Top 10 Benefits of Learning a Second Language

Memory is improved

Today, bilingualism is often seen as a brain-sharpening benefit, a condition that can protect and preserve cognitive function well into old age.Read MoreRead more “Memory is improved”

HGSE Harvard

More Powerful Brains

As the recent research shows, that’s a worthwhile investment of time. Being bilingual could keep our minds working longer and better into old age, which could have a massive impact on how we school our children and treat older people.Read MoreRead more “More Powerful Brains”

BBC

Competitive Advantage

More than half the world’s population uses two or more languages every day.Read MoreRead more “Competitive Advantage”

British Council

It makes a person more flexible and open to other cultures

Today, more of the world’s population is bilingual or multilingual than monolingual. In addition to facilitating cross-cultural communication, this trend also positively affects cognitive abilities.Read MoreRead more “It makes a person more flexible and open to other cultures”

US National Institute of Health

The mind becomes keener

The bilingual brain is used to handling two languages at the same time. This develops skills for functions such as inhibition (a cognitive mechanism that discards irrelevant stimuli), switching attention, and working memory.Read MoreRead more “The mind becomes keener”

British Council

Learning a foreign language boosts brain power

Speaking more than one language has benefits. You can talk to more people, and your speech and thinking skills may be stronger.Read MoreRead more “Learning a foreign language boosts brain power”

American Speech-Language-Hearing Association

A person’s ability to multi-task is developed

Recent research has shown that bilingual children outperform monolingual children on tasks that tap into executive function — skills having to do with attention control, reasoning, and flexible problem-solving.Read MoreRead more “A person’s ability to multi-task is developed”

HGSE Harvard

The onset of dementia and Alzheimer’s is stalled

Bilingualism promotes cognitive reserve in elderly people. Taking part in stimulating physical or mental activity can help maintain cognitive function, and delay the onset of symptoms in people suffering from dementia.Read MoreRead more “The onset of dementia and Alzheimer’s is stalled”

British Council

Expands career potentials

A bilingual person brings to an employer a different asset. A person who is bilingual is going to get more jobs than someone who is not bilingual.Read MoreRead more “Expands career potentials”

University of Texas

Be a better communicator in any language

Learning a language forces you to improve your listening skills and while making you look at your own language in a different way. Language learners are forced to be more conscious of grammatical rules and constructions of that language, which can give new insight into how they use their mother tongues.Read MoreRead more “Be a better communicator in any language”

Global Citizen