The English language is pretty common all over the world, and
it’s worked well for you so far when communicating in daily
life. But did you know that there are more people on Earth that
speak Chinese dialects and Spanish than English? And did you
also know that by the end of the 21st century, researchers
expect 90 percent of the 7,000 languages currently heard
throughout the world to be gone or on their way to extinction?
Might be time to think about adding another language to that
resume, then. Being bilingual makes you smarter – really!
Psychologists found a few years ago that bilingual kids can
solve more mental puzzles than monolinguals. Because if you know
two languages, you’re constantly translating and analyzing
situations in your head to figure out which language you should
be using, and that makes you better at things like problem
solving and concentrating for long periods of time. Another
bonus is that you won’t get Alzheimer’s or dementia when you’re
older. If you’re constantly making your brain wo