More than fifty per cent of the world speaks two or more languages fluently but most Anglophones are monolingual. English has long since been the most widely spoken language in the world with over 1.8 billion users, meaning English speakers can largely get away with not having more up their sleeve. If you were brought up in rural Carmarthenshire, Wales however, you wouldn’t make it as far as Cardiff without a good grasp of English. Us English speakers can therefore afford to get in our mother tongue, perhaps with the odd bit of holiday lingo thrown in for good measure. But learning a language has more benefits than making sure you order the fish and not the chicken or adding some panache to your CV. Language learning is good for your health, makes you smarter and even makes you better at English.
A number of comprehensive studies have shown that those who are able to speak two or more languages significantly postpone the on-set of Alzheimer’s and dementia compared to those who speak one language. Language learning keeps your brain buzzing; decoding grammar rules and untangling foreign sentence structures has shown to be wholly beneficial to the brain giving it a good, regular work out. Studies have also shown bilinguals to have better memories thanks to this mental gymnastics. They are particularly good at memorising lists and sequences, making forgetting your shopping list a lot less frustrating. Learning another language improves the functionality of your brain as a whole thus making you smarter. It allows you to think more laterally and negotiate ideas and concepts more effectively improving your problem solving skills in all areas. Bilinguals tend to score better on standardised tests than monolinguals across all subject areas due to their ability to negotiate different concepts and multi-task more easily.
Learning a second language also has the benefit of teaching you a lot about your native tongue. It makes you question and understand the rules and structures of your own language and vocabulary systems as you become able to compare languages. This can therefore improve your own language skills and make you even better at English and a more effective writer, listener and general communicator.
But in addition to all these benefits, few things compare to the sense of achievement you get from successfully communicating with another person in a foreign language. It is what keeps language learners inspired. There is always more to learn and more to gain as a whole new world gradually opens up to you with every new verb, noun or adjective you learn. So give it a go for the sake of your intelligence, your health and your English.
A number of comprehensive studies have shown that those who are able to speak two or more languages significantly postpone the on-set of Alzheimer’s and dementia compared to those who speak one language. Language learning keeps your brain buzzing; decoding grammar rules and untangling foreign sentence structures has shown to be wholly beneficial to the brain giving it a good, regular work out. Studies have also shown bilinguals to have better memories thanks to this mental gymnastics. They are particularly good at memorising lists and sequences, making forgetting your shopping list a lot less frustrating. Learning another language improves the functionality of your brain as a whole thus making you smarter. It allows you to think more laterally and negotiate ideas and concepts more effectively improving your problem solving skills in all areas. Bilinguals tend to score better on standardised tests than monolinguals across all subject areas due to their ability to negotiate different concepts and multi-task more easily.
Learning a second language also has the benefit of teaching you a lot about your native tongue. It makes you question and understand the rules and structures of your own language and vocabulary systems as you become able to compare languages. This can therefore improve your own language skills and make you even better at English and a more effective writer, listener and general communicator.
But in addition to all these benefits, few things compare to the sense of achievement you get from successfully communicating with another person in a foreign language. It is what keeps language learners inspired. There is always more to learn and more to gain as a whole new world gradually opens up to you with every new verb, noun or adjective you learn. So give it a go for the sake of your intelligence, your health and your English.
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