Learning a second language is good for your brain. It strengthens your intelligence and memory while lowering risks of brain aging and dementia.
There are many obvious reasons to learn a second language such as to advance in your career, make traveling more enjoyable, and expand your cultural horizons. But what may not be obvious are the cognitive benefits that take place when you learn a second language.
Understanding language is one of the hardest things your brain does, making it the ultimate brain exercise. We want to promote learning African languages, and yes, you can find the language books in the bookshops. Pick up Swahili, if you don’t speak or read it well. You can also try Kikuyu, Arabic, Somali, Dholuo, Mijikenda, Kikamaba.
It’s easier, and fun, to learn a language in the proximity of those who speak it. I’m sure you can find a friend you will humour with your new quest to learn his or her local language.
Benefits of learning a new language on the brain
- It increases intelligence
- Keeps your mind sharp
- Protects the Brain Against Ageing
- Improves cognitive abilities
- It improves focus, concentration, and attention
- For better memory and memorization skills
- Exhibit mental flexibility
- Boosts your brainpower
- Delayed Onset Of Dementia (memory loss)
- Improves working memory
- Better Decision-Making Skills
It’s good for your brain
There are a few ways to make learning easy and less difficult. Here are few tips for learning a new a language
Have fun with it
Learning a new language is a creative expression. You must add some fun to it, to make you enjoy the process. If you’re dating someone from a different tribe, this becomes fun, because you have an incentive and hopefully a willing teacher! Be free to express yourself and have fun when you’re corrected.
Be attentive, listen and watch others speak
Improve your skill of listening and watching. Learning a new language gives you the opportunity to listen attentively. Enjoy how strange it sounds, repeat the words and pronunciation until you get it right. It’s an opportunity to watch someone speak with an intention to learn from them.
Get a language friend
Recruit a fun friend that you can learn the language with. Learning a new language with a friend encourages both of you to try a bit harder and not to quit!
Find your motivation
This might sound obvious, but if you don’t have a good reason to learn a language, you are less likely to stay motivated over the long run. That’s why you find people married to partners who speak different languages learn the language quicker.
Embrace your mistakes.
In the beginning, you’re going to encounter difficulties in pronunciation and the strange grammar. Willingness to make mistakes means being ready to put yourself in potentially embarrassing situations. This can be scary, but it’s the only way to develop and improve. No matter how much you learn, you won’t ever speak a language without putting yourself out there.
Talk to strangers
Talk to strangers in the new language, ask for directions, order food, try to tell a joke. The more often you do this, the more you improve and the more at ease you can be in new situations in the future.
Embrace the new food culture
Every language has its traditional cuisine, and there is no better way to get accustomed to a new language and culture than through cooking & food.
Learning new cuisine grants us the opportunity to experience a new, interesting and delicious ways of getting the important nutrients such as vitamins, minerals, protein, essential fats.
Remember these nutrients will help the brain in return by stimulating the language center of the brain, boost neuron metabolism and protects brain cells, improve nerve transmission, form new connections between brain cells and overall helps to improve the language acquiring skills of a human. Learning a new cuisine can help in learning a new language through the exposure to the culinary traditions and getting the required nutrients that increase the brain capacity to comprehend language!
