Mariah Smith

Prof. Riley

Eng 1201

25.04.2021
Benefits of Being Bilingual

How would someone feel, if they had lived somewhere most of their life, but no one

knew how to speak to them or understood what they were saying? How would they feel if

someone constantly told them they didn’t belong because they didn’t speak the correct language,

because their country only really spoke one and wasn’t diverse enough? These are the feelings of

the many people who are culturally different from people originating from the United states,

people who reside here but feel uncomfortable in their own country, their own home. There are

definitely things that help, like being able to take different languages in high school in most areas

or having apps on our phones that do it for the world. But as is blatantly obvious, many people

don’t choose to, but there are many reasons why they should. No one is forced to learn another

language, which is a huge reason many people don’t. It’s uncomfortable, change scares many

people, they might not want to be embarrassed or look stupid because it is something new. But

sometimes, it is good to push out of that comfort zone and into something new, because new

things can become great things, and great additions to general life.

People are scared to jump out of their comfort zones, and that is a huge reason why many

people fear learning a new language. It is looked down upon in today’s society to not know

enough, to be embarrassed, to try new things not knowing what will happen. Learning a new

language can be exciting, it’s adding new information to one’s brain and being able to use their

knowledge to communicate with others from all over the world. It is one of the most educational

things that can ever be done, that be used in different countries or almost in any situation.

Jumping out of someone’s comfort zone can be one of the best things to ever happen to them.

Marriage was out of everyone’s comfort zone at some point. Kids, moving out, big life changes,
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these things are all out of someone’s comfort zone but doing so can really change one’s life for

the better. It can show them what they were missing, and who they were missing, by not

knowing how to speak to a certain group of people.

Another reason it is vital to be bilingual is related to someone’s health! In an interview,

=Mark Antoniou of Western Sydney University, a Psycholinguist, he stated that being bilingual

can improve executive function, which allows attention to be better controlled and affects the

ability to plan. Being bilingual allows information that isn’t important to be ignored because

there’s knowledge of both languages. In this interview, Antoniou also states that a “bilingual

brain, as opposed to a monolingual one, will stop the decline of the brain and make it less steep

and rapid, which starts relatively around age 25” (Skibba). Not only is it beneficial to know

another language for educational purposes, but it impacts one’s brain for the better and actually

stops the decline, letting it progress much slower.

While it is beneficial for the individual learning the language, it can also be enlightening

for the people they are around. Someone who knows a secondary language can also teach it to

someone else, helping make the country and community they are in much more diverse. While it

can be scary to be in charge and possibly misinform or teach something incorrectly, sharing the

knowledge someone knows of a language, how to speak it, offensive terms and what not, the

person is positively impacting society by simply informing someone of the language. This can be

sharing what is offensive in their language, the proper way to speak and say words, body

language, etc. This can help our society embrace different diverse cultures. This can spread like a

chain, people who are informed will inform other people. Being informed of someone’s culture

and their language can improve barriers and communications with others, and make the societies

around them and the country as a whole a safer place.

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Something quite awesome about knowing a new language is being able to meet new

people. If someone knows they cannot speak a certain language or communicate with someone

else, they won’t go out of their way to speak to them or have interactions with them. Even if

these interactions are essential for business, school, work, family, they might be avoided or not

done well because there is a lack of communication and a communication barrier. Knowing a

new language introduces the idea of meeting new people from different backgrounds, countries,

and even from someone’s own country by being able to speak to someone and understand what

they’re saying. This can produce many friendships and relationships that are essential in one’s

life. This could even come in handy when being married, if someone possibly married someone

else with a different originating language, and they could help their spouse communicate with

family members. There are many reasons being bilingual can improve relationships in someone’s

life, but the main reason is because it can truly start them.

‘Make yourself at home,’ That is a very common phrase, and usually a very relaxing one

when someone is at a friend’s house, meeting someone new, etc. It gives a sense of relief,

because they can become comfortable and treat that pace as if it were their own. When someone

speaks a language most people cannot understand, they don’t get the opportunity to get that sense

of release, that feeling of making themselves at home. No matter how many times they kick their

shoes off or help themselves to the refrigerator, they must sit uncomfortably knowing they

cannot be understood, and they feel pity from the people they are surrounded by. Everyone

would appreciate someone taking the time to learn even a little bit about the language to help

someone feel more comfortable and okay with somewhere they should be comfortable at. Every

person should have the right to be understood, to talk, to communicate with others, and for others
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to communicate with them. Becoming bilingual can help these people feel comfortable and safe,

and someone could even translate conversations for them between them and monolingual people.

The job market is ever-growing, and so is the need for bilingual workers. Being bilingual

can assist a business in business deals with other countries, speaking with workers who speak

only their native language, and is generally just a nice asset to have as it’s usually very rare

although attainable. A recent study done by New American Economy determined that “less than

1% of Americans remember their foreign language skills they learned in school” (Page). This is

obviously a skill that not many people possess, which makes it even more valuable. The article

also stated that people who are bilingual are excellent communicators and good problem solvers.

It also states that when selecting prestige as a filter in searching for jobs, bilingual is the one with

the highest growth. Being bilingual could also help people educate their peers, as well as

communicate with customers, patients, business deals, coworkers, etc. It’s a smart skill to have

and could earn them more money in their position opposed to someone who is monolingual.

They could also have jobs open for them in other countries, and with diverse work environments

if they can speak more than one language, the possibilities are endless.

Another simple and easy reason to be bilingual is simply to make people feel confident.

Knowing more about anything, simply being educated, can really boost someone’s morale and

make them feel good about themselves. This offers a better work environment, a more

understanding person, etc. When someone is learning a language, they have a goal. They have

goals to meet, a purpose in what they are learning, and they have the means to apply it to

everyday life, because there is meaning in what they are learning and doing. They can apply it

and they aren’t learning it for nothing. It also is benefiting many people and not just themselves.
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Feeling smart and confident can also improve their relationships can improve their performance

in the workplace, and just their personality in general.

If an emergency broke out and someone was in Mexico but couldn’t speak their

language, what would they do? They have no translator nearby; they have no means of finding

someone to speak for them. They are absolutely stuck. Being bilingual can help someone in case

of emergency, especially in different countries, properly communicating and finding ways to get

things taken care of. In some instances, this can be the difference between life and death.

School can be very competitive these days, and being bilingual can get many children

ahead academically. Children are competing for scholarships, class placements, acceptance into

college, and many more. Being bilingual can get them ahead. Students are placed in higher level

classes when shown they have enough initiative and intelligence to be able to fluently speak in

two languages. Tracy Trautner of Michigan State University states, “Bilingual children may have

a superior ability to focus on one thing and change their response, easily indicating cognitive

flexibility” (Trautner). This also requires adamant self-control, which is very highly admirable

and valued in classrooms when being around other children and in a strict school environment.

These traits can come in handy when following rules, interacting or playing with other students,

and comprehending things being said to them. Trautner also stated in studies, adults who were

raised bilingual exceled on attention tests and concentrated better opposed to monolingual

people. They have better abilities to plan, they can perform different tasks and switch between

them, and remembering routines and sequences. There are plenty of benefits due to being

bilingual, but academics and educational skills are a high ranking one.

Violence has been a highly concentrated topic in the media for the last few years, and is

usually aimed at people who are of different races and ethnicities (African Americans, Asians,
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etc.) A lot of this is because no one takes the time to learn who they are, about who they are,

where they are from, or why they “belong here,” which is a cause of the violence. People born

here can feel like there is no room for change and no room for any other cultures or races in this

country. Being bilingual can help ones to communicate with other people and there won’t be a

lack of understanding. Being able to understand someone else’s language and culture will help

them better understand them, lead to less violence, and make America more culturally accepting

of others and their differences.

A huge reason many people become bilingual is because it is easier to learn other

languages after having learned two and being able to speak in them fluently. It has been shown

that if one, per say, learn Chinese but need to learn French for a job or meeting new people or

even a new family member, it’ll be easier to learn the newest language because they’ve already

learned two. Studies have shown that “the amount of languages some learns can improve how

smart they are, as opposed to someone who is only fluent in their native tongue” (ScienceDaily).

A study was done of two different groups, one had 42 people and one had 40. The one with 40

had people who spoke two fluent languages, and the one with 42 had people who only spoke

their native tongue. They were asked to do comprehensive tests; it was above 13% in the favor of

the students who spoke two languages fluently. It was easier for those 13% of students to learn

and comprehend the other languages they were told to learn and understand. This study, as cited

up above, was done by the University of Haifa and makes a very good point. Students who

already are bilingual have an easier time learning another language, which can come in handy

whenever they need such as a relationship or a job interview.

As mentioned before in this essay, being bilingual does improve health and the mind.

Specifically, it helps the brain. In an article on Northern Illinois University Newsroom, Tom
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Parisi writes that in an interview with a psychology professor named Katja Weimer (specializing

in cognitive psychology), she says that bilingual people outperform monolingual people as they

get older. In many ways, she specifically means in cognitive ways like the recall of episodic

moments (Parisi). It also shows that the earlier they become bilingual, the more benefits will be

gained.

Being bilingual can not only improve competitiveness in the job field but creates new job

openings. There is becoming a translator, which obviously being bilingual comes in super handy

for. They translate conversations and translate while speakers speak. There is the emergency

response, who need to know many languages to be able to help their victims and their families.

This is crucial often because in cases of emergencies, there isn’t a lot of time to wonder what

someone met or to quickly find a translator. It also helps to be bilingual in any job in health care,

as one may be working with people from all over the world, different races and cultures and

languages, and knowing how to properly talk to them is essential in treating patients and giving

proper patient care. It is also important in cases of law enforcement, in situations like figuring

out a situation or what happened or reading someone their rights, which can help prevent things

like lawsuits or misinformation. Being bilingual while being a police officer or working in law

enforcement is also essential in preventing dangerous misunderstandings.

Another positive benefit from learning a different language is that people can make better

financial decisions. It is very commonly known that learning another language can enhance the

ability to plan, think and comprehend. William Harms, from UChicago News, wrote an article

using a quote from psychologist Boaz Kaysar, “We know from previous research that because

people are naturally loss-averse, they often forgo attractive opportunities” (Harms). This means

they avoid losses, so they choose to pick favorable opportunities.

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There are many reasons people have doubted the good things about becoming

bilingual. Lots of the rumors and reasons involved children, and saying that they would be too

confused and not fully invested in either language and that it would actually defer their focus,

when being bilingual actually has the opposite effect. It helps people focus on things more and

helps comprehension. Another rumor is that being bilingual can cause someone to have bad

judgement and make bad decisions, when that was disproved above with the example of being

able to make better financial decisions. People also say that being bilingual can get exhausting as

people ask questions, they constantly have to think about the things they say before saying them,

they are constantly learning. This can seem like a lot of stress sometimes, but this is the reason to

limit the mind and not enlighten it, to become educated about different languages and be able to

speak with other people. There are some good and bad in everything that has ever existed. The

good outweighs the bad in this situation.

It has been discussed through these many different points how being bilingual can

improve health, help academic standing and job searches, earn more money, lead to new

relationships and overall just educate the human brain more. It can help others feel smart,

important, educated, and be on hand in case of emergency when getting a translator isn’t an

option. There are many reasons that learning a second language can improve one’s life and leave

access to multiple beneficial opportunities and enhance experiences. There are bad things about

everything that can be experienced. But at the end of the day, that person who didn’t feel so

comfortable because he spoke a language no one else understood? He feels better because his

neighbor took the time to teach himself a little bit of Russian. That woman who has been here

her entire life and has learned English for everyone else but no one ever stepped out for her? Her

best friend joined a French class simply to be able to speak with her and vacation with her to her
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hometown this summer. These things don’t seem too big but in the grand scheme of things, they

are contributing to the young minds and the cultural awareness happening in this country, which

is so desperately needed everywhere. It is never too late to educate oneself or do things for

someone else out of respect and decency or contribute to a good cause. There is never a bad time

to learn a new language, and there is never a lack of reasons to do so, either.

Works Cited

Alban, Patrick. “The Brain Benefits of Learning a Second Language.” Be Brain Fit,

bebrainfit.com/benefits-learning-second-language/.

Ali, Shehab. “The Effects of Second Language Acquisition on the Brain.” Medium, The

Startup, 16 June 2019, medium.com/swlh/the-effects-of-second-language-acquisition-

on-the-brain-c13778b45a.

“Bilinguals Find It Easier to Learn a Third Language.” ScienceDaily, ScienceDaily, 1 Feb.

2011,

www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/02/110201110915.htm#:~:text=Researchers

%20set%20out%20to%20examine,fluent%20in%20only%20one%20language.

Costa, Albert, and Núria Sebastián-Gallés. “How does the bilingual experience sculpt the

brain?.” Nature reviews. Neuroscience vol. 15,5 (2014): 336-45. doi:10.1038/nrn3709

Gold, Brian T., et al. “Lifelong Bilingualism Maintains Neural Efficiency for Cognitive

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www.jneurosci.org/content/33/2/387.
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Harms, William. “Thinking in a Foreign Language Helps Economic Decision-Making.”

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helps-economic-decision-making.

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“Language Careers in High Demand.” Lead with Languages,

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Nacamulli, Mia, director. The Benefits of a Bilingual Brain. TED, June 2015,

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Osterhout, Lee et al. “Second-language learning and changes in the brain.” Journal of

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Skibba, Ramin. “Speaking Two Languages May Help the Aging Brain.” The Washington

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