Five Benefits of Learning a New Language

3 min read
September 16, 2019
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Bonjour, Hola, Ciao and Hello!

Tossing a foreign word every now and then breaks the monotonous tone of an overly familiar language, and believe it or not sounds somewhat impressive and romantic. Whether you do it to add more skills on your resume or to impress a crush, learning a new language has many potential benefits backed by science.

An estimated 60 to 70% of people in the world already speak more than one language.

But there’s good news for those who don’t and for our avid learners who are constantly curious and wanting to learn: more people around the world are committing to learning a new language now than ever before.

Beyond the more frequent use of “Gracias” and “Merci” here are a few of the many benefits language learning has to offer:

1) Bilingual children are sharper and better at multitasking

Bilingual children as young as seven-months-old are more adaptive to environmental changes than children with monolingual brains. According to research, a bilingual person’s language systems are always active and competing. Because bilingual people have already succeeded in control management between their language systems, they become better at conflict management and multitasking.

2) Helps you improve and retain your memory

The benefits are not just limited to children: bilingual seniors are also less likely to suffer from cognitive dissonance than monolingual seniors. According to a study published in 2011, bilingual brains are also better at staving off Alzheimers!

So even as people grow older and their mental abilities start declining, bilingualism works as a guard to delay the effects of brain related disorders or help control it.

3) Makes you appreciate different cultures

Learning a new language almost immediately immerses you into a new culture. A striking benefit of learning and practicing a second language is the elimination of stereotypes attached to the culture the language stems from.

Traveling to a new country and getting acquainted with common phrases is one example. For instance, the most common greeting in India is “Namaste” which loosely translates to Hello, but the literal meaning of the word is “saluting the soul.” The deeper understanding of the word helps highlight the importance of mind spirituality in Hinduism, helping you understand the culture better.

4) Boosts your confidence and makes you happier

Taking classes and learning new skills as an adult has shown to have a positive impact on everyday life. A study from the Institute for Employment Studies concluded that 80% of learners between the ages of 50 and 71 reported more satisfaction in their enjoyment of life, their self-confidence, how they felt about themselves, their satisfaction with other areas of life and their ability to cope with everyday problems.

5) Higher chances of getting a job

Nowadays employers prefer employees who are bilingual and multilingual. Most companies operate globally and need their employers to be familiar with more than one language. According to research if you earn 40,000 annually, you can expect to earn an extra $800 per year if you learn Spanish and $1,520 per year if you learn German.