Ever since I began learning languages, I was all about multilingualism and efficient language learning. Mastering another language? Sign me up! But do you really need to learn French? Well, oui et non.*
Beyond daily communication with the locals, there are other benefits to French language learning. Indeed, the amazing changes your brain undergoes when becoming multilingue* are rarely talked about. A new language learned = a new personality activated. It could feel reeeeally liberating to express the very many facets of your personality via different languages, one of them being le français.*
For example, the Spanish-speaking Lola is quite different from her English-speaking sister. English Lola is a singer and an artist, she loves concerts and flower bouquets. Spanish Lola is a fan of Colombian movies and sports cars. French one is an avid baker who’s all about French history, traveling and les salons de thé. The Italian one? I’ll let you guess who that is! All four sisters live happily under the same roof (with occasional sibling fights related to verb conjugation).
As there are 24 official languages in the EU, most of Europeans already speak several different languages. I strongly believe that as our society grows and changes, most of us will be fully multilingual in just a few decades.
It has been proven that multilingual brains have stronger connections between neurons in their language centers. Also, memories related to each language are stored and recollected in different ways. Speaking different languages = activating different neural networks = healthier brain. Chouette!*
La cerise sur le gâteau?* People who are learning languages have lower rates of cognitive decline and old age disorders. Planning on retiring on the French Riviera? Book your French lesson dès que possible.*
Learning a new language will teach you to be creative and adaptable, avoiding the negative effects from stress while moving to a new country. So yes, learning French can and will change you. It will make your life better, easier, more complete. You will have to learn a load of verbs though! But that’s another story… 🙂
🥐 French vocab used in this article :
- oui et non – yes and no
- multilingue – multilingual
- le français – French language
- les salons de thé – tea rooms
- chouette – nice
- la cerise sur le gâteau – the icing on the cake