Hi there! It's Luca from MosaLingua... Today, I'm covering a very fascinating topic:
"What are the benefits of being bilingual or multilingual?" Watch the
video until the end because you'll see that that apart from the obvious ones there
are some advantages that are kind of unexpected. Before we get into today's
topic, do me a favor and subscribe to our channel so you won't miss out on any of our
great videos. If you're watching this video on Facebook, Instagram or another
social media platform like and/or follow us. And now, without further ado, let's
talk about the five benefits of speaking two or more languages. Benefit number one:
- being bilingual slows down the aging process. This is a big one. We are all
afraid that one day our brain might not function as well as it does today, not to
mention the possibility of developing Alzheimer's or other brain diseases.
A study published by the University of Edinburgh revealed that bilingual
people's brains age more slowly and therefore they live longer and more
satisfying lives. Benefit number two: - being bilingual makes you smarter.
You heard it right, you don't need to wait until you're 60 to reap the benefits of
having learned a second language because the same study proved that bilingual
people get better results in reading and intelligence tests. Another study proved
that bilingualism strengthens a part of the brain that plays an important role
in processes like problem-solving and task switching. Benefit number three:
- being bilingual helps you learn faster. Of course being smarter has a lot of
positive implications especially in terms of learning new skills, and I'm not
talking about the most obvious skills such as learning other languages.
A study published back in 2012 in an online neuroscience magazine revealed
that being bilingual makes you an overall better learner because it helps
you process information better and also has a positive impact on your attention.
Another study showed that, even before they learn to speak, bilingual babies, yes,
babies, perform better in speech and visual cue tests and show more
cognitive control than monolingual babies. Benefit number four: - being bilingual
helps you avoid distractions. One of the keys to being a better learner is to
avoid distractions. Nowadays, we need to develop specific skills to deal with
connective conflicts. It's harder and harder to stay focused on a task when
all kind of distractions such as mobile phones, music, and ads are out there
competing for our attention. Well according to another study published in
2011, bilingual children develop the ability of managing conflicting
information very early on. Why? Simply because they have to quickly select the
relevant language when they hear words or phrases. This ability even has
beneficial effects on their brain plasticity and helps them manage
conflicting situations and avoid distractions when several stimulants are
demanding their attention. Benefit number five: - being bilingual helps you
make better decisions. It seems that we process information in a very different
way when we read it in our native language than in a second or third language.
In particular, we are less affected by something called cognitive bias.
This is one of the topics in "Thinking Fast and Slow," a great book I read written
by the Nobel Laureate, Daniel Kahneman. Cognitive biases can result in errors in
our logic, for example when we think that flying is more risky after hearing about
a plane crash on TV. The probability and incident stats haven't changed, but our
perception has. A test conducted on 121 American students
revealed that they were less affected by these cognitive biases when they
processed the data in a foreign language (in their case, Japanese). In fact
scientists argue that second-language thinking can systematically improve
decision making because we are less influenced by emotions that can result
in cognitive biases. In a nutshell, learning a second language will not only
improve your cognitive abilities in old age but will also improve your life right now.
You'll be a faster learner, more focused on the tasks at hand and make
better decisions. In other words, it will result in a better you! In this video, I
chose not to present the most obvious benefits such as better job
opportunities or more satisfying travel because we covered those in another video.
Check out the link below to watch it. If you learned something new from this video,
please give it a thumbs up, then make sure you subscribe to our channel if you
want to get more hacks and tips. I recommend turning on your notifications
to be sure not to miss any of our videos. By the way, have a look around the
channel, too. We've published some interesting videos that might interest you.
And finally if you're watching this video on Facebook, Instagram or another
social media platform, please like or follow our page. Thanks for watching,
see you next time!