Learning a new language opens up entirely new perspectives, immersing us in unique cultures and boosting multiple cognitive functions. Ample research shows that the extremely immersive process of learning a new language enhances memory, creativity, and mental alertness. But did you know that an activity as seemingly unrelated as sports can greatly enrich your experience and aid the language learning process?
We look at five facts about why you will learn languages faster through sports to get you inspired to view your favorite sports as more than just a mere pastime. Let’s dive right in!
How Physical Activity Aids Learning
No one doubts the amazing benefits of regular physical activity for cognitive processing, particularly the genesis of new neurons in the brain. Engaging in your favorite sports can jumpstart the brain, offering benefits that extend far beyond sole entertainment. It can help you relieve stress, feel better, and interpret information more thoroughly.
Learning a new language necessitates constant mental agility, as you have to acquire various new information types, including conceptual, idiomatic, and structural data. This process can be greatly accelerated if you simultaneously engage in regular physical activity. By and large, physical exercise allows for efficient allocation of attention and better retention of novel information.
Honing a Creative Mindset
Playing sports can help you nurture a creative mindset for which no assignment is undoable. To play masterfully, you’ll need to constantly think up effective strategies to thrive as a one-of-a-kind player. There is a reason why people cherish the most creative players like Messi, whose style is never fixed and draws on vast creativity to constantly amaze and inspire. Honing creativity is a skill that keeps on giving and which can greatly enhance your language learning process.
What’s more, you’ll need to acquire deep expertise in your chosen sport, constantly learn from competitors, and nurture team spirit. These are qualities that are indispensable for learning a new language.
Honing a Global Mindset
Learning a new language provides a thorough link to other cultures, helping us foster a deep appreciation for the world around us. Sports is another activity that helps you become truly globally-minded. Whether you engage in sports in teams toward a common goal or fall in love with another culture due to your favorite football team, sports are a great way to nurture deep empathy toward the world around you, therefore equipping you with the most needed skills for learning a new language. That said, the processes of learning a language and engaging in sports (whether physically or as an amateur) are inextricably linked, stemming from a willingness to embrace cultures other than your own.
The Power of Repetition
If you love to watch sports, you might find it exhilarating that you could leverage the experience to learn a new language. Commentators use hundreds of repetitions of the same phrases and structures, which can greatly enhance your brain’s ability to retain new information. The brain is incapable of effectively storing and recalling large sums of data in a short period of time, so overburdening it with information is a sure recipe for disaster. Instead, repetition reinforces and integrates the learning experience for long-term, efficient retention of knowledge.
What’s more, by watching the game and simultaneously listening to comments, you’ll better assimilate new words and phrases due to the power of visuals. There is a reason why children’s books always include huge pictures — our brains respond to visual stimuli far more effectively than to simple words on paper.
The Power of Discussion
No matter how rigorously you try to learn a language through a textbook, it’s hard to acquire a deep feel for language without actual immersion in heartfelt discussions with natives. There are ample discussion forums for your favorite sport where you can converse and share views with people who speak your target language. If you engage in these routinely, you can easily internalize the language while at the same time making lifelong friends!
If you wish to go a step further, you could start working as a contributor writer to offer sports articles in your target language. This, of course, you can do only when you speak the language at an intermediate level. Make sure to leverage the best translation services to translate all the required documents impeccably before applying. If your target language is Polish, look no further than the best online translation services that boast worldwide respect and hundreds of satisfied customers. Writing in a new language is a surefire way to skyrocket your skills in no time.
The Way Forward
Speaking more than one language can boost myriad cognitive functions as well as delay the onset of diverse diseases that affect us in old age, especially Alzheimer’s.
For sports enthusiasts, it should be encouraging to know that working up a sweat or watching a favorite sports game can go a long way toward effectively learning a new language.
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Ruby Butz is a high school English instructor and blogger. Students cherish Ruby’s teaching methods and consistently name her as the best teacher they’ve ever had. In her free time, Ruby contributes educational blog posts on topics as varied as culture, sports, technology, and more.
