The Benefits of Students Being Bilingual

Globalization has changed the world of business and education forever with the increased interaction across the world thanks to improved transportation and ever-changing technology. It’s amazing how technology has, in essence, shrunk the world so we can contact almost anyone anywhere. Being bilingual or, at the very least, knowing the basics of a foreign language can help students excel in this connected world.

Growing up bilingual in the world today throws open doors that would otherwise be closed. Having the advantage of knowing two languages fluently, especially if they are popular languages spoken in many parts of the world, is impressive.

Whether an adult or child, anyone can begin to learn another language if the determination is there. In fact, we here at iAchieve can help the process with our foreign language tutoring. Below are a few of the main benefits for anyone mastering a foreign language.

Identify with Multiple Cultures
You’ve probably heard the saying about trying to put yourself in another person’s shoes. Learning another language usually requires studying and understanding something about the cultures that the languages originated from. Bilingual people often have the perspective of understanding another cultures’ history and can identify and empathize with the people of that culture. Studies have shown that bilingual children have a greater ability to empathize with other perspectives and accept the multiple cultures which came along with learning multiple languages.

Business and Education
With the invention of the internet, even mom and pop businesses are now able to go global. Their customers can literally come from any country or place on the globe. The same goes for those in education. We are able to teach kids regardless of language and location. Being bilingual means being able to communicate effectively with a larger portion of the population. In business and education, this skill can become quite handy.

Travel
When deciding where to go on vacation, some people are nervous of choosing places where they don’t speak the language. It can be difficult to communicate with others without being able to speak their tongue. And if there is an emergency, your life or the lives of others may depend on being able to communicate effectively with strangers. People that are bilingual have more of the world open to them, and they can acquire many more experiences because of it.

Increased Health Benefits
There are studies that show a bilingual person’s brain behaves differently from someone that only knows one language. Research shows their attention spans are longer and they are able to multitask better. Plus, there is evidence that being bilingual can actually delay dementia and Alzheimer’s. Of course, those are both things we don’t think about when young, but as the years go by, our concerns grow. With all these benefits to being able to speak another language fluently, more and more children are likely to be picking up another language soon.