Show Notes:
In this episode, Mariana Monsalve – a Civil Engineer from Envigado, Colombia – joins me to discuss the benefits of traveling and learning languages. Whether you are traveling for work, fun, or otherwise, discovering new places, cultures, languages, and people has life-changing potential.
Mariana has extensive experience learning English and traveling the world. She has traveled in London, UK, studied in Sydney, Australia, and was an Au Pair in Boston, USA. Throughout her travels, she learned a lot, grew as a person, and created some incredible memories. Today, she shares her recommendations for traveling and learning languages, as well as her favorite food and travel destination!
From a scientific perspective, I’ll also discuss the neuroscience of language learning as a tool to improve cognition, fight off neurodegenerative diseases, and more!
NOTE: This is the English version. The Spanish version will be posted separately.
TOPICS:
[1:23] Introducing Mariana
[5:15] Why you should travel and learn languages
[8:30] Language learning and brain health
[12:00] The best decision of Mariana’s life
[19:44] Mariana’s best travel experiences
[22:40] Best advice for learning a new language
[32:10] Mariana’s advice for health, happiness, and high performance
The World is Yours
We are also blessed to live in an era where travel is more accessible than ever – even despite some exceptions due to the current pandemic.
Consider our ancestors going back even just a few generations. Few people ever had the chance to travel to other countries, experience other cultures, see the earth, and communicate with other people.
And today, we can all be explorers just by hopping on a plane.
Upgrade Your Life by Traveling and Learning Languages
Traveling and learning languages are among the most effective, fun, and fulfilling ways to upgrade your life in two main ways:
- Creating and strengthening relationships
- Improving neurological health
Creating and Strengthening Relationships
Communication, which is dependent on the ability to see, understand, feel, and think about the other person’s perspective, is actually a very complex relationship [1]. Learning languages magnifies the complexity of this relationship because you also are exposed to the values and way of thinking of other people. Dr. David Walton, specialist in behavioral change psychology, writes that the key to empathy is “knowing how they look at things from this inside,” which is exactly what learning languages allows us to do [2].
As for scientific evidence, a 2015 study tested the ability for multilingual and monolingual children to interpret a speaker’s intended meaning [3]. They found that monolingual children misinterpreted the speaker dramatically more often than bilingual children, concluding that multilingual exposure “may facilitate the development of perspective-taking tools that are critical for effective communication” [3].
From a psychological and neurological perspective, our brains are actually conditioned to form Us/Them dichotomies, which happen rapidly and unconsciously [4]. “Us” refers to people like us, and “them” refers to those who are different. By learning new languages, you are breaking down subconscious barriers and forming more “Us” connections. This may be a critical piece to enhanced empathy, and ultimately, creating and enhancing relationships.
Improve neurological health
An excellent 2018 paper which reviewed the cognitive benefits of language learning concluded that learning foreign languages enhances cognitive functioning, self-esteem, and opportunities for socialization, at little to no cost [5]. In fact, the cognitive benefits are so prevalent that cognitive decline later in life may be delayed by about 4.5 years!
Learning a foreign language triggers neuroplasticity, which has been linked to enhanced development of the cognitive reserve [6]. This is a possible link to delayed cognitive declines, as the increased cognitive reserve from language learning provides resilience to neuropathological damage [7].
An interesting 2016 study found that learning a foreign language modified the gray matter structure in the brain far more than the control group [8]. This is significant because gray matter, which is gray because it has a high concentration of neuronal cell bodies, is directly linked to higher cognitive functioning [9].
Our experiences
As a traveler, a student, and an Au Pair, Mariana has had the opportunity to travel to the United Kingdom, Australia, and the United States. Speaking of her experience as an Au Pair in Boston, Mariana says “it was the best decision of my life.” She had the opportunity to visit the Opera Hall in Sydney, eat fresh Lobster in New England, and even overcome a month in the hospital in Boston, relying on her rapidly developing English skills, amazing host family, and new friends.
Traveling for fun, Braeden has fully immersed himself in Colombian culture and describes it as one of the most empowering experiences of his life. Between the perfect weather in the City of Eternal Spring, incredibly nice people, and amazing food delicacies, he has built great friendships and learns something new every day. His favorite experience was hiking the Cerro Tusa, the tallest natural pyramid in the world.
Language Learning Advice
No matter what anyone says, learning languages are difficult. But here is an overview of some of the key pieces advice that are covered in this conversation:
- Speak as often as possible
- Make mistakes!!
- Watch videos on Netflix, YouTube, or otherwise
- Listen to music
- Listen to podcasts
- Write in a journal
- Narrate your day (past, present, and future tenses)
- Have fun!
Of course, this is just a small summary of the content covered in this episode. To hear the entire conversation and learn more, listen to the episode for everything.
Also, this is the English version. A second version was recorded in Spanish. If you are not a Spanish speaker or are currently learning Spanish, this is an excellent opportunity to hear the language from a Native speaker and an early learner. You will see that there are many mistakes and making mistakes is perfectly normal and encouraged!
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Thank you all for joining me on this journey to lifelong health, happiness, and higher performance. And remember, always be grateful, love yourself, and serve others.
References
[1] Jaray-Benn, C. (2019). Empathy as a Source of Motivation in Language Learning and Language Teaching. Humanising Language Teaching. Retrieved from https://www.hltmag.co.uk/feb19/empathy-as-a-source-of-motivation
[2] Walton, D. (2012). Emotional intelligence: A practical guide. New York, NY: MJF Books.
[3] Fan, S. P., Liberman, Z., Keysar, B., & Kinzler, K. D. (2015). The Exposure Advantage: Early Exposure to a Multilingual Environment Promotes Effective Communication. Psychological science, 26(7), 1090–1097. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797615574699
[4] Sapolsky, R. (2017). Behave : the biology of humans at our best and worst. New York, New York: Penguin Press.
[5] Klimova B. (2018). Learning a Foreign Language: A Review on Recent Findings About Its Effect on the Enhancement of Cognitive Functions Among Healthy Older Individuals. Frontiers in human neuroscience, 12, 305. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2018.00305
[6] Cheng K. W., Deng Y. H., Li M., Yan H. M. (2015). The impact of L2 learning on cognitive aging. ADMET 3, 260–273. 10.5599/admet.3.3.206. https://pub.iapchem.org/ojs/index.php/admet/article/view/206
[7] Stern Y. (2013). Cognitive reserve: implications for assessment and intervention. Folia phoniatrica et logopaedica : official organ of the International Association of Logopedics and Phoniatrics (IALP), 65(2), 49–54. https://doi.org/10.1159/000353443
[8] Bellander, M., Berggren, R., Mårtensson, J., Brehmer, Y., Wenger, E., Li, T. Q., Bodammer, N. C., Shing, Y. L., Werkle-Bergner, M., & Lövdén, M. (2016). Behavioral correlates of changes in hippocampal gray matter structure during acquisition of foreign vocabulary. NeuroImage, 131, 205–213. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2015.10.020
[9] Mercadante AA, Tadi P. Neuroanatomy, Gray Matter. [Updated 2020 Jul 31]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2020 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK553239/
