It’s been said that learning a second language is a great idea; at least that’s what I grew up hearing. But what does being bilingual, or even just proficient in a second language, really do for you besides looking good on a resume?
Knowing a second language actually has some cognitive effects on your brain. The mental workout of having two or more languages active in your brain improves a number of its functions.
Assistant digital editor Richelle Szypulski wrote an article for Business Insider titled “5 unexpected benefits of learning another language.” According to her article some of these effects include improvement of mental agility and decision making skills, and multitasking becoming almost natural.
Penn State News published an article titled “Juggling Languages can Build Better Brains” in 2011. The article talked about how learning to multitask between two languages makes it easier for bilinguals to juggle multiple projects at once.
The process of learning a second language teaches the brain to filter the information it needs and ignore the rest, making multitasking somewhat natural.
Szypulski’s article references a study done by the Georgetown University Medical Center that found the brains of people who become bilingual later in life are actually bigger.
When you learn a second language at a later age, such as in college, it increases the brain’s cortical thickness.
What is cortical thickness? I had no idea either until I researched it.
Cortical thickness is a measurement in neurology used to describe the layers of the cerebral cortex, which is responsible for most of the brain’s information processing. The thickening of the cerebral cortex in adults is related to higher IQ scores and the increased mental abilities of bilinguals.
Although it can be a long and frustrating processes to learn a second language, it results in many benefits.
Now, many colleges either require or recommend enrolling in foreign language courses. But how many people actually stay proficient in their high school and/or college language after graduation?
In 2015 Amelia Friedman wrote an article for The Atlantic titled “America’s Lack of Language Skills.” A former executive director of Student Language Exchange which is a language education nonprofit organization, Friedman has written for many newspapers over the years.
According to Friedman’s article, less than 1 percent of adults in the U.S. are proficient in the language they learned in school.
While just the act of taking a year or two of a foreign language has its benefits, the full mental benefits are not retained unless the individual continues to speak the language.
The same article by Friedman cites a quote by Richard Brecht who works for the University of Maryland in their advanced language studies center. Brecht spoke about how many students and adults simply don’t think it’s reasonably possible to maintain the ability to speak a second language. That’s why so few remain fluent or proficient.
Multiple studies performed by professors at universities such as Penn State and Georgetown University have shown that students enrolled in foreign language courses get better grades in many of their other classes.
One article by BBC tittled “The Amazing Benefits of being Bilingual” points out that in many other countries it is increasingly common to speak more than two or three languages.
The U.S. is somewhat unique in our 1 percent of bilingual speakers.
With all this said, it does take time and dedication. But when it comes down to it, taking those foreign language credits can definitely be more useful in the long run.
Cerridwyn Kuykendall
Reporter