学习外语的七大好处

Learning a foreign language is more than just a boost to your CV orhandy for
travelling. It will make you smarter, more decisive andeven better at English,
says Anne Merritt.
学外语不仅是丰富你的简历或者方便旅行。学外语会让你更聪明，更果断，甚至让你的母语更棒，语言学作家安妮·梅里特讲到。

Physiological studies have found that speaking two or morelanguages is a great
asset to the cognitive process. The brains ofbilingual people operate differently
than single language speakers,and these differences offer several mental
benefits.
生理研究发现能讲两种或以上的语言对于认知过程大有帮 助，是一笔莫大的财
富。能讲两种语言的人们，其大脑运转方式和只能讲一种语言的人是不同的，这种不同，带来了好些脑力方面的帮助。

Below are seven cognitive advantages to learning a foreignlanguage. Many of
theseattributes are only apparent inpeople who speak multiple languages
regularly –if you haven’t spoken a foreign tongue since your A levels, yourbrain
might not be reapingthesebilingual benefits. However, people who begin
language study intheir adult lives can still achieve the same levels of fluency as
ayoung learner, and still reap the same mental benefits, too.
以下是学习一门外语的 七个认知优势。这其中的很多特质只适用于频繁讲多种语
言的人——如果你在达到初级水平之后就再也没 讲过这门外语，你的大脑可能还
没有抓住这些双语优势。然而，在成人阶段开始语言学习的人们仍然可以 达到和
年少学生一样的流利程度，也同样可以收获相同的认知优势。

You become smarter
变得更聪明

Speaking a foreign language improves the functionality of your brain
bychallenging it to recognise, negotiate meaning, and communicate indifferent
language systems. This skill boosts your ability tonegotiate meaning in other
problem- solving tasks as well.
讲外语会迫使你的大脑去识别、调整语义，并且在不 同的语言系统中交流，以此
提升大脑的功能。此技能也会帮助你在解决其他问题时懂得调整。

Students who study foreign languages tend to score better onstandardised tests
than their monolingual peers, particularly inthe categories of maths, reading,
and vocabulary.

学习外语的学生，和只会讲一种语言的同学相比，更倾向于在标准化考试中取得
更好的成绩，尤其是在数 学、阅读和词汇这些范畴。

You build multitasking skills
拥有同时执行多项任务的技能

Multilingual people, especially children, are skilled at switchingbetween two
systems of speech, writing, and structure. According toa study from the
Pennsylvania State University, this ―juggling‖skill makes them good multitaskers,
because they can easily switchbetween different structures. In one study,
participants used adriving simulatorwhile doing separate, distracting tasks atthe
same time. The research found that people who spoke more thanone language
made fewer errors in their driving.
能讲多种语言的人，尤其是小孩子，擅长在两种口语、写作和结构系统 中转换。
宾州州立大学的一项研究表明，这种―玩戏法‖的技能让他们能够很棒地同时执行
多项 任务，因为他们可以轻易地在不同架构中转换。在一项研究中，参与者在使
用模拟驾驶系统的同时做了其 他分散注意力的事情。研究发现能讲多种语言的人
在这种驾驶过程中更少出错。

You stave off Alzheimer’sand dementia
延缓老年痴呆或者其他痴呆症

Several studies have been conducted on this topic, and the resultsare consistent.
Formonolingual adults, the mean age forthe first signs of dementia is 71.4. For
adults whospeak two or more languages, the mean age for those first signs
is75.5. Studies considered factors such as education level, incomelevel, gender,
and physical health, but the results were consistent.
针对这一话题开展过多项研究，结果是 一致的。对于只讲一种语言的成人，初现
痴呆症状的平均年龄是71.4。对于能讲两种或者以上语言的 成人，平均年龄为
75.5。这些研究考虑了诸如教育、收入、性别和身体健康等多方面的因素，但结< br>果都是一致的。

Your memory improves
提高记忆力

Educators often liken the brain to a muscle, becauseit functions better with
exercise. Learning a language involvesmemorising rules and vocabulary, which
helps strengthen that mental―muscle。‖ This exercise improves overall memory,
which means thatmultiple language speakers are better at remembering lists

orsequences. Studies show that bilinguals are better at retaining shopping lists,
names, and directions.
大脑越 用越灵活，所以教育者通常将大脑比作肌肉。学习一门语言需要记忆规则
和词汇，这些有助于锻炼你的认 知―肌肉‖。这样的锻炼会全面提升你的记忆力，
这意味着能讲多种语言的人更擅长于记忆列表或者次序 。研究显示，双语学习者
更擅长记住购物清单、人名和方位。

You become more perceptive
更能明察事理

A study from Spain’s University of Pompeu Fabra revealed that multilingual
people are better atobserving their surroundings. They aremore adept at
focusing on relevant information and editing out the irrelevant. They’re also
better atspotting misleading information. Is it any surprise that SherlockHolmes
and Hercule Poirot are skilledpolyglots?
来自西班牙庞培法布 拉大学的一项研究揭示：讲多种语言的人更会观察他们周围
的环境。他们更擅长于集中注意力在相关信息 上，同时排除无关干扰，他们也更
擅长于找出迷惑性信息。名侦探夏洛克·福尔摩斯和赫尔克里·波洛都 通晓多种语
言，你还觉得惊奇么？

Your decision-making skills improve
更会做决定

According to a study from the University of Chicago, bilingualstend to make
more rational decisions. Any languagecontains nuance and subtle implications
in itsvocabulary, and these biases can subconsciously influence your judgment.
Bilinguals are more confident with their choices after thinking it over in the
second language and seeing whether their initial conclusions still stand up.
据来自芝加哥大学的一项研究，能讲两种 语言的人倾向于做出更理性的决定。任
何语言的词汇都包含细微的差别和微妙的暗示，而这些偏差会潜意 识地影响你的
判断。能讲多种语言的人会用第二语言考虑自己最初的结论是否成立，之后他们
会 对自己的决定更加自信。

You improve your English
你的母语也会更棒

Learning a foreign language draws your focus to the mechanics oflanguage:
grammar, conjugations, and sentence structure. This makesyou more aware of
language, and the ways it can be structured and manipulated. These skills can

make you a more effective communicator and a sharper editor and writer.
Language speakersalso develop a better ear for listening, since they’re skilled
atdistinguishing meaning from discreet sounds.
学习外语会将你的注意力集中在语言结构本身：语法，词形变化和句子结构。这
会增强你的语言 意识，以及组织和操纵语言的能力。这些技能会让你成为一个更
有效的沟通者，更犀利的编辑和作家。语 言学习者在这一过程中也成为更好的倾
听者，因为他们擅长于通过严谨的发言来区别不同的意思。