A study conducted by experts at Northwestern University in the US found that learning another language acts as a kind of "brain workout," changing the way our nervous system responds to sound.
The study used a group of English-speaking students and a group of bilingual ones, and found that those who were able to speak two tongues were able to process much more sound from a background of noisy chatter. They must be able to concentrate fairly well too, considering they had scalp electrodes attached to their heads!
This article from The Independent tells a similar tale, recommending a new language (or, better still, languages) to help keep our control centers fighting the effects of age.
I must say, this is not the reason I want to learn Dutch. My reasons are far more practical than that:
That was a joke (obviously!), but it is nice to know that this could make me a sharper tool in the shed! It is also far better at "training one's mind" than those silly brain training video games that seemed to swamp the market a few years ago.
Maybe once I'm fluent in Dutch, I can then waltz my way to a Mensa membership as well!
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