There’s a TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) video that discusses the mental health and brain health benefits of being bilingual. This video is The benefits of a bilingual brain – Mia Nacamulli.
TED is a global set of conferences run by the private non-profit Sapling Foundation, under the slogan “Ideas Worth Spreading”. TED was founded in 1984 as a one-off event; the annual conference series began in 1990.
It’s obvious that knowing more than one language can make certain things easier — like traveling or watching movies without subtitles. But are there other advantages to having a bilingual (or multilingual) brain? Mia Nacamulli details the three types of bilingual brains and shows how knowing more than one language keeps your brain healthy, complex and actively engaged.
Start studying a language today. Pick a language close to your own, like Spanish if you speak English. Then select some kind of simple movie, like a children’s movie. Watch the movie in your language with subtitles in the language you want to learn. Watch it again tomorrow in the language you want to learn with English subtitles. Finally watch it a third day putting both the spoken and subtitle languages in the language you want to learn. In just three days, you might be surprised.