Benefits of language learning for your mental health

By learning languages you have the opportunity to gain various benefits in all areas of life. Therefore, you should know that your health also benefits significantly if you have decided to learn a new language. Here are the benefits of learning languages for your mental health.

What are the benefits of learning new languages?

There are undoubtedly many benefits of language learning that can be useful for improving your mental health. Here are five of the main benefits for your mind when studying a second language:

Improves confidence

1. Improves confidence

Certainly, when taking a holiday from work, it is very common to have the desire to go abroad to experience different and unique moments. However, one thing that can hinder people, both in the excitement of organising the trip and once at the destination, is a lack of language skills.

As a result, those dream days become a source of helplessness, anxiety and even frustration when you realise that your level of knowledge of the foreign language is close to zero. In other words, your holidays become a source of stress which, instead of contributing to your mental health, makes it worse.

Taking language lessons can help you overcome this, as it improves your confidence and, in turn, contributes to your mental health.

2. Exercises your brain

What are the benefits of learning new languages?

Being bilingual gives your brain more skills, as it exercises itself by controlling which language you are using at any given time. In fact, switching from one language to another allows for constant brain training, helping to strengthen certain parts of the brain.

This is why people who are fluent in two or more languages generally have better cognitive abilities. For example, they are better able to change tasks at work and have better conflict resolution skills.

In addition, people who are fluent in more than one language have a higher level of concentration and a better memory than those who only speak their mother tongue.

3. Delays dementia

One of the greatest benefits of language learning is that preparing your mind for old age is something you will be grateful for in time. Like the retirement plan for old age, studying a language is an action that will bring benefits over time.

Scientific studies indicate that being bilingual can delay the onset of dementia by up to four years. Moreover, short- and long-term memory is better in bilinguals than in monolinguals.

4. Fights unhappiness

Learning a new language is not an easy task. Wanting to memorise English verb tenses, for example, can make you a little anxious. But also, trying to do it absorbs a lot of your attention and, by doing so, you will stop thinking about real-life situations that worry you.

There is a discipline called Mindfulness, which is the practice of focusing on what you are doing. This practice allows you to block out all other thoughts and focus on the area of the language you are studying at that specific moment.

On the other hand, some people claim that learning a language has helped them overcome mild cases of depression. This suggests that, all in all, learning a language is an ideal tool for fighting unhappiness.

5. Promotes communication

Many people are not aware of the qualities of language learning. In general, second or third generation migrants in the UK often do not speak the language of their grandparents, for example. As a result, they face barriers to maintaining ties with their families and, therefore, there are often serious disadvantages related to the mental well-being of the individuals involved.

benefits of language learning for your mental health

However, you should bear in mind that learning a language not only has an influence on familiar communication, but also opens your mind to other horizons. The fact that you want to learn a new language shows your interest in getting to know other cultures and people.

Clearly, isolation and confinement to routine are deteriorating the mental health of many people. If you go to live in a country and do not have the ability to communicate with the natives to live there, your mental state will undoubtedly decline.

Learning a new language makes it easier for you to interact with other people abroad, gives you new opportunities and helps you strengthen your relationships with others. So, if you are learning a language, do it especially for your brain. By doing so, you will be amazed at the many benefits of language learning that you will gain as the learning process develops.

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