Why Learning A Language Is Good For Your Brain

Learning a language has its obvious benefits such as being able communicate with more people and being able to enjoy other cultures.

But it also has the hidden benefits of actually being very good for your brain. Language learning can affect your brain in a number of positive ways that I will discuss below.

Learning A Language Is Like Brain Exercise

Learning a language is like exercise for your brain. Every time you study you are making links between what you already know and what you are learning. The more you learn, the stronger these links become.

These links are actually called neural pathways and are physically formed in the brain by neurons firing back and forth between different areas that are storing the memories.   

By increasing and strengthening your knowledge, you are actually increasing the physical formation of these pathways. Learning a language will actually build your brain up to be physically stronger over time.

This is exactly like how you can build any other muscle to be become bigger in the gym, it’s just that all your exercise here is mental, but the results are the same.  

Exercising any muscle, including your brain will of course bring you health benefits, which I will discuss below.

Learning A Language Brings Health Benefits To Your Brain

The brain “exercise” you are doing through language learning will actually keep your brain healthier for longer as you age.

Studies have shown that people who know a second language are actually at a lower risk of developing dementia due to having a physically stronger brain.

The extra strength that you build up can basically delay the onset of diseases like dementia. These types of disease are devastating, so if you can actively take steps to help lower the risk, this makes language learning a very worthwhile task.

Increased Brain Activity

This “exercise” you are doing while learning a language not only makes the brain stronger, but it can also make us activate more of our brain at one time.

When brain scans are done on people who can speak one language and then on those who are bilingual, the level of brain activation is very different.  

When we only know one language, this is all processed in a small area on the left hand side of our brain.

However, once we know a second language, the scans will show parts of the right hand side of our brain being also being activated at the same time as the normal small area that processes language on the left.

This means the neural pathways are firing across both hemispheres of the brain and we are in general using more of our brain compared to someone who only speaks one language.

Your Logic Increases

Learning a language as an adult isn’t the same as when you are a kid. You already understand a language as an adult, and you can easily understand new concepts and comprehend the differences between things.

When you start learning a new language as an adult it can almost be like trying to solve a puzzle.

Your mind has to examine all the new information and try to work out how it relates to what you already know and how it might be different.

The more you learn, the more pieces of the puzzle start to be seen. Your mind will start to link everything together and at some point you will start to see the overall picture, the language will start to come together in your head. 

Basically learning a language is one of the hardest puzzles you will ever try and solve. This constant struggle and questioning that comes with learning a language really trains your brains logic processing abilities.

In general people who can speak more than one language have better logic and problems solving skills, which make sense when you realise how much “training” they have given to this skill. 

Your Confidence Will Increase

Learning a new language is a battle, but once you get through the thick of it and start to see some results, it can really start to boost your confidence.

You are going to start believing in yourself. You set out to learn something, something that most people think is too hard, and you are actually achieving it.

All those doubts and fears you ignored and pushed through will give you a great sense of achievement and really boost your self belief.

You will also start to feel your confidence increase when you realise you are starting to understand your new language that was until quite recently, very foreign. Every day you will feel like you are slowly understanding more and more and your confidence in your abilities will grow along with this.    

You General Learning Skills Will Increase After Learning A Language

In the early days of learning a language, a large part of the process is learning how to learn.

There are so many methods and techniques to try. All of them can have their uses, but you will soon feel out what ones you enjoy the most and more importantly you will work out what one are the most effective.

Being able to figure this out is a huge benefit for your life in general. Once you understand the method that gets you the best results, you can then transfer this to anything else in your life that you want to learn.

Learning a language really trains you to become an efficient learner and will really strengthen your ability to learn anything.   

Your Memory Becomes Better After Learning A Language

A huge part of learning a language is being able to remember all the new works you have learned. Initially this can seem impossible, but the more you practice, the better your memory will become.

After a while you will be amazed at how much you have been able to remember. However, as impressive as that is, you will also notice that you become better at remembering in general.

In the early days it may seem like you need to see a word hundreds of times before it eventually sticks in your memory. As your progress you will start to notice that you remember things faster and with less effort. The language isn’t getting any easier; your brain is just getting more efficient at remembering.

This skill is also transferable to other aspects of your life, over all you will just remember things better since you have trained this so much with your language learning.

(You an read more about – How Does Our Brain Memorise New Vocabulary?)

Conclusion

Finding out about the positive effect that learning a language can have on your brain can really shock people. It is not commonly known just how beneficial it can be for you.

If you are already learning a language hopefully it has given you some extra confidence in your decision to start such a huge task.

If you are thinking about learning a language, hopefully this has given you another reason to get started and given you that extra motivation you need to begin.

The brain benefits are worth the effort, let alone all the other benefits you can achieve by learning another language. 

(You can read more Why Learn A Foreign Language? as well as The Extra Benefits Of Learning A Language)