Some people may face embarrassing situations that cause significant discomfort, such as forgetting a colleague's name, trying to recall the name of their favorite movie or song, or remembering places they have visited or destinations they have traveled to. According to a report by Inc, results from a study published in the journal Neurology of Aging suggest that learning a new second language may reduce the likelihood of encountering any of these troublesome situations.
**Bilingualism**
Researchers from the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases in Bonn, along with other European institutions, found that individuals who use more than one language daily end up scoring higher on tests measuring self-control, language skills, and memory compared to those who speak only one language. It was revealed that the focus was indeed on being bilingual or multilingual during youth and midlife; learning a second language showed no effect when individuals were 65 years or older. In other words, individuals who reported being bilingual early in life outperformed monolinguals in learning, memory, working memory, executive functions, and language. Bilingualism in midlife showed significant advantages for learning and memory.
**Youth and Midlife**
The experiences of 746 participants were studied, divided into two categories regarding cognition and memory based on their abilities:
- Approximately 60% of participants were patients in memory clinics, or "suffered from confusion or memory loss."
- The remaining 40% reported no memory or cognitive problems.
Each participant was asked to take part in a series of tests focusing on vocabulary, memory, attention, and calculation. It was observed that volunteers who used more than one language either during their youth (ages 13 to 30) or midlife (ages 30 to 65) scored higher on tests than those who did not.
**Multiple Benefits**
Although individuals who speak more than one language may be less prone to memory and cognitive problems for an unrelated reason, or possibly for no reason at all, other experts told The Times that the German study aligns with other research on bilingualism and memory. Furthermore, there are many documented reasons why learning a second language is beneficial, ranging from simply broadening one's understanding of the world to potentially earning more money.
