Benefits from learning a foreign language

Published: 23 Sep 2022 Tagged: bilingualchildrencultureempathykidslanguagelanguage skillslearningmultilingualismSpeakableTutoring

Learning a new language is always and enriches our lives in many aspects. However, when learning at early ages, the positive impact can be even higher. According to recent studies, children who speak more than one language benefit from the distinct ways that the brains of bilingual and multilingual children function from the way the brains of monolingual children do. See below the most significant benefits from learning a foreign language for children:

• It is a brain booster to children. Before the age of five, children learn the new language through the same part of the brain that is used for the mother tongue. This simple fact means that their attention to accents and their self-confidence to allow themselves to make mistakes is incomparable. The brain also is stimulated in other areas, which help increase the child’s skills related to problem-solving, critical-thinking, memory, concentration, multitasking, creativity and mental flexibility. Last brain boost: studies indicate that having learned one or more languages other than the mother tongue delays Alzheimer’s Syndrome.
• Academic performance is stimulated. Many studies indicate that children who know more than one language tend to achieve higher scores on standardised tests (such as the HSC) and demonstrate better reading, writing, listening, speaking (making them better not only in the new language but also in the mother tongue) and math skills. Depending on the learnt language, musical skills are also enhanced – especially with tonal languages such as the many varieties in China, Vietnamese, Thai, Lao, Hmong, Punjabi, Chittagonian, Yorùbá, Igbo, Luganda, Ewe, Zulu, Navajo and Cherokee.
• Better opportunities in academic and professional life. By knowing more than one language, the individual will have an extra quality to be highlighted when in a selective process for a place in a competitive university or for a good job position. It is also proved that more languages in the skillset tend to increase the salary average.
• Cultural awareness, empathy and curiosity are nurtured. When you study a foreign language, it’s more than expected that you will learn about the culture and way the native speakers of that language think – especially because of the interesting words that cannot be perfectly translated. It makes any of us more curious and aware of cultural aspects that make diversity so amazing!
• Heritage connections can be consolidated. A child living in another country, with immigrant parents and grandparents, might lose cultural and family connection if not practising that second language. When learning the language of the family, love among parents and relatives will flow even more easily!
• Travels can be much more fun! If you learn a new language and go for a vacation in a country whose language is the same one you learned, you will have much richer experiences by talking to the natives and understanding nuances in their culture and activities which you could never have without depending on a tour guide. You can feel proud of yourself ordering your food, keeping an interesting conversations with people from many different backgrounds, and so many other experiences!

The benefits from the learning of a foreign language are incredible and can make the world much better by allowing much more relationships among countries, peoples and cultures. In case you want to learn a foreign language and want some support finding and selecting good language teachers, contact us to know more about our network of foreign language teachers!