Great benefit of knowing foreign languages

Learning a foreign language at a young age helps maintain lucid wisdom when you get old; synonymous with high adaptability to new and unexpected situations.

>>>Learning foreign languages ​​helps increase people's cognitive abilities

The first and obvious benefit is the advantage of foreign language proficiency that gives each person a travel experience. Being in contact with indigenous people, understanding more and immersing yourself in a new culture even at the most elementary level is no longer a far-off thing. Simply put, when sitting in a restaurant in a distant country, you order food and know exactly what you want without using gesture language or fear of being misunderstood.

In addition to the immediate benefits as above, the scientific community has also spent a lot of effort in researching this issue. Most show positive effects of language learning on health, especially the brain.

Maintain brain flexibility

According to research results published in Neuroscience magazine, people who know at least two languages ​​exhibit a sharp sense of thinking. Learning a foreign language at a young age helps maintain lucid wisdom when you get old. This also means high adaptability to new and unexpected situations.

Participating in this study, volunteers performed tests on cognitive flexibility. Although people who speak only their native language can fulfill the requirement, bilingual speakers finish tasks faster and separate parts of their brains use less energy for their work. this.

Knowing at least two foreign languages ​​brings significant benefits for each person.(Photo: moms.popsugar.com)

However, late learners should not be disappointed. Because this sharpness is still available even when you start learning when you get older, according to a new study published on Annals of Neurology.

The study requires native English speakers to take an intellectual test at age 11 and re-implement when volunteers enter the age of 70. The results show that people who know two, three languages ​​or more have more flexible cognitive abilities, both in general intelligence and readability compared to people who only know one language.

According to research on Psychological Sciencestudy, learning more languages ​​helps us to handle words quickly , especially with similar meaning words in both languages. Using eye movement techniques, the study found that people who are fluent in two languages ​​use less time when reading words of the same origin, such as 'sport' in English and Dutch. This shows that the brain needs less time to ' pass' these common characteristics.

Knowing foreign languages ​​also helps people delay the development of Alzheimer's, the disease still has no treatment and can attack anyone, in about 4 to 5 years. This finding is presented at the 2011 Meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Increase the ability to handle situations

Children who know two languages ​​perform better in situations or creative tests. The study involved 121 children with about half of whom could speak a language other than their mother tongue. They were asked to perform the sequence of numbers, solve the problem and reproduce the color block model. The survey showed that the speed of processing and moving from one task to another is that they can speak two fluent languages ​​and are more sensitive.

Not only that, the ability to think in another language also helps children make rational decisions for each different scenario. This is the result of a study by the University of Chicago (USA). According to the researchers, the habit of thinking in other languages ​​allows people to make prudent and less emotional decisions.

'It seems that the most important impact of foreign language is that it is less affected by emotions than the mother tongue,' said researcher Sayuri Hayakawa. According to her, an emotional response can lead to decisions driven by fear rather than hope, then mistakes are inevitable.