What are the benefits of being multilingual?

by Target Language Translation Services

- October 20 2021

In the age of globalization when lots of companies are moving into international markets, the ability to speak more than one language has become a valuable asset in the workplace. Regardless of the industry you work in, learning a second or third language can be extremely beneficial not only for career development, but also your overall well being. Acquiring another language enables you to develop a variety of mental abilities at all ages. Fortunately, more and more people of all ages and backgrounds are learning languages today. In fact, more than half of the world’s population is bilingual or multilingual.

Here is a list of some of the benefits of being a multilingual

Better networking skills

Excellent social skills, with the ability to communicate in more than one language, are beneficial for customer and client relations. Aside from business know-how, being multilingual also helps to open up to a new culture and understand others’ opinions and actions. As a result, multilingual people are better equipped to see the world from different perspectives, therefore enhancing their ability to communicate in today’s global economy.

Through meaningful interactions with people of different nationalities and cultures, you can build deeper relationships with clients and be an integral part of your company’s business expansion.

Skilled multitasking

Multitasking is an extremely stressful task for those who don’t have practice doing it or have never learned how to do it well. It requires disengaging from one activity, switching to a new mindset, and then fully engaging in a different activity. A study performed by Pennsylvania State University found that multilingual people who are proficient at slipping from one language to another are practised at multitasking. Since multilingual people can easily switch between different languages they are good at multitasking as well, thereby reducing stress levels.

Improve memory

Learning a new language not only needs familiarity with an unfamiliar set of vocabulary and rules, but also the ability to recall this information. Absorbing and retaining more information can greatly shorten your learning curve because you can spend more time learning new information instead of re-teaching yourself.

But it doesn’t stop here. Once you learn a new language, you’re able to learn other languages faster. This is primarily because language skills reinforce each other. So if you already have a second language, then learning a third language simply means transferring those skills over.

We’re not just talking about short-term memory benefits here. A study conducted in Luxembourg found those who speak more than one language may be at lower risk of onset memory problems like Alzheimer’s and dementia. The benefit appears to be a compounding one, as the risk proved lowest in those fluent in four or more languages.

Sharpen the mind

It’s undeniable: the more you use your brain, the better it performs. According to a study out of Spain’s University of Pompeu Fabra, multilingual people are better at observing their surroundings. They can easily detect anything that is irrelevant or deceptive. They’re also better than their monolingual peers at identifying misleading information.

While learning a language is a great way to keep your brain healthy and sharp, it’s also causing it to literally grow. Some studies found that cortical thickness, which is generally associated with higher intelligence, of the bilingual brain is only altered when language learning occurs later in life, after developing proficiency in the first language.

The study found that the later in life a second language is acquired, the greater the effect on brain structure growth. Also, bilingual speakers who use both languages frequently may have more grey matter in the brain regions responsible for attention, inhibition, and short-term memory, according to research from the Georgetown University Medical Center.

Improve the first language

As Geoffrey Willans said, “You can never understand one language until you understand at least two.” Learning a new language actually sharpens your knowledge of your primary language by making you more conscious of its rules and subtleties. When terms such as conjugation, grammar, and sentence structure become everyday phrases while learning a new language, we start to apply these terms to our primary language and think about our language’s underlying structure. While we learn the majority of our first language through intuitive absorption, learning a new language needs active learning. As we learn a new language, we may begin to think about our first language in new ways.

With better appreciation and knowledge of your first language, you can become a better writer, speaker, and communicator. Language speakers also develop a better ear for listening, since they’re skilled at distinguishing meaning from discrete sounds.

Improved employability

The value of multilingualism has significantly increased as global citizens migrate and businesses expand. Speaking multiple languages has numerous employment benefits. Being multilingual means there are more job opportunities depending on the languages you speak. Having a more diverse skill set that includes proficient language skills gives candidates a professional advantage by being able to help the company tap into new markets and acquire clients, share relevant cultural knowledge that could aid the business, and eventually, boost revenue.

This article is reprinted from Mondly, Knowledgeworks and gengo.

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