What happens in the brain when you learn a language?

Scans and neuroscience are helping scientists understand what happens to the brain when you learn a second language.

Learning a foreign language can increase the size of your brain. This is what Swedish scientists discovered when they used brain scans to monitor what happens when someone learns a second language. The study is part of a growing body of research using brain imaging technologies to better understand the cognitive benefits of language learning. Tools like magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and electrophysiology, among others, can now tell us not only whether we need knee surgery or have irregularities with our heartbeat, but reveal what is happening in our brains when we hear, understand and produce second languages.

My notes: among the many benefits of language tutoring for your kids, you will find…

–Improved Academic Performance: Mastering a language can boost a child’s performance in other subjects as well. Language skills are foundational for reading comprehension, writing, and even understanding complex concepts in math and science, where instruction often involves language-based reasoning.

–Increased Cognitive Abilities: Learning a new language or improving language skills helps to develop critical thinking, memory, and problem-solving abilities. It encourages the brain to make connections and strengthens cognitive flexibility.

Language tutoring helps kids academically and supports their emotional and social development.

The Swedish MRI study showed that learning a foreign language has a visible effect on the brain.

Check the rest of the article here: https://www.theguardian.com/education/2014/sep/04/what-happens-to-the-brain-language-learning

Credit: Cambridge University Press