105: Cultural blog 9

[Shayna Webb]

Learning a second language has many practical benefits. Bilinguals have an advantage in many areas of life, however I do not think that makes them any smarter. The Sciencelink article touched on the fact that bilinguals know more words altogether, but their fluency in just one language is lacking compared to monolinguals. I completely agree with that fact. The more languages I pick up, or the more fluent I am becoming in another language, the more I struggle to keep up with my English. Each year that I progress in my Arabic classes (and now Turkish ) I find it harder to progress in my courses taught in English. Reading and writing at a college level in one language while building a lexicon in a couple other languages is a struggle I know all too well. But this does not stop me from pursuing other languages. In the long run, being a polyglot will benefit me in more ways than reading and writing at a collegiate level in English ever will.