5 Benefits of Learning a New language

1. Understand Other Cultures Better

You might fit into the category of those people who wish to study abroad, travel, or have international job opportunities. So you need to fit in with the new culture. One of the benefits of learning a new language is that it can help you understand different cultures. Here’s the how:

Learning doesn’t happen overnight. Also, by learning different tongues, you learn a lot of things about culture through reading about the people, their customs, habits, and lifestyles. The more you spend time practising different skills, the more you learn about people’s way of life.

Eventually, you gain more understanding of various cultures and learn to appreciate diversity. As a result, you become so much better at making friends and communicating internationally. This is the most important benefit of learning a new language.

2. Improve Your Brain's Functionality

You might have heard that learning helps your brain function better. Ever wondered why? Consider a bodybuilder for a second. A bodybuilder aims to build strong muscles to stay fit and healthy. This goal requires many hours of hard work, a lot of exercise, and a serious diet. That is because a muscle is built by replacing the damaged muscles and absorbing protein. Your brain somehow works the same as a muscle.

Learning new vocabulary and structures improves the volume and density of white matter and grey matter in the brain, which means the brain gets better connectivity. When connectivity becomes stronger, other brain functions improve as well. This suggests the improvement of all the other functions, like concentration, multitasking, etc.

Scientific explanation aside, studying a language has other benefits for the brain. We spend so many years using the native tongue of the country we live in (either our mother tongue or another) that we no longer think about our choice of words. The action of producing in our communication becomes very automatic.

How Does a New Language Help?

A new language is not familiar to us, so we have to think about every word and every sentence before producing it. Therefore, we are no longer able to act automatically and impulsively, which means we become more cautious. In the long run, it will help us become more rational and better decision-makers.

Now, if you really think about it, such improvements can help you develop many of the executive functions as well, including

• Impulse control,
• Emotional control,
• Flexible thinking,
• Working memory,
• Planning and prioritizing,
• Task management,
• And organization

Of course, such effects and improvements do not happen for everyone similarly. Even so, such a new scenario can provide you with a chance for personal growth and an opportunity to become a more responsible and successful person, which brings us to the next benefit of learning a new language: Getting a better job!

Get a Better Job

As a result of gaining more control over your executive functions, you will become more creative, better at finding solutions, and more efficient. Gradually, you will learn to think outside the box and gain more networking skills. These characteristics are very valuable to employers, which means you will have more job opportunities. Honestly, who wouldn’t want to hire you?!

Knowing a variety of languages, especially English, is vital to many important companies because, as we mentioned before, that expands your ability to communicate with different groups. It only takes a simple search on the internet to see the variety of job opportunities for people who know this language. This shouldn’t be surprising because it is the international means of communication in business. So, it’s only natural that big, important companies put having “English proficiency” as their primary qualifications.

International Companies are looking for people who can communicate more effectively with customers and expand overseas markets. Besides, English is the means of communication on the internet and when it comes to technology. Therefore, being proficient in it gives you a competitive advantage. Lastly, many companies consider higher salaries and bonuses for people who know English and depending on the nationality of the other companies they work with, French, Spanish, German, and so on.

3. Perform better at school or university

When you learn a new language, you will have the opportunity to read better quality resources, especially if that is English. Most scientific articles, essays, and resources are in English. It is true that you can access the translated versions. But they might not be as accurate as the main text. By accessing more accurate resources, you can do better in your homework, write better papers and impress your teachers or professors.

Among the benefits of doing so is that it can give you more confidence and improve your sense of achievement. You need to push yourself and step outside your comfort zone to learn such a skill. So, when you see your progress, you realise you have the ability to achieve more than you thought possible.

4. You Will See a Confidence Boost

When you are more confident in yourself and your abilities, you perform better at school, college, or university, resulting in better scores and GPA. One of the benefits of learning a second language is that it will help you score higher on standardised tests like SAT. Studies show that students who have studied for at least three years of language learning tend to score higher than monolinguals.

How About Graduate Degrees?

In case you are interested in getting a graduate degree, perhaps in the world’s top universities, then having excellent English proficiency becomes critical. That is because subjects at those universities are taught only in English due to the number of international students registering every year. This shows the importance of enhancing this skill in today’s world.

5. Enjoy Travelling and Meeting New People

For those who live to travel, gaining the ability to speak with the native people is like the air to breathe. When you know how to speak the native tongue of the place you are travelling to, you can enjoy your trip much better. First of all, you won’t be needing a tour guide or translator to follow you around and help you with every little thing. Speaking in the native tongue allows you to have more freedom to explore on your own.

Secondly, it will enable you to connect to people on a more personal level. After all, you would be talking to the natives in their own mother tongue, showing them how much you care. You can hear their stories, learn their customs and habits, and even make new friends. These new experiences can be very educational to you. They will broaden your horizons and draw your attention to things you may have never noticed before.

Learn English and Still Enjoy All 5 Benefits

This could be the case for any language. However, becoming a polyglot (i.e., someone who speaks many languages) is not possible for everyone due to our busy lives and limited time. Instead, you can learn English. Not that it is spoken in most countries, but rather because it is the global means of communication and the mutual language among all travellers. You can use it in almost every country around the world.
You might want to choose a language you have always wanted to learn due to many personal and yet valid reasons. The million dollar question is: does it get you where you want to be? Learning English provides you with great opportunities, such as studying abroad, getting a better job, travelling, and so many other things.