Good news multilinguals, if you haven’t had the chance to step into the creative world or try your hand in business, maybe it’s time that you consider doing so just because you have the sheer advantage to excel in it. Being conversant in multiple languages not only makes you sound cool like Jason Bourne, it also makes you more creative and have a sharper mind. Here’s why:
1.Enhanced Memory
There are definitely times when we suffer mental blocks and can’t remember an English word we want to use and for most of us, it’s probably the only main language we speak. But for a multilingual, that struggle is multiplied especially when they need to use the right word, grammar rules and structure when shifting in culture and context. So it is no surprise that multilinguals are blessed with better working memory than monolinguals.
2.Better Creative Process
According to a team of experts in Europe, they had concluded that being multilingual helps your brain develop more neuronal connections. By learning a new language, your brain is being worked like a muscle, stimulating and developing more neuronal webs which can lead to a higher capacity for generating more creative processes.
Medical Daily reported on a research done to observe 120 9-year-old students. Half were monolinguals and the other were bilinguals. The children were then tested on problem solving and creative thinking. The results? The children who could speak more than one language scored better at the tests. In terms of creative thinking, the bilingual children demonstrated a difference in the level of detail and richness in description.
3.Better Problem-Solving Skills
Research conducted at the American University of Sharjah had shown that multilinguals approach the same problems with different perspectives compared to monolinguals. This is due to the practice of being exposed to different cultures when learning a new language, therefore they are more open-minded when faced with a situation.
Studies have shown that multilinguals are better at filtering out unwanted information because they use more of the executive function of the brain. By doing so, they are efficient in focusing on the problem and yet bring about new perspectives to tackle the problem at different angles.
4.Masters at Multi-tasking
To be able to handle twice or thrice as many words efficiently, the brain has no other choice but to use more focus and resources to be able to switch between languages quickly. Research has shown that because of this, multilinguals are able to switch between multiple tasks and shift their attention quicker than monolinguals.
Not only that, but because the brain of a multilingual has to look out for mistakes and errors during the task of switching languages, this would also be applied efficiently to reduce errors when switching between tasks.
5.Sharp Decision Making Skills
A study in Chicago University had revealed that multilinguals are more likely to make the right decisions as compared to monolinguals. Being able to speak multiple languages allow multilinguals to see the bigger picture and to understand more complex situations better.
The study also showed that when we speak a different language with a less familiar language, we tend to be less biased when making a decision. What this means is that we become more rational when we speak in a second or third language which in turn, helps us to make a better decision.
Multilingualism makes you smarter
Concrete evidence have shown us that being a multilingual can bring about many benefits and as proven in the workforce, it can also be an advantage when searching for a job. Job applications require us to fill in the types of languages we speak as being multilingual is seen to be an asset by employers.
Being a multilingual truly has its perks, so why not get started on a new language right away?
Featured photo credit: Tom Hiddleston via flic.kr
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