The Benefits and Psychology of Speaking Another Language

Learning another language has become an incredibly valuable skill in our globalized world.

Being bilingual or multilingual can open up new opportunities, expose you to different cultures, and provide cognitive benefits.

In this post, we’ll explore some of the biggest advantages of speaking multiple languages and dive into the fascinating psychology behind how our brains process and acquire new languages.

Career Advantages

In today’s interconnected world, being bilingual is an extremely marketable asset in the job market across numerous industries.

Companies who do business internationally or have a diverse customer base highly value employees who can communicate in multiple languages.

It allows them to expand into new markets, facilitate negotiations and partnerships, and provide better service to multilingual clients.

Beyond just opening career doors, speaking multiple languages can lead to higher earnings over monolingual individuals.

Numerous studies have shown that bilingual employees make more money on average, with some estimates indicating a potential lifetime earnings boost of up to $70,000.

Even for jobs that don’t explicitly require multilingual skills, being bilingual demonstrates cognitive abilities like advanced problem-solving, multitasking, and communicating complex information clearly.

These soft skills impress employers and give bilingual applicants a competitive advantage when applying for jobs.

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Travel and Cultural Enrichment

One of the most obvious and rewarding benefits of mastering a second language is enhanced ability to travel and immerse yourself in another culture.

Speaking the local language allows you to connect with people, navigate foreign places, and gain a deeper appreciation for traditions and customs that would otherwise be lost in translation.

Rather than sticking to tourist hotspots or relying heavily on English, bilinguals can develop genuine relationships with locals and experience authentic cultural exchange.

Simple things like reading street signs, menus, and casual conversation hold much more meaning when you understand the nuances of the language.

Visiting historic sites, watching movies, reading literature, all become more profound experiences when you can connect with them through the language’s lens.

Engaging with another language is also one of the most effective ways to keep an open mindset and shatter ethnocentric ways of thinking.

Each language carries unique expressions, idioms, and subtle meanings that don’t perfectly translate.

As you learn to communicate from a different cultural framework, your perspectives are challenged and expanded in invaluable ways.

Cognitive Benefits and Brain Health

Beyond the practical benefits of bilingualism, speaking multiple languages has significant cognitive advantages and can help keep your brain healthy as you age.

Numerous studies in neurolinguistics and psychology have revealed how bilingual brains function differently than monolingual brains:

Enhanced executive function:

The bilingual brain is constantly working to monitor which language should be used, suppressing one language while accessing the other.

This process strengthens abilities related to focus, multitasking, and processing information from multiple streams.

Better task switching:

Bilingual individuals have increased mental flexibility as their brains are constantly switching between language systems and monitoring changes between their languages, allowing them to multitask with less effort.

Improved memory:

Bilingualism aids in developing stronger working memory, as the brain must constantly work to store information in two language channels while accessing vocabulary quickly.

Greater brain plasticity and density:

MRI scans show that bilingual individuals have higher density of gray matter, the brain tissue packed with neuron cell bodies.

Speaking two languages leads to more brain plasticity and actively engages more areas of the brain involved in cognitive processes.

Delayed onset of dementia:

Perhaps most remarkably, studies indicate that bilingualism can delay the onset of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease symptoms by several years compared to monolinguals.

The mental exercise of speaking multiple languages appears to create a stronger cognitive reserve and resilience against age-related cognitive decline.

The Psychology of Learning Languages

So how exactly does the human brain acquire new languages beyond our native mother tongue?

While there are still many mysteries around the neuroscience of multilingualism, research has revealed insights into how additional languages are processed and stored.

Babies are born as universal linguists, able to discern the entire spectrum of human speech sounds.

It isn’t until around 12 months old that infants start tuning their perception to only the sounds used in their native language.

This early neural pruning allows the baby’s developing brain to specialize in and acquire their first language efficiently.

However, this doesn’t mean there are strict critical periods for language learning after which point it becomes extremely difficult or impossible.

While it is harder to achieve native-like fluency when starting a new language later in life, both children and adults can become proficient language learners.

The key difference is how new languages are processed in the brain.

Native languages are acquired implicitly, through repeated exposure and immersion.

Brain regions responsible for language learning are automatically and subconsciously coding the rules and patterns of the first language.

When we learn additional languages later in life, the brain must use more explicit learning strategies, consciously studying vocabulary, grammar, and directly processing the new language system.

In bilinguals, the two languages interact but are stored and processed in parallel in the brain using both shared and distinct neural networks.

Words, speech sounds, grammar, and other language processing engage overlapping brain regions for the two languages.

However, each language also recruits distinct areas of the brain not shared by the other language, which helps prevent constant cross-language interference.

Languages acquired earlier or used more frequently seem to be processed in denser, overlapping brain regions compared to languages learned later or used less frequently.

Studies tracking brain activity in bilinguals have shown that when processing one language, the other automatically activates as well, even if it’s not being consciously used.

This constant coactivation and need to suppress interference from one language system while using the other is part of what gives the bilingual brain its improved cognitive skills.

Tips for Language Learning Success

Now that we’ve covered the many benefits and interesting psychology behind speaking multiple languages, how can you get started on your language learning journey?

Here are some tips that can help maximize your chance of success:

Immerse yourself

While apps and textbooks are helpful supplements, full immersion through conversing with native speakers, listening to media, reading content in the language is crucial for achieving fluency over just studying grammar or vocabulary lists.

Use it or lose it

Languages require constant practice and use to retain proficiency. Make it part of your lifestyle by joining language meetup groups, listening to podcasts, writing a journal, or watching shows/films in your new language.

Learn pronunciation early

Get feedback on your pronunciation and accent early. It’s much harder to correct ingrained accent mistakes later.

Start young if you can

Although adults can still become highly proficient, starting a new language at a younger age tends to lead to higher fluency since language learning becomes integrated with childhood development. At the very least, don’t wait until adulthood.

Take advantage of cognates

Languages that share roots make acquiring vocabulary much easier.

For English speakers, Spanish, French, and other Romance languages have a huge advantage with thousands of cognate words derived from Latin roots.

Be patient and have a growth mindset

Learning a language takes immense dedication.

Have patience during plateaus and struggle periods, as your brain makes new neural connections behind the scenes before displaying a breakthrough.

In our increasingly connected world, the cognitive, cultural, travel, and career benefits of speaking multiple languages have never been greater.

Beyond these practical advantages, diving into language acquisition allows you to unlock new modes of thinking, appreciate different worldviews, and cognitively exercise your brain in ways that promote lifelong brain health.

So, start learning today!