Cover by Lori Huang

Table for Two (Languages) Please

By Cynthia Kumaran

Back in middle school, I had a classmate who could speak six languages. He would often mix languages together unintentionally, or pause and take some time to recollect his thoughts in the target language. In addition to knowing all these languages, my classmate was profoundly gifted in math and science and his grades were always at the very top of the class. I always wondered if his multilingual skills contributed to his high level of intelligence. Turns out, research shows it probably did. 

 According to the U.S. Census Bureau, only about 20% of the U.S. population can speak another language, with only half being able to speak that language fluently. This number is relatively small compared to other countries like France, Italy, and Spain. In fact, in 2012 the European Commission reported that 54% of Europeans, across 27 countries, can hold a conversation in another language other than their mother-tongue. Countries like Singapore and India are also largely multilingual due to their abundance of established national languages; America only has one. But does this mean our country of monolinguals is at a disadvantage? Aside from an increased ability to communicate, there is a benefit of becoming bilingual that is often overlooked: astounding improvements to brain health. 

Perhaps not surprisingly, many studies prove that the brain of a bilingual individual looks quite different from that of a monolingual. A study by Grogan et al. came to this conclusion using voxel based morphometry (VBM): a volume-based approach to MRI imaging that accounts for changes in the amount of grey matter. The researchers found that in bilingual people there was an increase in gray matter in the frontal lobe, parietal lobe, and cingulate cortex — all parts of the brain responsible for language acquisition. The increased gray matter in these areas signals improved information processing as well as greater nutrition flow to these parts of the brain. There is also an increase in gray matter around the basal ganglia in bilinguals, which is responsible for coordination and movement. But what do these striking features in a bilingual brain actually do?

To begin, one of the frontal lobe’s primary functions is memory and is highly affected by bilingualism. According to a research review by Calvo et. al, scientists presume that learning a new language is said to improve memory skills, and specifically working memory. Working memory is the short-term storage used to provide information for the brain’s task at hand. Examples of this include keeping track of general information while you’re completing a task, or simply something in the back of your mind throughout the day. It’s the big picture you remember from a conversation, or remembering where you are driving to as you follow a navigation app. Since knowing another language requires recalling two separate vocabularies, it’s no surprise that the brain flourishes from the extra knowledge. This skill is crucial to everyday alertness in a busy modern society. 

In addition, being bilingual can also improve your concentration and multi-tasking skills—the job of the prefrontal cortex located in the frontal lobe. The complex linguistic processing that is required to switch between languages in your brain also amounts to an increase in cognitive behavior such as thinking, reasoning, and remembering. According to BBC news, this same processing also contributes to better problem-solving and critical thinking skills—once again courtesy of the frontal lobe. All of these abilities, when nurtured, can boost an academic or professional career exponentially. 

However, the most compelling of these benefits is that learning another language can decrease the risk of developing chronic degenerative brain diseases like Alzheimer’s or dementia. Your brain stays younger for longer and staves off cognitive decline thanks to the extra exercise of almost all parts of your brain at any given moment of linguistic engagement (like reading, speaking, and writing). Research has found that being bilingual delays symptom onset of Alzheimer’s by up to five years! The way the brain counteracts these symptoms is through a concept called the cognitive reserve. This is the idea that the brain compensates for brain damage (such as the cell death caused by Alzheimer’s) by offering alternate neural pathways to continue its function. Since language acquisition exercises your brain, the integrity of the white matter in the brain remains just as strong while you grow old. This allows all parts of the brain to continue communicating efficiently. It’s true what they say: if you don’t use your brain, you lose it. 

With all these reasons to learn a new language, why not start right now? Not only will you be setting yourself up for success in social settings, but also for a lifetime of better brain health. So pick up your Duolingo or Rosetta Stone and get started today!