Learning a foreign language is more than just a boost to your CV or handy for travelling. It will make you smarter more decisive and even better at your mother tongue says Anne Merritt.

Physiological studies have found that speaking two or more languages is a great asset to the cognitive process. The brains of bilingual people operate differently than single language speakers and these differences offer several mental benefits.

Below are seven cognitive advantages to learning a foreign language. Many of the seattributes are only apparent in people who speak multiple languages regularly-if you havent spoken a foreign tongue since your A levels your brain might not be reaping these bilingual benefits. However people who begin language study in their adult lives can still achieve the same levels of fluency as a young learner and still reap the same mental benefits.

1. You become smarter

Speaking a foreign language improves the functionality of your brain by challenging it to recognize negotiate meaning and communicate in different language systems. This skill boosts your ability to negotiate meaning in other problem-solving tasks as well.

Students who study foreign languages tend to score better on standardized tests than their monolingual peers particularly in the categories of maths reading and vocabulary.

2. You build multitasking skills

Multilingual people especially children are skilled at switching between two systems of speech writing and structure. According to a study from the Pennsylvania State University this “juggling” skill makes them good multitaskers because they can easily switch between di仟 erentstructures. In one study participants used a driving simulator while doing separate distractingtasks at the same time. The research found that people who spoke more than one language made fewer errors in their driving.

3. You stave off Alzheimers and dementia

Several studies have been conducted on this topic and the results are consistent. Formonolingual adults the mean age for the first signs of dementia is 71.4. For adults who speak twoor more languages the mean age for those first signs is 75.5. Studies considered factors such aseducation level income level gender and physical health but the results were consistent.

4. Your memory mproves

Educators often liken the brain to a muscle because it functions better with exercise. Learning a language involves memorizing rules and vocabulary which helps strengthen that mental “muscle”. This exercise improves over all memory which means that multiple languagespeakers are better at remembering lists or sequences. Studies show that bilinguals are better atretaining shopping lists names and directions.

5. You become more perceptive

A study from Spains University of Pompeu Fabra revealed that multilingual people are betterat observing their surroundings. They are more adept at focusing on relevant information andediting out the irrelevant. Theyre also better at spotting misleading information. Is it any surprisethat Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot are skilled polyglots？

6. Your decision-making skills improve

According to a study from the University of Chicago bilinguals tend to make more rationaldecisions. Any language contains nuance and subtle implications in its vocabulary and the sebiases can subconsciously in fluence your judgment. Bilinguals are more confident with theirchoices after thinking it over in the second language and seeing whether their initial conclusions still stand up.

7. You improve your mother language

Learning a foreign language draws your focus to the mechanics of language： grammarconjugations and sentence structure. This makes you more aware of language and the ways itcan be structured and manipulated These skills can make you a more effective communicatorand a sharper editor and writer. Language speakers also develop a better ear for listening sincetheyre skilled at distinguishing meaning from discreet sounds

安妮·梅里特说，学外语不仅是丰富你的简历或者方便旅行。学外语会让你更聪明，更果断，甚至让你的母语更棒。

生理研究发现能讲两种或以上的语言对于认知过程大有帮助，是一笔莫大的财富。能讲两种语言的人们，其大脑运转方式和只能讲—种语言的人是不同的，这种不同，带来了一些脑力方面的帮助。

以下是学习一门外语的七个认知优势。这其中的很多特质只适用于频繁讲多种语言的人——如果你在达到初级水平之后就再也没讲过这门外语，你的大脑可能还没有抓住这些双语优势。然而，在成人阶段开始语言学习的人们仍然可以达到和年少学生一样的流利程度，也同样可以收获相同的认知优势。

1.变得更聪明

讲外语会迫使你的大脑去识别、调整语义，并且在不同的语言系统中交流，以此提升大脑的功能。此技能也会帮助你在解决其他问题时懂得调整。

学习外语的学生，和只会讲一种语言的同学相比，倾向于在标准化考试中取得更好的成绩，尤其是在数学、阅读和词汇这些范畴。

2.拥有同时执行多项任务的技能

能讲多种语言的人，尤其是小孩子，擅长在两种口语、写作和结构系统中转换。根据宾州州立大学的一项研究表明，这种“玩抛接杂耍”的技能让他们能够很棒地同时执行多项任务，因为他们可以轻易地在不同架构中转换。在一项研究中，参与者在使用模拟驾驶系统的同时做了其他分散注意力的事情。……