Essay On The Benefits Of Learning A Second Language

Compared to 56% of Europeans, the United States of America is a largely monolingual country. Only about 15-20% of the U.S. population is bilingual (1). Learning a new language in the U.S. is not usually something that people learn for fun, they most likely would do it because it is a requirement in their schooling. Some people learn their second language as soon as when they begin to learn how to talk. There are many different benefits of learning a second language. One benefit of learning a second language is that it helps with brain functions.

Learning a second language can help people become better at decision making and multitasking. The multitasking comes from having to switch between two different languages, and having to speak and write in two different languages. The decision making has to do with the fact that the person learning the language probably has a very limited vocabulary, so they are more likely to choose something they know (2). It also helps to increase

Another thing is that it also makes the learner experiment with new words and phrases and figure out how those fit together (3). Learning another language also improves development in executive functions - functions such as memory, reasoning, cognitive processes, problem solving, planning, and execution, “As Anne-Catherine Nicolay and Martine Poncelet, a pair of scientists from Belgium, discovered in their research, learning a language improves individual’s alertness, auditory attention, divided attention, and mental flexibility”. Basically, the more someone engages with their second language, the better their executive functions get (3). These benefits extend to anyone, no matter their age (5). A benefit of learning a second language is that it can also make the learner smarter than the average person their