Have you ever pondered the immense value of languages in our lives? What if we told you that delving into foreign languages not only opens doors to new cultures and experiences but also provides a significant boost to your brain's cognitive function?

The most important benefits of learning a language are:

• It enhances memory as your brain is working hard to ensure that you can express yourself.
• It improves your study skills as you develop the ability to chunk out mental tasks and prioritise specific ideas and concepts.
• It improves concentration. Think about this…When you are speaking to someone in your native tongue, it requires no extra effort because it is natural to you and you do it everyday, like us speaking to you now. However, when you are speaking in a language you are learning, it requires more focus as it involves understanding grammar, new vocabulary, translation and you are asking your brain to multi-task. By that we mean you are listening, translating, understanding all at the same time. How amazing is that! This requires a whole lot of concentration.
• It improves cognitive flexibility. What do we mean by that? This is like when you exercise, you are strengthening your muscles, so by challenging yourself to learn something as complex as a new language, you are essentially training the brain to be better at concentrating.
• Did you also know that studies suggest that bilingualism (ie speaking more than one language fluently) can delay the onset of dementia?
• It boosts brainpower. With improved mental concentration and flexibility, it’s no wonder that learning a second language also boosts brainpower. Brainpower is the ability to work through problems without becoming overwhelmed, ending up unnecessarily fatigued…or giving up completely.

Look around you at Queenswood. We are very proud to say that we are an international community representing many different cultures, nationalities and faiths. An awareness of other languages allows us to fully appreciate pockets of cultures that we are surrounded by.

Now for some fun facts:

• Did you know that Spanish is a language relatively unique for having upside down question marks when starting a question?
  Ever wondered which language is the fastest spoken? According to linguists, Japanese takes the crown with a staggering eight syllables per second!
• And did you know that French doesn't have any words with the letter "W"? Any "W" words in French are borrowed from other languages.
• Did you also know that Serena Williams speaks five languages: Spanish, German, French, Italian, Mandarin.
• Tom Hiddleston who was in The Avengers: speaks Greek, Italian, Spanish and French fluently.

One might question why these personalities that we have mentioned felt the need to learn all these languages – after all, English is arguably the most widely spoken language in the world.
There are also immense professional benefits. In today's interconnected world, proficiency in multiple languages is increasingly becoming a valuable asset in various fields, including business, medicine, diplomacy, and academia. Multinational corporations seek employees who can effectively communicate with clients and partners from different linguistic backgrounds, while international organisations rely on linguistically diverse teams to foster collaboration and understanding on a global scale.

So, a really important message that we want you to take away from this assembly is that, far from dividing us, languages unite us….