Many people go to the gym to get fit, be healthy and to look sharp. They want to improve in order to be the best version of themselves. They'll invest their time, buy the needed clothes and look for an exercise program that will benefit them. As they start seeing the results, they feel better about themselves and gain more confidence. Not to mention the occasional compliment from someone else noticing the progress boosting the ego too!
Much of the same can be said for those who want to learn and improve a secondary language. Whether it's for personal or profressional reasons, people who are serious about taking language classes see their own progress by becoming mentally sharper and having a healthier cognitive function. By investing their time and choosing the proper class, they can see results that make them feel good about themselves.
Psychologists agree that learning another language can help people with their decision making ability, in analyzing information, having better memory recall and managing their focus. Language learners also become more adept when socializing and dealing with people. Furthermore, studies have shown that they can receive long-term benefits in staying mentally healthy for longer as they grow older.
Though just as getting dressed in a snazzy exercise outfit and showing up to the gym alone won't improve one's fitness, passively attending a language class won't make much of a difference. Going through the proper steps, doing the right exercises and learning from a qualified coach in both situations is essential! Additionally, to see physical progress, resistance workouts and incremental exertion is needed, which is commonly termed as 'progressive overload', meaning you need to do more than you did before for growth. The same goes for your brain. You need to be challenged with methods that target cognitive growth in order to enjoy improvement.
So what's the takeaway? Care for your brain and thinking ability the same as you would for your physical fitness. Attending a 'cognitive gym', in other words a lanugue class, can do wonders for your professional goals, your social dynamics and linguistic prowess. For the best results, select a qualified teacher who understands how the brain works when it's learning, just like a qualified physical trainer would understand what the body needs for fitness.
In the end, you'll feel good about yourself when you look in the mirror, you'll have strengthened, well-rounded communication skills and who knows, perhaps others will notice your eloquence when you speak, therefore you'll recieve ego boosting compliments the same way as you would from going to the gym!
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