There are a lot of exercises and hacks which can help improve your cognitive abilities. But what if it came with a few perks, such as helping your career or making travel more enjoyable? Good news! Learning a new language is exactly that exercise.
In our increasingly globalized world, being able to communicate in a language other than your native tongue is an especially valuable skill. More than that, the challenge of learning something new gives your brain a good workout. And learning a new language is not just a short-term workout, but a long-term brain fitness regime. Here’s how learning a new language impacts your brain.
1. Improves memory
People who are learning, or can speak a second language, have a sharper short-term memory. Learning a new language not only requires your brain to memorize a whole lot of new stuff, but it also means accessing that memory while you speak the language. This strengthens your short-term, or working memory, the part of your brain where you store and process information over a short period of time. This increase in short-term memory not only improves your language learning skills but impacts short-term memory in every area of your life.
2. Sharpens cognitive abilities
A study conducted by the University of Edinburgh found that multilingual individuals perform significantly better at standardized vocabulary, reading, and math tests than monolingual individuals. This study was completed using 262 people of various ages from 2008 to 2010. It found that not only did multilingual people perform better on these tests, but that reading and general intelligence were strongly improved by learning a new language. Further, this improvement occurred regardless of when the individual began learning a new language, demonstrating that this benefit happens at any stage in your life.
3. Helps to slow down Dementia
We already know that consistent brain exercises can help stave off brain degeneration. However, the same study that discovered language sharpens our cognitive skills also found that speaking two or more languages can help delay the onset of Dementia by almost five years. The more active you are in learning and speaking multiple languages, the more you’re exercising your brain. This exercise keeps your brain active, thereby making it stronger and building immunity to memory and cognition-related disease.
4. Improves attention and focus
Translating language in your brain requires a lot of focus. There are more options for the brain to filter through when choosing a word making multilingual brains better at processing information in general. Whether written or verbal, simply engaging in another language exercises your brain. Comprehending a second language and responding takes focus. Add the ability to switch between languages in your daily life and this focus gets sharper, improving your overall ability to filter out distractions in your everyday life.
5. Smarter decision-making skills
Now that your multilingual skills have sharpened your focus, you’ll find your brain is a better decision maker. Filtering out irrelevant stimuli hones your ability to focus, which is imperative if you’re trying to focus on translating language while listening and attempting to reply. But it also means you learn to pick up on key words and important information faster. When you’re able to narrow a field of five options to two, your brain can evaluate the two choices left, making a more focused and well-thought-out decision.
6. Better listening and comprehension skills
When you learn a new language, your brain has to work harder to comprehend it properly. This sharpens not just your focus but forces you to increase your auditory information processing skills. As a result, you concentrate on the individual speaking to you, focusing on them while filtering out others. This skill extends into all conversations, making you a better and more effective listener.
Since you’re also translating both what you hear and what you say, your comprehension also grows. This skill morphs into your native language, allowing you to listen and comprehend quickly. You’ll notice your brain becomes more aware of your surroundings and focuses in greater detail on the people you interact with. Your ability to listen and comprehend, especially with faster reflex and precision, allows you to decipher events and conversations happening with and around you, which leads to greater situational awareness.
7. Improves your native-language skills
When you learn your native language, you are very young, and pick up on many of the details such as syntax and grammar intuitively. You listen to the people around you speak and you begin by mimicking what you hear. But if you learn a new language when you’re older, you have to pay more attention to the finer details of the language.
As you learn the rules for grammatical structure and language rules, you’ll apply them to your native language in order to make sense of what you’re learning. This learning can help expand not just your vocabulary, but your overall understanding of your native language. People who study multiple languages have often been found to attribute their multilingual skills towards making them better public speakers and writers in their native tongues.
Conclusion
One of the best ways to challenge and train your brain every day is by becoming a multilingual human. You’ll exercise your brain every time you speak, listen, read, or write, keeping it fit and healthy while reaping many additional cognitive rewards as well. So give your brain the challenge it craves. And who knows, maybe knowing another language will open doors in your career or personal life in unforeseen ways. Growth, no matter what form it takes, is always a reason to celebrate!
