Benefits of Second Language Aquisition

Everyone knows that knowing another language makes travel more fun and rewarding and opens up more career opportunities. But did you know that according to the research:

• Language learning is beneficial in the development of students’ reading abilities.
• There is evidence that:
  • Early language learning improves cognitive abilities.
  • Bilingualism correlates with increased cognitive development and abilities.
  • Language learners transfer skills from one language to another.
• There are correlations between language learning and:
  • Higher academic achievement on standardized test measures. 
  • Students’ ability to hypothesize in science. 
  • Higher scores on the SAT and ACT Tests.
  • Higher academic performance at the college level.
• There are correlations between bilingualism and:
  • The offset of age-related cognitive losses.
  • Attentional control on cognitive tasks.
  • Memory skills.
  • Problem solving ability.
  • Improved verbal and spatial abilities.

See the Research backing up these claims at ACTFL

Read the New York Times article: Why Bilinguals are Smarter