Beyond words: Surprising brain benefits of learning new language

Learning a new language is motivated by various factors—whether for professional advancement, personal relationships, or an interest in exploring a culture or community. However, research shows that picking up a new language also has significant benefits for brain health.

Just as physical exercise strengthens muscles, learning a language provides a workout for the brain. It reshapes neural pathways, enhancing overall cognitive function, according to German media.

Neuroscientists explain that multilingual individuals process information differently than those who speak only one language. But what exactly happens in the brain during language acquisition, and does it make you smarter?

To understand how language affects the brain, it’s essential to explore how language processing engages various brain areas. According to Arturo Hernandez, a neuroscientist at the University of California, San Diego, language processing relies on two primary circuits: one for perceiving and producing sound, and another for selecting the language’s sounds.

"These circuits are rewired as we learn and switch between languages. It's about mapping sounds and deciding which language to operate in," Hernandez explained.

The brain’s sensory regions, like the auditory cortex, are crucial for processing speech sounds. Meanwhile, the brain’s motor networks coordinate the muscles needed for speech, such as the tongue, lips, and vocal cords.

When learning a new language, changes occur in the higher processing areas of the brain. The Broca's area, located in the frontal lobe, is essential for syntax—the structure of sentences—helping both to form grammatically correct sentences and understand sentence structure.

This area is also key for speech production, facilitating the motor control needed to articulate words.

Another crucial region is Wernicke's area, which plays an important role in vocabulary comprehension and word retrieval, helping to store words in long-term memory.

A 2024 study from Germany assessed the brain activity of Syrian refugees before, during, and after learning German. The findings indicated that as participants became more proficient in German, their brains underwent "rewiring."

"Brain rewiring" refers to physical changes in the brain’s neural structures. This process, called neuroplasticity, is the underlying mechanism of learning.

"Structurally, [learning a language] increases gray matter structure in areas related to language processing and executive function," said Jennifer Wittmeyer, a cognitive neuroscientist at Elizabethtown College in Pennsylvania.

This rewiring changes not only the structure of the brain but also how it functions. Neuroplasticity improves how quickly we remember words, recognize new sounds, and refine pronunciation by controlling mouth muscles.

"Functionally, [language learning] enhances connectivity between brain regions, allowing for more efficient communication between networks involved in attention, memory, and cognitive control," Wittmeyer explained.

Studies show that while the brain uses the same networks for all languages, it responds differently to the native language. One study found that brain activity in language networks decreased when participants heard their native language, indicating that the first language is processed with minimal effort.

Furthermore, young children have a much easier time learning new languages than adults. This is due to the fact that children’s brains are still developing and are more adaptable to neural plasticity. Unlike adults, they don’t need to translate from their first language, allowing them to pick up sounds, grammar, and vocabulary more effortlessly.

"At an early age there's not as much rigidity in the brain. Adult brains are already structured around their first language, so a second language must adapt to existing knowledge rather than develop independently as it relies on previously established neural networks," Hernandez added.

Some studies suggest that multilingual individuals show improvements in cognitive abilities, such as memory and problem-solving. However, does this mean polyglots are inherently smarter?

It’s a complicated issue, Hernandez notes. Speaking multiple languages does increase a person’s verbal repertoire, with more words and concepts across various languages.

"If somebody speaks more than one language, it increases their verbal repertoire. They have more words across all languages, more items, necessarily more concepts," Hernandez said.

However, it’s unclear if having a larger vocabulary is due to a greater cognitive reserve or simply a result of having more words stored in the brain’s memory banks. This doesn’t equate to intelligence, Hernandez points out.

To truly measure intelligence, scientists would need to test tasks that are not related to language. So far, there’s no strong evidence suggesting that polyglots perform better in non-language-related tasks.

Additionally, changes in cognitive abilities among multilinguals might not be entirely due to language learning itself but could be influenced by other factors, such as education or environment.

Despite these uncertainties, it's clear that learning new languages provides enriching cultural experiences. Whether it leads to greater intelligence or not, the cognitive benefits and cultural opportunities are undeniable.

By Naila Huseynova