Why Learn a New Language?

7.  Improved executive function

Studies have shown speaking more than one language improves executive function, which includes the ability to pay attention and control impulses.

6. Academic benefits

Learning a new language has been linked to everything from increased math scores to higher standardized test scores to improved reading readiness.

5. Creating highly functional Global Citizens

In a world where people are able to connect across borders with greater access, acquiring other languages is the foundation of engaging in meaningful cross-cultural exchange and dialogue.

4. Ability to use the brain in many ways

Being able to function in two languages gives a person more ways to see the world. Studies have shown that the brains of bilingual people process information more rationally.

3. Exercise for the brain

According to the BBC, researchers from the University College London found that “learning other languages altered grey matter - the area of the brain which processes information - in the same way exercise builds muscles. People who learned a second language at a younger age were also more likely to have more advanced grey matter than those who learned later...”

2. Increased empathy

Recent studies have shown a correlation between second language learning and the ability to see things from another person’s point of view. Best of all, the correlation holds even for kids who simply study the language and are not totally bilingual.

1.  Sheer Enjoyment

Learning a language is FUN, FUN, FUN! Plus the sense of accomplishment you will feel from being able to function in a new language is like no other.