With the invention of the Internet, learning a language has become even more important. It is no longer necessary to go to that country to communicate with people from different countries, one click is enough. As the world has developed in this way and countries have become towns for us, the number of researches in this field has increased, especially with the increasing interest in learning foreign languages in recent years. These studies are mostly conducted on bilingual people.
These studies suggest that learning a new language and being bilingual causes some changes in the brain. The effect of human emotions, thoughts and behaviors on the human brain has been known by the psychology community for a long time, but we can say that this alleged effect of language has just emerged.
Does learning a language change our brains?
Studies show that language learning affects the brain by influencing neuroplasticity in the brain. Neuroplasticity is the brain’s ability to undergo structural changes in response to stimuli, behavioral experiences, or cognitive demands.
In other words, the language we actually learn may be changing our brains. Along with the changing brain, our thoughts, our perspective on the world and our approach to events can also change. In fact, it may also affect our mental health. Because, according to Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), which is a type of therapy in psychology and frequently used by psychologists and psychiatrists, “Most of the time, it’s not the events that hurt us, but our perspective on events.”
Does learning languages increase intelligence?
In a study conducted in 2012, structural changes in the prefrontal and temporal cortices were measured, especially by looking at changes in gray matter density. Gray matter consists of the cell bodies of neurons, and this area is often associated with intelligence, attention, memory, and language processing. The conclusion of these studies was that language learning can increase gray matter. As a result, if gray matter increases, attention, memory and intelligence may also increase.
Learning languages may increase the cognitive functions of the brain.
Ann Neurol published her research on the effects of language learning and being bilingual in 2014. The research was conducted with 853 participants (410 women, 443 men). These participants were tested in 1947 when they were 11 years old, and then retested in 2008-2010 to examine their cognitive functions.
According to the results of the study, being bilingual has a positive effect on the cognitive functions of the brain, including learning the language in adulthood. The relationship between Alzheimer’s and language learning has also been one of the topics that have been wondered for years. According to this research, it also has positive effects on Alzheimer’s onset.
As age progresses, the number of connections established in the brain decreases.
Özgecan Bakırlı, in her research on the effects of being bilingual on the brain, gives the following information together with the above image:
“The first of these screenings is for children aged 0-2, The second refers to the formations between 2-adolescence and the third refers to the formations in adulthood. As the individual gets older, the brain cells of the individual’s brain become less connected with each other in language learning.”
Summary of research: Learning a language is good for our brain.
We can summarize the results of research as follows:
- Learning a language is good for the brain.
- Learning languages increases gray matter in the brain.
- Learning languages increases neuroplasticity in the brain.
- Learning languages increases the number of active connections in the brain.
- Learning a language is good for Alzheimer’s.
- Learning languages is good for cognitive functions.
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