B2 – Upper Intermediate
Do you worry about getting old? Our memory naturally deteriorates. There are different studies conducted by different organizations that show how languages shape the way we think.
Language shapes the way we think. Whether we’re listening to a persuasive speaker, absorbed in powerful writing, or engaged in a conversation, language can introduce us to new ideas, perspectives, and opportunities.
But at a more fundamental level, language might physically alter your mind. Bilinguals, for example, have denser gray matter in their language centers than monolinguals. Bilinguals can more easily focus on two tasks at once. They think more analytically. Parts of their brain devoted to memory, reasoning, and planning are larger than those of monolinguals.
Learning a second language is like a workout for your mind. The benefits of bilingualism, from increased creativity to the delayed onset of Alzheimer’s, should encourage everyone to pick up a second – or third! – language.
Let’s follow the path of language through your head as you hear, comprehend, and create words and phrases, and then pinpoint how language can shape the brain and what benefits it bestows. Here is your brain on language.
Speech in the brain
While our brains make sense of words instantaneously, the process of transforming sounds into meaning and then formulating a response winds through several areas of the brain. When your ear turns sound waves into neural impulses, those impulses trigger reactions from four major regions of the brain devoted to language comprehension and production: The auditory cortex, Wernicke’s area, Broca’s area, and the motor cortex.
The auditory cortex: The sounds funneled into your ear are converted to neural impulses and make their first stop in the auditory cortex, located on both sides of the brain. This region lets your brain know where the sound came from and when, then relays that information to the more specialized areas of the brain.
Wernicke’s area: After passing through the auditory cortex, neural sound information moves to Wernicke’s area, located in the left hemisphere of the brain. This area turns the impulses into recognizable words and phrases, and thus meaningful communication.
Broca’s area: Also located in the left hemisphere, Broca’s area is concerned with language production and motor planning. Simply put, once your brain has interpreted the language and its meaning, Broca’s area is where your response is formulated.
Motor cortex: The final brain location associated with language processing is the motor cortex, which helps plan, control, and execute voluntary movements. This region controls the movement of your mouth and lips as they form words. After other areas of the brain handle word conceptualization and phrase formulation, the motor cortex assists articulation as your vocal tracts produce the sounds we recognize as language.
How language shapes the brain
From the moment sound waves enter your ear and become neural impulses, your brain executes this rapid-fire series of events that few of us are ever aware of, but without which we’d be unable to communicate.
For bilingual speakers, this process involves both languages — from the first syllable they hear, their brain is working to identify the word, and the listener’s brain begins identifying any words, in either language, that could fit the sounds as they arrive in sequence. Having to distinguish between two languages can be tricky in some situations, but the brain’s executive functions, especially the attention and inhibition processes, are strengthened through this process, ultimately making bilingual speakers better at switching between two tasks or handling tasks that require conflict management.
How language shapes your brain depends in part on when you learn another language. For example, Broca’s area differs between young language learners and older language learners. If a child grows up bilingual, the same region in Broca’s area handles the processing of both languages. However, if you learn a language after adolescence, a separate area develops for the second language near the area used for your native tongue. Despite the difference in brain structure, language learners both old and young gain the benefits of speaking multiple languages.
Because the language centers in the brain are so flexible, learning a second language can develop new areas of your mind and strengthen your brain’s natural ability to focus, entertain multiple possibilities, and process information.
Just as you exercise your body to keep your heart healthy and muscles strong, exercising your mind can sharpen your decision-making and improve your communication skills. So if you only speak one language or haven’t spoken your second language since high school, now’s the time to get learning.
Discussion Questions:
- Do you think learning another language would make your brain healthier? Explain.
- How would you describe your experience in learning English?
- What other languages can you speak? What else would you like to learn?
- What other activities do you think are good for the brain?
6 replies on “Learning Languages Boosts our Brain”
1. Do you think learning another language would make your brain healthier? Explain.
Indeed, at the end brain is like a muscle. The more we exercise it , the healthier it gets and it takes more time to deteriorate.
2. How would you describe your experience in learning English?
Nice one. I was part of the first Spanish generation studying English at school ( there was French to study, prior to that) , I got a really good teacher those early times and I considered it quite an important thing to acquire, for my future, thus I asked my family to allow me to go to some private classes, which allowed me to further develop my language skills.
Later, when I was 16, I travel to the UK ( Brighton, usual thing!) with a group of Spanish kids. The experience was good but I did not improve that much my language skills thus I decided to go, one year later, on my own, to Bradford ( not that usual) and then is when I really started to talk in English. I had to make an effort, hardly any Spaniards studied over there….
3. What other languages can you speak? What else would you like to learn?
I do speak French fluently and some Portuguese and Italian ( studying both languages nowadays), though I am still not fluent in those last two. I keep mixing them. It happened the same to me when I started studying French ( got mixed up with English, at that point in time). At some point , I know , my brain will be able to place each language in its place and will not get confused any more…but I need more practice for that . I am currently going, once a year, to each mentioned country ( Portugal and Italy) to spend a week with locals and develop my language skills, whilst over there….
I very much enjoy studying new things ( in the middle of a post psychological degree) and I hope , in the near future ( or during retirement, if not possible earlier) I will be able to study Chinese, and spend some months in the Country for such, and study a new career, psychology.
4. What other activities do you think are good for the brain
Anything that represents a ´challenge´ , that is not a habit, will require some brain effort thus good for the brain. It doesn´t need to be big things but yes require for us to leave ´our comfort zone´ and keep our brain busy ..for instance: learning to paint, learning to sew , practice a new sport ( tennis? ) , dancing ( it requires to memorize some steps).. Practicing an sport has also the benefit to carry oxygenated blood to the brain and producing some serotonin, which helps with the mood…thus reinforcing its positive message.
1. Do you think learning another language would make your brain healthier? Explain.
Absolutely.
I think it is very important to keep learning and training your brain in order to make it healthier. We cannot avoid the pass of time, which naturally involves deterioration of brain. But we can work to prevent or delay some diseases, such as dementia or Alzheimer’s, by using our brain. Learning a second lenguage is, for sure, one of the best ways to do it.
2. How would you describe your experience in learning English?
I’ve been learning English since I was very young, as my parents considered it very important for our future. However, I don’t think we had the best way to teach English in schools in Spain by that time. We learned a lot of grammar, but we were not so focused on speaking. We learned a “perfect” English but we don’t know how to speak to a native.
That’s why we used to go to an English academy 2 times per week after the school. However, I don’t feel like it was enough. I feel I learned much more when I moved to Dublin for 7 months than anytime before.
Anyways, I think that the way of teaching English in Spain has changed now as there are many schools that offer bilingual teaching, which I think is great as, in my opinion, learning a second lenguage is much easier when you are a kid.
3. What other languages can you speak? What else would you like to learn?
I just can speak Spanish and English. I would really love to be very fluent in English, because I still feel I need to learn a lot. I would love to speak other leanguages, but I feel it’s very very difficult and I think it makes no sense for me to start learning a new one now, when I am not absolutely bilingual.
4. What other activities do you think are good for the brain?
I feel like studying, reading and playing logical games can help maintaining your brain health.
Job well done responding to the questions.
See how this sentence can be enhanced:
Until your next post. Keep up the good work.
I think that it is so possittive to study new languages.
For me it’s difficult to speak English, because I don’t have the possibility to speak it frecuently.
I speak Spanish, Catalan and Italian, and a litle English.
I think that it is possitve to do mathematics operations to train the brain!
I think learning is always helpful, so talking about learning a new language is also very helpful for the neuroplasticity.
About my english experience, I started learning this language after my teenage period and I have to say that I found it hard but not impossible, for that reason I keep trying to improve.
I would like to learn japanese! They have a different alfabet and I found it hard to learn!
Some other good activities may be daily memorie exencises and also learning to play a musical isntrument.
It’s great to see you try to express your opinions through writing. All your efforts are much appreciated.
Just take a look at a minor revision you can make in this sentence:
Until your next entry!