The Brain Benefits of Learning a Second Language

By Deane Alban

Contributing Writer for Wake Up World

The proven benefits of learning a second language include improvements in intelligence, memory, and concentration and lowered risks of dementia and Alzheimer’s.

Understanding language is one of the hardest things your brain does. The benefits of learning a second language seem, in fact, to be proportional to the effort expended by the brain. Because language is complex, speaking or learning a foreign language gives your brain a good workout. It’s good brain exercise that makes the brain stronger.

It’s hard to believe now, but at one time raising children in a bilingual home was believed to stunt their intellectual growth. (1) Experts thought their brains would become confused and that it might even contribute to schizophrenia or split identities. But times have changed. We now understand that precisely the opposite is true…