Why You Should Learn a Second Language

Learning a foreign language will change your life. I’m not kidding, (I’m Argentinian and knowing two languages has been amazing for me). You’ve heard this same information from teachers, YouTube videos, and maybe even your parents.

For decades, learning languages has been associated with success, health, and opportunities for personal growth.

Now, I know what you’re saying, is that really true or is it just annoying people telling you to study?

Welcome to Further Records, I’m Forest. For more practice materials and fun stuff, check out our instagram, TikTok, and YouTube channels!

In recent years, scientists have been studying the mind benefits of language learning. But what about the other things that your parents told you, like better creativity, social tools, and economic benefits? A study by The British Academy has looked into all of these areas, and more, and now we have answers.

First and foremost, we must say. When you hear the phrase “learning a second language” you generally think of children or teenagers studying with a book, and that the benefits don’t apply to adults that much.

Well, you’d be wrong! Most of these findings apply not only to students of a young age, but also adults! It’s always the correct time to learn a second language, because older learners can also acquire all these benefits.

Year after year, we get more and more worried about the topic of attention span. In the age of social media it’s difficult to remember even basic tasks. This study reveals that several investigations indicate that studying a new language may improve your attention after just one week of study. One week!! That’s like, three classes at most! Of course, the benefits for your attention improve more when you study more, but if you’ve already done a week of classes, what’s the harm in doing a month or two?

Empathy is one of the most important skills for humanity. If we didn’t have empathy, we’d never have progressed as much as we have. One famous study says that “empathy is positively related to the ability to authentically pronounce a second language”. Have you ever met someone who can fluently speak two languages? You might have heard the fact that sometimes they feel like a different person when they speak the other language. That has been researched and is true for many language pairs, from Spanish-English to English-Chinese. The more you learn one language, the more likely you are to understand people who use that language. Language doesn’t exist on its own, it’s part of culture and people. Many Japanese learners cite the culture as a reason for wanting to learn a language. Empathy plays a huge role, because it feeds a curiosity for learning about people and cultures.

There are many benefits for learners who are still students as well. Many studies indicate that language learners, particularly Spanish-English, will see benefits in all academic areas, including mathematics and science. This is true for learners of different socio-economic backgrounds as well. What this means is that language learning can be beneficial no matter what your conditions are in life. It’s also been discovered that some students who had worse grades than their peers became better after a few years of language study.

The final finding is the effects of language learning on creativity. Foreign Language Learners show “remarkable superiority” in areas of creative flexibility, fluency, and originality. The reasons for improved creativity are many, such as “the willingness and adoptability to change”. This affects all areas of creativity, but especially in verbal areas, like verbal flexibility and verbal originality. Perhaps language learners are especially good writers.

So, let’s wrap this all together. What have we learned today?

Clearly, there are some cognitive benefits to learning a second language. This has been a part of popular culture for decades. But new findings and interpretations can now tell us about the benefits in social life. The relationship between empathy and language learning is important, since it tells us a lot about how important empathy is as well. Academic benefits are clear across all areas, and even when language is learned later in life. The benefit to creativity was very clear, the mental changes help us to improve our art. And the most important part: it’s true for all ages and economic backgrounds.

No matter who you are, no matter what your life conditions are, learning a language is great for your health, and your life. It’s never too late to learn a language, and also it’s fun! Why not start today?

You’ve been listening to Further Records. Did you know we give language classes? You can learn more about them on our website, furthercorporate.com. We offer courses for all ages and all levels, so don’t be afraid to reach out!

Here’s some vocabulary we learned during this episode!

• skill: the ability to do something well.
• beneficial/benefit: something that is good for you
• remarkable: something that should be paid attention to
• cognitive: something that is related to the mind
• willingness: willingness is the quality of being ready and happy to do something if it is necessary
• attention span: the amount of time you are able to stay focused
• Foreign: of, from, in, or characteristic of a country or language other than one's own.
• socioeconomic background: the situation that you are born in, which includes the money your family had, your education level, and your social status

For more on this episode, check out our YouTube page! We explain new vocabulary with fun and beautiful animations. For extra materials like challenges and fun facts, check out our TikTok and Instagram pages!

SOURCES:

https://www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/documents/287/Cognitive-Benefits-Language-Learning-Final-Report.pdf

MUSIC AND SFX:

"Too Cool" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

"Vibe Ace" Kevin MacLeod

(incompetech.com)

"Dispersion Relation" Kevin MacLeod

(incompetech.com)

"BossaBossa" Kevin MacLeod

(incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

"Savour the Moment" by Shane Ivers – https://www.silvermansound.com

Magical Twinkle by Universfield -- https://freesound.org/s/758819/ -- License: Attribution 4.0