When you learn a new language, a number of surprising benefits will overwhelm. Learning a language gives you a sense of wellbeing, improves the memory and expands the amount of people you can eventually communicate with.
You could end up finding companionship or even love. It is no secret that people from lands far from our own are fascinated by foreigners. If you go to Japan, for example, there are so few foreign people there that you’d probably be stared at. But visitors should not take this as a sign of rudeness or intimidation, but one of fascination and interest.
It is similar in many cultures that someone different is a fascination, a source of interest and there is a need to communicate with them. But there are so many advantages associated with the learning of a new language and not only social reasons.
The mind and general mental health will actually improve. Learning a language actually challenges the brain to negotiate and recognize an entirely different system of communication. It is how we function, right from the day we are born.
When we hear something, anything, as a toddler, our brain starts to interpret. Neurons are fired and muscles deep within our grey matter are stimulated. Chemicals are produced and we grow stronger in the mind and more dynamic in our brain.
The learning process tends to see less action during our adult years, as we are no longer in full-time education or learning as an adolescent, but that does not mean we cannot continue the learning habit all the way in old age.
You may have heard the term “silver surfers” which relates to folk over the age of 65 who are internet-savvy and have learned a skill that would not have been available throughout their entire youth and adulthood. If silver surfing has produced millions of the older generation happily using social media and internet apps, then learning a language is something anyone can aspire to, regardless of how many candles you seek to blow out on your next birthday cake.
Imagine being able to reduce the chance of getting dementia or Alzheimer’s disease? Learning a language will help and there have been studies to prove it. The average age of the onset of dementia (for those who have been diagnosed with the disease) is 72. But that figure relates only to those who are monolingual. Bilingual people who get dementia contract the disease, on average, at age 76.
References:
Kim, S. (2016, March 24). 12 Surprising Benefits of Learning a New Language That You’ll Experience. Retrieved February 27, 2018, from http://www.lifehack.org/380305/12-surprising-benefits-learning-new-language-that-youll-experience