We all know that being able to speak a second language makes you cooler. It can be a useful skill to have if you travel to another country, or if a tourist needs directions on the street and they don’t speak your language. But the social, cultural, and mental benefits go so much deeper than that. The power that languages have to connect people and foster community is more necessary than ever, especially at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
Learning a second language is uniquely important at our school, as the student body at SAIC is made up of 31% international students, with more than 75 countries represented. Learning a new language can help students connect better with their peers and create a more welcoming community for students who aren’t from the United States. In an art school, engaging in dialogue about the artwork we do is crucial for the advancement of our artistic practices, and learning to communicate more easily with classmates who speak other languages can streamline discussions.
Language and culture are undeniably interconnected. To learn a language, you must also, to some extent, learn its culture. That means you are making stronger connections to other SAIC students — and people from other countries in general — when you learn their language.
A language, at its core, is the way that a society communicates, and it varies based on that society’s culture. Of course, learning German wouldn’t necessarily mean you celebrate Oktoberfest and Krampusnacht every year, but I have never met anyone who’s learned French without finding out what a baguette is.
I was taught Spanish in school, and learned the names of every Spanish-speaking country and their capitals. There are words and phrases that only exist in some languages because they only make sense in the context of the culture they stem from. There is no English word for tamale or croissant. Understanding different cultures is essential for accepting human difference, which becomes more crucial for a healthy society every day.
Especially in the United States, where we seem to be moving towards a culture of hate and separation, the act of listening to people with different experiences and at least attempting to understand their ways of life is an ever-present necessity. Understanding others’ experiences and culture helps foster respect and acceptance.
SAIC’s curriculum highlights the idea of interdisciplinary activity within the arts, encouraging students to experiment with different media and tools in new ways that mix different practices together. But why should that way of thinking be applied only to art? Learning about other people’s cultures and languages should be more encouraged at SAIC, not only because of the many benefits that it has for all people, but specifically for artists. Learning about other cultures can be incredibly helpful in learning new artmaking techniques and ideas about art as a whole. While SAIC does promote cultural interconnectedness, I would argue that students should be encouraged more strongly to take language classes.
Early studies on multilingualism and language learning found that it increased learners’ empathy. The act of learning a new language puts one in a vulnerable position — one of uncertainty, one where you’re navigating a world that is unfamiliar. It teaches humility.
A monolinguistic society is not realistic, but a world in which one language overpowers the others is — and it becomes increasingly more so every day. As of 2025, there are 1.53 billion people on the planet who speak English as a second language or natively, an increase of 0.2 billion in the past year. English dominates the linguistic landscape of the world, which can inhibit native English-speakers from learning and speaking other languages.
With the celebration of Indigenous Peoples’ Day this past October and Native American Heritage Month in November, it is important to recognize the very real threat of extinction of some indigenous languages and the disappearance of others. The Trail of Tears and the forceful placement of children into inhumane residential boarding schools beginning in the 1830s are prime examples of linguistic oppression, along with the other countless violations of rights committed against indigenous people in the Americas. Children in “American Indian Boarding Schools” were beaten for speaking their native languages, and they were stripped of their identities and forcibly “Americanized.” The erasure of native languages is an ever-present issue that persists to this day.
When a language is lost, knowledge and culture also fade with it. Many native languages across different continents, and the cultures that are intertwined with them, die out because the language is not passed down. It is important for young people to carry on the heritage of their ancestors and to keep their culture and teachings alive.
Learning a new language is not only beneficial for acceptance and understanding of other people, but it also contributes to brain health. A 2020 study on bilingualism and dementia found that monolingual individuals had more cognitive decline in a mean follow-up period of seven months after the study was conducted. Numerous studies from around the world have shown that language-learning delays or even halt the onset of dementia.
Besides helping prevent cognitive decline, learning a foreign language increases one’s proficiency in other subjects. According to Bencie Woll, FBA at University College London, a meta-analysis of 20 studies found that language learners perform better across a range of academic subjects than students who don’t study a second language.
Learning a new language keeps your mind active. It keeps you chasing that proficiency and comprehension of the vocabulary and the cadences, the accents, and the tone with which you say the words. There is no one who can know everything, even in their own language. Learning keeps the brain hungry for knowledge, but learning a language keeps it hungry for so much more. An understanding of different people: the way that they live, the way that you live, the way that you learn. The more people who learn a new language, the closer we get to this healthier world.
