How Learning Languages Affects Our Brain

Everybody who has ever tried learning another language knows that this is not an easy task at all. There are so many new unfamiliar words and rules and it can be overwhelming to remember all of them. What is worst of all is that it seems that everybody is better than you and that is easier for them to memorise everything. But don’t worry, actually almost everybody feels like this when learning new language. We are just uncertain about our knowledge, but once we start to understand the rules and the correct pronunciation only sky is the limit. First time you manage to have first meaningful conversation of foreign language, you feel that you have managed to conquer the whole world, right?

Learning new language is great on so many different levels. Not only does it help you widen your knowledge, improve your social skills and makes it easier to communicate with native people but it also has great influence on your brain. You might feel smarter once you get the grip of the foreign language and according to studies you are not far from the truth. Swedish MRI study that has been conducted in 2012 has shown that you are actually getting smarter. People learning new languages are experiencing growth in the hippocampus and areas of the cerebral cortex. These parts of your brain are associated with memory, thought and action.

Don’t be discouraged if you are not learning any language just yet. Study from 013 that has been conducted by McGill University has also shown that learning a second language later in life will change your brain in the same way as the learning some complex motor skills, such as juggling or dancing. This means that it is never too late. Check out this interesting infographic to discover more about influences learning language has on our brain and start learning.