Second language learning and life skills

By: Zahra Najjarzadeh

Life skills : the skills usually associated with managing and living a better quality of life.

They help us to accomplish our ambitions & live to our full potential. There is no definitive list of life skills , depending on your life

circumstances , your beliefs , age , geographic location etc Perhaps the most important life skill is the ability to learn .by learning

new skills we increase our understanding of the world around us to live in a full filling life.

Life skills are not always taught directly but often learned indirectly. Speaking two or more languages is a grate asset to cognitive process. The brain of bilingual people operate differently than single language

speakers. these differences offer several mental benefits. People who begin language study in their adult lives can achieve the

same levels of fluency as a younger learner

Seven cognitive advantages to learning a foreign languages

You become smarter

Challenging your brain to recognize, negotiate meaning, and communicate in different language system . this skill boosts your ability to negotiate meaning in other problem – solving tasks as well.

Tending to score better on standardized tests by students who study foreign languages rather than their monolingual peers , particularly in the categories of math, reading, and vocabulary.

You build multitasking skills

Switching between two systems of speech, writing , and structure by multitasking people

“Juggling” skill, according to a study from Pennsylvania state university, makes them good multitaskings , they can easily switch between different structures.

Using a driving simulator by participants while doing separate, distracting tasks at the same time people who spoke more than one language made fewer errors in their driving.

You save off Alzheimer`s & dementia

For Mono lingual adults, the mean age for first signs of dementia is 71.4.

for adults who speak two or more language, it is 75.5. studies considered factors such as education level , gender, physical health, but results were consistent

Your memory improve

Liking the brain to muscle ,it functions better with exercise .Learning a language involves memorizing rules and vocabulary , which helps strengthen that mental “muscle”.

improving overall memory by this exercise , it means that multilingual speakers are better at remembering lists like shopping lists, names , & directions

You become more perceptive

At observing their surroundings , multilingual people are better . they are focusing on relevant information. They are better at spotting misleading information .

Is it any surprise that Sherlock Holmes and Hercule poirot are skilled polyglots?

Your decision – making skills improve

Containing nuance and subtle implications in any language`s vocabulary can subconsciously influence your judgment. Bilinguals are more confident with their choices after thinking it over in second language and seeing whether their initial conclusions still stand up.

You improve your English

Drawing your focus to the mechanics of language : grammar , conjunctions , sentence structure . This makes you more aware of language and the ways it can be structured and manipulated . They also develop a better ear for listening