By Anya Mullen

The world functions thanks to many things we as humans have evolved to do. One of the most important things that makes this world keep turning is language. Think about it: we’ve grown up learning to speak and read, without giving it much of a conscious thought. But imagine if you couldn’t read your texts or any books at all. Even scrolling would lose all its fun if you couldn’t read.

That being said, there are of course hundreds of languages in the world. When you fly across the world and don’t speak the language of the new country you’re in, you can feel powerless. When I landed in Spain to begin my exchange this semester, I was very glad that I knew enough Spanish to get myself where I needed to go and find out what I needed to find out.

Photo courtesy of Anya Mullen

Learning a second language has been an incredible privilege for me and has opened up so many doors, and I think that everyone should take a language class at some point in their life. I enjoyed learning French so much growing up that I went on to study both Spanish and German at Bishop’s. I’m so glad that I decided on a Languages major, because it has opened my mind up to so many new things. I’ve learned a lot about the history of various countries, and I’ve seen some pretty cool foreign language movies. But I’m not only talking about new cultural facts when I say that this major has opened my mind up to new things. It’s also a pretty damn good mental workout. Science corroborates this: learning new languages keeps your brain sharp. Sometimes when I’m in class listening to Spanish or German being spoken, I can almost feel the cogs in my brain turning, and when something clicks, and I reflect on how far I’ve come since my first language courses, it’s immensely satisfying. A bit of research on the mental benefits of learning a second language revealed many things to me, and here’s a list naming a few:

• Can delay the onset of dementia

• Develops neural pathways

• Improves working memory

• Strengthens the ability to focus

• Increases multitasking ability

• Can reduce both depression and social anxiety

Here’s the cherry on top of it all: I get to be in Spain this semester, taking courses that are fully in Spanish, and (mostly) understanding them! So not only has this major brought me so much valuable learning, it has brought me across an ocean to live in a new country. I’m experiencing a new place, meeting new people, and learning so much every single day. And being in Europe, I’m able to check out other cities and countries on the weekend and be in travel mode and school mode at the same time! It’s all because I decided in my first year to start learning another language. Because of all this, I say to anyone who will listen: if you get the chance, take a language course. Whether you make it a major or concentration as I have, or whether it’s a handful of electives throughout your degree, you won’t regret it. It can open up so many doors; doors in your brain to a new level of learning, as well as doors across the world to an exchange in an entirely new place.