Nowadays, with the help of social networks, people from all over the world are more connected than ever. Our communication is so facilitated that one can contact millions of people from different cultures and religions. This constant contact allows us to approach completely new languages. Why not try to learn one of them? While this may not seem like the most fun activity to fill your free time with, we're going to give you some good reasons to learn a new language.
Getting closer to foreign cultures
Language connects people and is the most direct way to touch someone's foreign culture. Communicating with locals is an ideal way to get to know the traditions and beliefs of a country other than our own. When a person learns the language of the country he wants to visit, he manages to understand its culture in a more intimate way. A person shows more empathy to others around him because he manages to understand them better.
Understanding own culture better
When we talk to foreigners we learn many new things about them and their culture. At the same time, we gain a greater perspective on the world around us. Maybe you've ever wondered what our own culture looks like through the eyes of someone who isn't a part of it. We cannot truly understand something until we have looked at it from different points of view.
Career Development
Learning a new language will open more doors in your career development. In the given jobs, speaking foreign languages can get you a better job and even higher pay. Also, mastering a new language makes you more attractive candidates for desirable positions.
Thinking outside the box
Learning a new language helps one to be more creative. Besides being able to improve artistic skills, language helps us expand our worldview and the way we solve various problems in our lives.
Making new friendships
By speaking foreign languages, one can make many more friendships that would otherwise be impossible. When we understand well the people we communicate with in their language we manage to connect with them on a more soulful level.
Improve he alth
In 2011, American scientists Vioria Marian and Antony Shook conducted an interesting study. 450 patients participate in it. One half of them are monolingual (speaking only one language) and the other half are bilingual (speaking two languages). The results of the study show that bilinguals have a greater amount of gray matter in the brain. This means that they process information more easily than people who speak only one language. Also, when different sounds are played to them, they have a stronger reaction to them, indicating that they have better auditory attention.
The most interesting result of the study, however, shows that bilingualism can delay the onset of Alzheimer's at a later age by at least 5 years. Unfortunately, knowing foreign languages cannot completely prevent the disease, but at least it can reduce its damage to the brain. When scientists compared Alzheimer's patients from the two linguistic groups, they found that bilinguals showed more positive results than monolinguals, even though they were at the same level of disease. This means that if the brain is trained from an early age with new linguistic knowledge, the effects of the disease can be delayed and even made easier.
