Claim a more beautiful mind Your bilingual (or multilingual) brain is a more advanced and agile model than the average monolingual brain. One of the major benefits of learning a foreign language is that your brain actually grows when you study, even compared to other types of learning. After only three months, the language learners had increased brain mass in their hippocampus and three more areas of the cerebral cortex.
Enhance Your Memory Muscles Another critical benefit of learning a foreign language is a boost to your memory power. As a bilingual, you experience a sharper working memory and your brain stays healthier for longer. The more frequently you retrieve words as you speak a foreign language, the more you build up your recall capacity.
Gain a competitive edge One practical advantage of learning a foreign language is the advantage it gives you when looking for a job. In the US, for example, only 20% of students learn a foreign language, even though it's the second largest Spanish-speaking country in the world (and growing), so having "bilingual" under your belt is a real resume boon. . For one, learning a second language boosts your confidence, which can greatly improve the outcome of your upcoming job interview.
Crack More Problems and Make Better Decisions In addition to shaping the architecture of your brain, another cognitive benefit of learning a foreign language is that you get better at wielding your mind as a tool. Even at the second-grade level, bilingual students are better problem-solvers. Learning a foreign language not only helps you to think creatively about how to approach a problem, but it also helps you pull from a richer toolbox of unexpected solutions.
Be a More Empathetic Global Citizen An intrinsic benefit of learning a foreign language is that you broaden your mind to other ways of seeing and being, and that expanded perspective builds empathy. Children who study Spanish develop significantly more open and positive worldly attitudes toward Spanish-speaking cultures. This powerful sense of human kinship increases as they enter a language doorway into connection with other cultures in the world.
Master your mother tongue A hidden benefit of learning a foreign language is coming in greater mastery of your native language. When you're learning a foreign language, you're bringing your conscious attention to things you might have learned in your mother tongue without thinking about them. As a language learner, you can learn about linguistic architecture. become more attuned to - that is, grammar, sentence structure, conjugation, intonation, idioms, and comprehension for starters.
Become a Maverick at Multitasking As a bilingual, you have to constantly mentally juggle between the languages that co-exist in your head, and so a natural benefit of learning a foreign language is becoming an adept multitasker. When you have at least two languages at the tip of your tongue, you are often expressing yourself while still thinking alongside another, even if you’re not aware of it. You may often be slipping between languages.
Get Better At Math The scholarly benefits of learning a foreign language go above and beyond linguistic prowess to complement your other forms of learning. Several studies have shown that studying a foreign language enhances performance in subjects such as English, mathematics, and social studies. In support of complementary learning, one study even found that students who spend less class time on mathematics but instead study a second language in that time, outperform their peers who spend more time studying math and no foreign language.