3 Ways Learning a New Language Could Change Your Life Forever
Credit: Atthapon Raksthaput
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Sure, learning a new language is a surefire way to impress locals on your next international vacation. But there are a whole host of other benefits that can improve the way you live your life and your long term health.
From maintaining your mental sharpness to opening new doors in your career all over the world, let’s explore three benefits of learning a new language that you may have overlooked. Language learning apps like Mondly are perfect for anyone to pick up another language in an engaging way.
Learning a new language means learning a whole new system of rules, structures, and patterns. Don’t let the idea of that intimidate you, though — being able to absorb these new skills results in highly developed critical thinking and enhances your ability to multitask. The act of mental translation — when you’re thinking in one language and translating your thoughts into a new language — is a great way to give your brain a workout and reduce mental stress. In fact, language learning is one of the best ways to keep your brain healthy. For monolingual adults, the mean age for the first signs of dementia is 71.4 — but for adults who are multilingual, the mean age for those first signs is 75.5.
Oftentimes educators will talk about the brain like it’s a muscle — and like any muscle, it functions better with exercise. When you’re memorizing the rules of a given language and applying new layers of vocabulary to your current repertoire, you’re strengthening your cognitive function. In turn, you’re helping to improve your overall memory. Multilingual people are often better at remembering lists, sequences, and patterns — and studies show that bilingual folks are better at retaining shopping lists, names, and directions. In short, learning a new language means sharpening your memory and how it operates in the long term.
Have you ever wanted to live in a different country — and stopped when the question popped up, “But what would I do for a living there?” Being competently multilingual or bilingual means you have a slew of opportunities to work abroad that would generally be closed off to you. And in the age of startups, companies are increasingly moving into new markets. Employers consider candidates who speak multiple languages as a valuable asset since they can be deployed into new offshoots or branches. You can increase both your personal and professional value by learning how to converse in multiple languages.
The good news is that modern technology has introduced new ways to learn a new language and you won’t need to go back to school to do it. Take Mondly, for example, a highly-rated app trusted by thousands of users looking to study up on a foreign language. It’s earned multiple accolades, including App Store: Best of 2016, Google Play: Editor’s Choice, and Facebook FbStart: App of the year 2017 in EMEA.
Using state-of-the-art speech recognition, Mondly not only teaches you vocabulary, but it listens to your words and phrases, giving positive feedback only if you speak clearly and correctly. The app also leverages a roster of professional voice actors and an incredible conversation-focused virtual reality curriculum that’s engaging and makes learning fast and intuitive.
It’s a great way to learn a language on-the-go, and you can benefit from some massive discounts currently available on lifetime subscriptions to its curriculum. Get lifetime access to lessons for a single language for just $39.99 — or three languages for $59.99. Want to step it up a notch? Access five languages for $69.99 or the entire library for just $99.99.
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