Many kids who wonder whether there is any benefit to learning a foreign language might be surprised to learn that its benefits to students’ brains are actually well-documented.
Foreign languages and long-term cognitive health.
Dementia might not be a priority for school-aged youngsters, but their foreign language class could delay its onset by a significant margin. A 2010 study published in the peer-reviewed journal Neurology found that bilingual patients with probable Alzheimer’s disease reported the onset of symptoms 5.1 years later than monolingual patients. Authors of the study concluded that lifelong bilingualism protected against the onset of Alzheimer’s disease, demonstrating the value of learning a foreign language as a young person and maintaining that knowledge throughout adulthood.
Foreign languages and attention span.
A recent Microsoft study found the average attention span is now eight seconds, representing a significant decline since 2000, when the average attention span was 12 seconds. Researchers said the prevalence of screens, and using multiple screens at once, led to that decline. However, researchers at University of Birmingham School of Psychology noted that bilingualism could lead to better sustained attention and attentional monitoring, improving students’ ability to remain focused and block out distractions.
Foreign languages and multi-tasking.
A 2012 study funded by the National Institutes of Health found that bilingual children had a greater ability to multi-task than monolingual children. The study utilized a switching task to gauge monolingual and bilingual children’s ability to pay attention, plan, organize, and strategize. Bilingual children were faster at switching than their monolingual counterparts, which could make them more successful in a world that increasingly values the ability to multi-task.
