Multilingualism trains the brain and increases its performance. A new study shows that learning several languages also improves visual memory – regardless of age.
Comparing words, forming sentences, observing grammar: Language is a high-level cognitive performance of our brain. It becomes even more complex when we learn other languages in addition to our mother tongue. This is especially easy during childhood, because the brain is even more flexible. But even in adulthood, multilingualism not only enables better communication, but also increases brain performance.
A research group from Northwestern University in the US has just discovered that multilingualism can also improve visual memory capacity. The idea is this: when we speak several languages, we direct our attention in a more targeted way and thus can better memorize what we see.
A picture game tests memory ability
In their study, the researchers examined the memory ability of a total of 126 people. A third of them spoke only English. The other participants were also fluent in Spanish to varying degrees. During the experiment, subjects first heard a word in English. They were then presented with four pictures from which they had to choose the object they had just heard.
Distinctive: what was represented in the other images had a similar sound in English or Spanish to the previously heard word. For example, if subjects had heard “candle” (candle in English), other images showed “candys” (candy in English) or a “candido” (curtain lock in Spanish).
These similarities were then reflected in memory: in the second part of the experiment, the subjects were again confronted with the images. They then had to indicate which ones they had seen during the first series. English speakers, for example, remembered sweets, but generally not locks. In contrast, those who also spoke Spanish remembered the lock in most cases.
Language processing in the brain
If the participants were able to remember certain words, it was thanks to the way we process language. When we hear a word, our brain moves from letter to letter and activates all similar words stored in the brain – regardless of language. For example, if you hear “candle” and speak English and Spanish, the word “candido” is added to the word “candy.”
The results of the study show: Multilingualism can affect the way we perceive our environment. First, it affects what we pay attention to. If someone knows “candle” as well as “candys” and “candido”, the corresponding words are activated. It is a prerequisite for memorizing them – and improves the capacity for visual memorization.
Multilingualism trains the brain
Previous research has also shown that improved memory in the case of multilingualism may also be due to the fact that the brain is constantly being trained. He is constantly busy choosing the right words and removing unnecessary linguistic knowledge. In everyday life, this results in a better ability to switch from one task to another, but also a better ability to concentrate and absorb knowledge.
A Canadian study even showed that multilingual children do better on intelligence tests than children who grow up speaking only one language. But multilingualism also has many benefits for older people and may even reduce the risk of dementia – regardless of the age at which one learns a language.
Learning languages pays off
The results of the study may in turn explain why different people remember the same event differently. Therefore, the research findings help to promote mutual understanding, especially in different language communities. Whether for better understanding or even a better memory, learning languages is a good thing.
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