Growing up multilingual in any country, where most people speak multiple languages, it was simple to expect the many benefits of knowing more than one language. Most of us learned English when we were young, so it didn’t seem special.
I only realized that only some people speak two or more languages once I got older and started meeting more people from other places. As I learned Korean and tried out more languages, I realized how important it is to learn a second language and how useful it is to switch between languages.
So, why is it good to learn another language? Let’s go down my list.
Table of Contents
1. You can talk to more people if you know more languages.
The ability to talk to more people is one of the most obvious benefits of learning a second language. Languages are tools that help people connect and talk to each other. And isn’t being able to communicate with others one of the best parts of being human?
When you travel, knowing languages like English, Mandarin, and Spanish spoken by many people is especially helpful because you can talk to people who live there. You don’t have to use random hand motions to communicate.
But even if you don’t go abroad, knowing a second or third language can help you talk to people or even coworkers whose first language is different from yours. People tend to be more open when they speak the language they know well. So, if you speak their language or accent, you can better understand what they are thinking.
2. Knowing multiple languages helps you get the most out of your travels.
Clifton Fadiman, an American author, once said, “When you travel, keep in mind that a foreign country is not made to make you feel safe. It’s made to make its people feel good.” Do you agree with that? I agree with that 100%.
Even though most countries go out of their way to make tourists feel welcome, part of being a responsible traveler is learning that we have to change, not them. This means learning about society, local traditions and customs, and a few basic phrases.
It should feel like something other than work. On the contrary, knowing the local language is helpful, especially when you know more than just how to say hello and ‘Where is the toilet?’
When I went to Seoul, an older woman selling hot chicken skewers asked me in Korean if I could handle spice. I said “joke” (a little), which means “a little.” If I had said yes right away, I might not have been able to finish that skewer.
Anyone who has been to a place where people speak a different language or accent can tell you how useful it can be to know more than one. You can ask about the food you’re getting, try to get a better price, get clear directions, and make small talk more interesting.
3. It helps you learn more about different countries.
One of the best things about learning a second language is that it helps you understand the society of another country. Language is cultural and filled with the customs, arts, religions, and history of the people and countries that speak that language.
Knowing the language helps you understand and respect the culture that goes along with it. This is especially true since many local words and ideas (like these Filipino words) translate poorly to English or other popular languages.
You can learn about other countries by reading and studying, but knowing the language makes the whole experience more immersive.
The more you understand and appreciate another culture, the more you can tolerate, empathize with, and accept others. Exposure to different cultures makes people more open to new ideas and more willing to accept that we are all different because of our origins.
4. It makes your mind work better.
Multiple studies have shown many brain benefits to learning a foreign language.
For one thing, a brain that speaks more than one language works and looks different than a brain that only speaks one language. Research shows that people who speak more than one language have more grey matter in the part of the brain that controls behavior. This part of your brain has the most neurons and connections, and it works harder when you are learning a second language.
So, it’s unsurprising that many bilingual people have better memory, problem-solving, critical-thinking skills, and better listening and focus.
After all, a foreign language is an entirely new set of rules, patterns, and words. When you learn a second or even a third language, your brain has to deal with the complexity of new systems that may or may not be related to the ones you already know.
So, pat yourself on the back the next time you pass a Duolingo level. You’ve worked your brain hard and earned it!
5. Learning a second language can help keep Alzheimer’s and dementia from getting worse.
The extra work that a bilingual brain does throughout its life not only makes it smarter but also makes it healthier. Studies have shown that learning a second language can delay the start of neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and dementia by up to five years.
When you learn and use a second language, your brain stays active and works rationally. Even if you already have brain damage, it won’t stop you from getting Alzheimer’s or dementia, but it can help you keep functioning.
6. Speaking more than one language gives you more work options.
One popular reason to learn a second language is that it can help you get a job. Knowing more than one language gives you many options that your monolingual friends might have yet to have.
Rosetta Stone did a study and found that up to 35% of those in charge of hiring or managing people said that an employee’s ability to speak another language made them offer the person a job, give them an interview, suggest a promotion, or suggest a pay rise.
Many jobs require people to speak more than one language, or at least prefer that they do. Speaking more than one language is valuable for employees because it lets them talk to more clients. And yes, meeting the other requirements can help you get ahead faster and make more money.
7. Learning a second language can help you make better choices.
Watch This YouTube Video: The benefits of a bilingual brain – By Mia Nacamulli
Several studies and this TED movie on the benefits of a multilingual brain have shown that adults who learn a second language are less influenced by their emotions and solve problems more logically in their second language than in their first, and this is because we know a second language in a more organized way than we did our first language.
When we think about our second or third language, we often notice the rules, nuances, and even secret meanings in sentences. We try to get away from our feelings and opinions about our mother tongue, which leads to choices that make sense and are based on facts.
8. Being multilingual makes you a better multitasker.
In the same way, learning a second or third language makes you better at juggling tasks and solving problems.
The TED video we just talked about shows that switching between languages, also called “code-switching,” is a mental workout that makes the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex work harder and may even make it stronger. This part of the brain helps people solve problems and do more than one thing simultaneously.
This study from Penn State backs up that conclusion. Judith Kroll, a Distinguished Professor of Psychology at Penn State, says that the idea that being bilingual confuses is wrong. Instead, she says, bilingual people gain from focusing on important tasks while ignoring unimportant information.
Want to get better at balancing tasks? Try your hand at mixing languages.
You can use information in more than one language.
Every K-drama and K-pop fan dreams of watching a show without subtitles and still understanding what’s happening.
Even though I’m not fluent, I knew I’d come a long way when I noticed how many subtitles and versions on Netflix needed to be corrected, and this is something that many people have noticed about Squid Game, but it’s not a one-off.
When I look back, this was one of the reasons I learned Korean and now French: so I could watch TV and films in those languages.
You can find the material more easily if you speak two or more languages; this is not just about movies, books, or songs. Suppose you’re in Japan and suddenly hear a tsunami warning. You’d want to understand right away what it means.
This access to more cultural output and knowledge is worth a lot. For example, you are reading Chinese restaurant menus, understanding a stranger’s question, or reading Le Petit Prince in its original language.
10. It helps you get along with other people.
One of the most obvious perks of learning a second language is that it helps you get along better with others.
It might be scary when you’re an adult learning a new language, but once you get over that, it can lead to new ties and deeper friendships that wouldn’t be possible if you didn’t know the language.
But the perks continue after being able to talk to people. People who know more than one language tend to be more understanding and tolerant of ambiguity, giving them a chance to give the other person the benefit of the doubt and look past the words to figure out what was meant.
Who knew that learning a language could also help you grow as a person?
11. Learning a second language makes you more creative.
The more you use your brain, the more ideas and innovations you can develop.
A study showed that bilinguals do better on creativity tasks than monolinguals, and this is because bilinguals have better brain functioning than monolinguals. As we’ve already said, being exposed to different countries makes you open to new points of view, which can help you think outside the box.
When you learn more languages, you get more sets of eyes that let you see the world in different ways. We language learners have made many mistakes in the past, so we are okay with failing and keep trying, sometimes coming up with more than one answer to a problem.
12. Learning a second language helps you better understand the language you already know.
Strangely, learning a second language helps you understand your first language better.
When learning a new language, many people know about grammar, spelling, and all the other parts of speech for the first time. You didn’t need to do these in your native language.
When you read, write, listen to, and talk in a second language on purpose, you become more aware of the subtleties of your first language. Learning a second language also helps you see how your first language is different and how it is the same.
13. It makes it easier to learn more languages.
Why should I learn another language? To be able to learn more languages!
It’s not a lie to say that the more languages you learn, the easier it is to learn a new one. But people who know French, Italian, or other Romance languages find it easier to learn Spanish. However, the cognitive benefits of learning a language are not specific to any one language.
Learning a second language means getting used to a bigger range of language structures, and it would be easier for you to learn related languages. But if you learn German as a second language and then study Japanese as a third language, you’ll still find it easier than if you had yet to learn German.
This is because you have learned more ways to learn by now, such as memorizing, trying out different tasks, learning through immersion, and more. If you know what helped you learn your second language, you have a big head start on learning your third, fourth, or fifth language.
Learning a language is like riding a bike: it’s all about muscle memory. You should review it now and then. But once you’ve learned one language, you remember how to learn another.
Conclusion
If you’ve ever thought about how people who speak more than one language did it, here’s how: they began by learning a second language.
And with all the great, life-changing benefits listed above, who wouldn’t want to learn a second language?
You can, which is good news. These tips on learning languages from home will show you that it’s not just smart kids who can learn languages (see point 4), and it’s not impossible if you don’t travel. Are you ready to give it your all and work hard? If so, you’re headed in the right direction.
