The language that one learns after learning our native or mother tongue is called the second language. It is however different from foreign languages as, a second language is in public use by many people and is used in govt and public communications, administration and education. This is not the case for foreign languages.
Need to Learn
People learn a second language which is an accepted language for general communication other than the native language of the land.
Languages like English, Spanish and French are second languages in many countries. For example – English is the second language in most South Asian countries like India.
Benefits of learning a second language
- The executive function of the brain improves. As the person is a master in both languages, the brain is continuously switching between two languages and monitoring to use of the right words in the right language.
- Executive function improvement leads to an increase in the white and grey matter of the brain. The functions and number of neurons increase when a person is bilingual.
- Being bilingual can also boost parts of the ageing brain and other parts of the brain can take up the function of the damaged cells.
- Bilingual children are found to be having better cognitive abilities.
