20 Endangered Languages in Europe: Your Complete Guide
February 21st was an International mother language day.
8 minute read
How many languages do you speak?
If only one, then you must be considering learning another one.
But is it worth your while?
That’s what we will touch upon today.
We will talk about all the benefits of learning a second language and how it will improve your life.
Because learning one more language can change your life for the better.
All language learners can agree with us on this.
First and foremost, one of the best ways to invest in yourself and your self-growth is to start learning a new language.
Not only can you use it when you travel, but you can also grow personally and professionally.
Today we are going to talk about the 10 biggest benefits of learning a foreign language, so pay attention and think about it the next time you are not sure whether it’s worth your while.
Health Benefits
The most important reason you should learn a new language is definitely your health.
Language is your brain’s best friend. Let’s see how.
Better and Improved Memory
Several studies have shown that learning languages can improve a person’s memory.
Scientists explain it this way: our memory is like a muscle. If you work out, you will be healthy and you will get good results. The more you work out, the better results will be.
Our brain can memorize words, phrases, and expressions but also recall and apply that knowledge.
If you take on a language course, trust us, your brain will be grateful.
Sharpening the mind
Many studies have shown that people who speak more than one language, can think clearly and observe their surroundings better.
As we’ve mentioned, the learning process makes your brain healthy.
Why healthy? Because your brain works out like this.
And, this way, it stays in a good shape so it can easily spot some irrelevant or misleading information around you.
Positive impacts on your health
In case you didn’t know, speaking more than one language can save you from Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.
The frontal cortex in your brain gets strengthened, which increases your attention span.
According to the latest research, multi linguists show signs of dementia after 75.5 years. On another hand, for those that speak only their mother tongue dementia shows up at the age of 71.4.
Long story short, learning a language literally saves your health and life.
Chocolate for your brain
You all like chocolate, right? Your brain does, too.
But it doesn’t want the real chocolate.
The perfect chocolate for your brain is another language. Yes, you’ve read that right.
When you learn, your brain activates ‘the ventral striatum.’ That part of your brain is responsible for pleasure.
So give your brain chocolate every day. And don’t worry. This one is perfectly healthy for you.
Social benefits
After you take care of your health, the second most essential thing should be your social life. We all are social human beings and we can’t live alone.
Let’s see the connection between another language and your social life.
Communication and friendship
One thing that makes humans different from animals is our ability to communicate verbally with each other.
Verbal communication leads to a connection between people. And language is the best connection to other cultures, nations, and customs.
Imagine how many people you can meet, talk to and share your experiences with if you speak another language. Sky's the limit.
The facility of learning more foreign languages
Once you master your second language, your brain and memory get in excellent shape.
Your brain analyzes different linguistic structures.
This cognitive effect of studying helps your brain automatically understand the language learning process because it already experienced it.
This can be applied to any language so you can easily take on a third or fourth language.
A better comprehension of your native language
In the process of acquiring another language, you become more aware of your native one.
If you aren’t passionate about grammar, vocabulary, syntax, etc, then you probably just learned them back in school and, eventually, forgot about them.
But thanks to them, you will have a deeper understanding of some parts of grammar in the native language you even weren’t aware of. Or you will pay more attention to tongue twisters and false friends.
After all, you will become more precise about what other people are saying. You will catch their phrases, the way of their speaking, maybe even their mistakes.
Personal benefits
Besides positive impact on your personality and character, learning a second language helps your creativity get to the top, gives you more confidence than before etc.
Let's take a look at these benefits.
Creativity is on a higher level, if not advanced
A person’s creativity is very closely connected to learning a new language.
The simple explanation lies in the fact that for example, if you have a limited vocabulary in that language, you need to be creative and ‘work’ with words and expressions you know.
Additionally, your approach to problems becomes different. You have to force yourself to search for substitute words or phrases, which means you have to access the problem from different angles and find solutions from different points of view.
Boosting the confidence
One of the usual things when learning a language is making mistakes, spoken or written.
This is a normal part of the learning process. Yes, it can be hard to get used to making mistakes, but sooner you realize it's natural, more confident you will feel.
After some time, when you get an accomplishment in your language achievements, then your confidence will go through the roof.
And you can move on to even more things to learn.
Improve multitasking skills
When we learn a new language, especially in the beginning, we often jump from one language to another.
Over time, we get used to this and we start multitasking in other aspects of our life. Some say that multitasking isn’t so good since you can lose productivity. In this case, it isn’t quite true because your brain works all the time, as we said ‘works out,’ so it is used to these constant exercises.
Bilinguals and multilinguals can easily do several things at the time, in other words, they are very good at multitasking.
Related article: How many languages can you learn at once?
Other important benefits of learning a second language
Do you want to travel abroad?
Do you want a better salary or a better job position?
No matter the personal or business reason, language offers many benefits in these fields, too.
Enhance job opportunities
This one is, perhaps, the main reason why so many people learn or plan to learn a second language.
Let’s be honest and just say what many of us already know: employers like people who speak more than one language.
Speaking several languages means that you can think fast, you are a smart person, you aren’t afraid of challenges, and you can communicate with many possible and future partners from other countries.
In other words, you can be a quite valuable asset. Employers will often choose a candidate who speaks one more language over the one who doesn’t, even if the latter has the same qualifications.
So, if you speak one (or several) languages, don’t hesitate to write that down in your curriculum vitae or cover letter.
More travel opportunities
Speaking more than one language gives you the possibility of more vacation destinations. These people often have ‘the courage’ to go out from their safety bubbles and visit more countries.
When you speak the language, you can communicate with the locals. You don't necessarily have to be fluent. Locals will appreciate people who show respect and interest tin their culture.
Conclusion
Those were some of the most important benefits of learning a second language.
However, there are still many more that we haven't mentioned. Our main goal was to make you see and realize that it can help you in every aspect of your life.
After reading these ones, are you convinced that you should start learning? Once you start, it will be hard to stop, that’s for sure.
Yes, there can be some difficulties in learning, but you can overcome them.
So, why don’t you start now?
