multilingual and proficient at slipping from one language system to another are practiced at this very demanding work for the brain. People who have developed the ability to think in different languages and move from one to the other become much better multi-taskers, reducing stress levels.

They easily spot anything that is irrelevant or deceptive. The study was conducted comparing multilingual and monolingual subjects and the former notably had the edge. We live in a multilingual world, where connections are now more important than ever. The world is becoming increasingly globalized and knowing a second language can always give you an unfair advantage.

A second language can drastically change your career. Living in an interconnected world means that more and more jobs are advertising positions where knowing more than one language is essential.

As more companies trade internationally and create relationships with other countries, employees are often asked to travel for work, enhance these relationships, or be relocated abroad.

Besides having more chances of landing a good job or advancing in your career, learning a second language can also give you an insight into other cultures. Lack of integration is a real problem for most countries. More often than not, this is due to the language barrier. People outside of their home countries end up being isolated, hanging out only with people from similar communities where their language is spoken.

Learning a second language opens up the opportunity for being part of a community with a different culture, and learning more about the world around us. Did you know that being bilingual can also help you master your own language?

For example, learning a new language with similar roots can help you learn other languages as well. Take Spanish, Italian, and French together! As mentioned before, learning a new language is a wonderful benefit in a globalized world. Learning a new language pushes your brain to get familiar with new grammar and vocabulary rules. It allows you to train your memory to remember new words, make connections between them, and use them in contextual situations. Time management and multitasking are two skills that will always help you.

Multilingual people have the ability to switch between languages. Their ability to think in different languages and be able to communicate in more than one language helps with multitasking. Fully immersing yourself in a language learning environment means not only learning the basics of that language. It means learning how to communicate in another language with your peers or participating in extracurricular activities in that specific language.

And then they mention one day about this other group of friends, who speak their native language, that they meet up with all the time.

I strongly believe that language and culture are intimately linked. This makes you interesting. People will approach you.

Be fun! Be interesting! Be multilingual! Every time I learn a new language, I find it easier than the one before. The reasoning is simple: with every new language I study, I figure out ways to learn more efficiently. In other words, I develop language hacks. If a foreigner walked up to you to ask for help with something like directions, and they struggled to find the right English words, and made many mistakes but were obviously trying hard, would you feel like laughing at their effort?

I doubt it. Ever wanted to try dancing? Creative writing? Public speaking? How great would it be to shed your inhibitions and just go for it!