Speaking the language gives you an instant 'local's pass', opening up places you never would be able to get to with English alone. The Huffingtonpost.com.au says, it's not an easy process, but when you travel with a language, you get your reward in surprised smiles and invitations to have beers and meet families.
Queensland University of Technology lecturer in Chinese Ingrid Wang said a bit of language made travel more fun. "Language does give you confidence to make you travel more enjoyable because you can feel free from fears," Wang said. "Otherwise you fear things could happen to you and you don't have the language to understand." She said Australians sometimes needed extra impetus to learn a language. "English is the universal language. In China, if you want to go anywhere academically, you need to know one or two or even three foreign languages.
Physiological studies have found that speaking two or more languages is a great asset to the cognitive process. The Telegraph.co.uk says that the brains of bilingual people operate differently than single language speakers, and these differences offer several mental benefits: Speaking a foreign language improves the functionality of your brain by challenging it to recognise, negotiate meaning, and communicate in different language systems. This skill boosts your ability to negotiate meaning in other problem-solving tasks as well.
Multilingual people, especially children, are skilled at switching between two systems of speech, writing, and structure. According to a study from the Pennsylvania State University, this "juggling" skill makes them good multitaskers, because they can easily switch between different structures. Learning a language involves memorising rules and vocabulary, which helps strengthen that mental "muscle." This exercise improves overall memory, which means that multiple language speakers are better at remembering lists or sequences.
Studies show that bilinguals are better at retaining shopping lists, names, and directions.For whatever reason it may be, learning a new language will always be a sure advantage for everyone. Encouraging people to learn a new language will not only help improve oneself, but also one's understanding of another culture as well.
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