I recently read an article posted in Knowable Magazine by Ramin Skibba who questioned Psycholinguist Mark Antoniou about how a second language can boost the brain. This article outlined the benefits of learning a language through immersion, online learning and face to face individual lessons. It documents conducted studies which resulted in showing that second language acquisition learners have improved attentional switching, increased gray matter density and volume and increased neural pathways. This is an indication of a healthier brain! I have included the link below.
He describes advantages which include improvements in executive function, which is the ability to direct and manage your attention. In his article he states "Because language-learning and use is so complex — arguably the most complex behavior we human beings engage in — it involves many levels. You have speech sounds, syllables, words, grammar, sentences, syntax. There’s so much going on; it really is a workout for a wide brain network. And those areas of the brain overlap with the ones in which aging adult brains show decline or neurological pathological disease. As a result, we argue that learning a second language would be an optimal activity to promote healthy aging."
https://knowablemagazine.org/article/mind/2018/how-second-language-can-boost-brain
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