A university student majoring in physics, Matt Kafker also pursues a variety of academic interests in his spare time. Driven to learn French and Spanish, Matt Kafker’s fascination with foreign languages and linguistics, which can have several cognitive benefits and benefit one’s professional and personal life, is evident.
Knowing more than one language is not only a potentially indispensable skill in an ever-shrinking world, but also beneficial to the brain’s chemistry. In recent years, studies have shown that learning another language can actually fend off certain diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia. It also develops additional grey matter, which can improve the ability to multitask and increase attention span.
Moreover, bilingualism can open new creative pathways in the mind and make a person more apt to relate to and understand foreign cultures. Those who speak different languages can deal more readily with environmental changes and are more able to immerse themselves during international travel. Research from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has shown that bilingual people will emphasize specific character traits, depending on the language being spoken.
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