What happens in the brain when you learn a language?

A person in a denim jacket and striped shirt holds glasses and a notebook, standing by a window with bright daylight.
Okuma zamanı: 7 minutes

Whether you’re picking up Spanish for travel, Mandarin for business or French just for fun, you’re not only expanding your communication skills, you’re also giving your brain a powerful workout. But what actually happens inside your brain when you learn a language?

The brain’s language centers

Your brain is made up of many parts and two areas are significant for language:

  • : Located in the frontal lobe, this region helps you produce speech and form sentences.
  • : Found in the temporal lobe, this area helps you understand spoken and written language.

When you start learning a new language, these areas get busy. They work together to help you listen, speak, read and write in your new language (Friederici, 2011).

What happens in the brain when you learn a language?
Gizlilik ve çerezler

İçeriği izleyerek, app'ın bir yıl boyunca pazarlama ve analiz amacıyla izleyici verilerinizi paylaşabileceğini ve bunu çerezlerinizi silerek geri alabileceğinizi onaylamış olursunuz.

How learning a language changes your brain

Building new connections

Every time you learn a new word or grammar rule, your brain forms new connections between its cells, called neurons. This process is known as . The more you practice, the stronger these connections become. Think of it like building a path in a forest – the more you walk it, the clearer and easier it gets to follow (Kuhl, 2010).

Memory and practice

Learning a language involves two types of memory:

  • Short-term memory:Helps you remember new words or phrases for a few seconds or minutes
  • Long-term memory:Stores vocabulary and grammar rules for the future

Repetition is key. When you practice speaking, listening, reading and writing, your brain moves information from short-term to long-term memory. This is why regular practice is so important for language learners (Baddeley, 2003).

Listening and speaking

When you listen to a new language, your brain works hard to recognize sounds and patterns. At first, everything might sound fast or confusing. But with practice, your brain gets better at picking out familiar words and phrases. This process is called (Kuhl, 2004).

Speaking a new language is even more challenging. Your brain must remember words, put them in the right order and control your mouth and tongue to make the correct sounds. This takes time but gets easier with practice.

Reading and writing

Reading in a new language involves recognizing letters and words, understanding grammar and making sense of sentences. Your brain uses both language areas and visual processing centers to do this. Writing helps reinforce what you’ve learned and improves your memory (Dehaene et al., 2015).

What happens to your brain when you learn a language for a long time?

If you keep learning and using a language over months and years, your brain continues to change and adapt in remarkable ways. Long-term language learning doesn’t just make you more fluent: it can actually reshape your brain.

Structural changes:Research using brain scans shows that people who speak more than one language for a long time often have more gray matter in areas linked to language, memory, and attention (Mechelli et al., 2004). Gray matter is made up of brain cells that process information, so having more of it can make your brain work more efficiently.

Stronger connections:The pathways between different parts of your brain become stronger and faster. This means you can switch between languages more easily and understand complex ideas better (Luk et al., 2011).

Cognitive flexibility:Long-term language learners are often better at multitasking and problem-solving. Their brains get used to switching between different ways of thinking, which helps in many areas of life, not just language (Bialystok et al., 2012).

Lifelong benefits: The positive effects of long-term language learning can last into old age. Bilingual and multilingual people often show slower cognitive decline and are less likely to develop dementia (Craik et al., 2010).

Emotional and social growth:Using a language for a long time helps you connect with new cultures and people. This can boost your confidence, empathy and understanding of the world around you.

How long does your brain retain a new language?

One of the most common questions learners ask is: “If I stop using my new language, will I forget it?” The answer depends on several factors, but the good news is that your brain is built to remember languages for a surprisingly long time.

1. Long-term retention: Once a language is stored in your long-term memory, it can stay there for years, even decades. Many people find that even after years of not speaking a language, they can still understand or remember words and phrases when they hear them again (Bahrick, 1984).

2. The “Use it or lose it” principle: While your brain retains the basics, regular use helps keep your skills sharp. If you don’t practice, you might forget vocabulary or grammar, but relearning is usually much faster than starting from scratch. This is because the neural pathways you built are still there, just waiting to be reactivated (DeKeyser, 2007).

3. Age and retention: Children often retain languages learned early in life, even if they stop using them. Adults can also retain new languages, especially if they reach a high level of fluency or use the language regularly (Montrul, 2008).

4. Emotional connection: If you learned a language in a meaningful or emotional context – like living abroad or having close relationships, your brain is even more likely to retain it. Emotional experiences help strengthen memory (Schwabe et al., 2012).

5. Relearning: If you feel you’ve forgotten a language, not to worry. Relearning is much easier than learning for the first time. Your brain “remembers” the pathways and connections, so skills often come back quickly with a little practice.

Read our blog posts 'Being bilingual can help keep your brain in good condition' and 'Using language learning as a form of self-care for wellbeing'.

References

  • Baddeley, A. (2003).Working memory: Looking back and looking forward. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 4(10), 829-839. https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn1201
  • Bahrick, H. P. (1984).Semantic memory content in permastore: Fifty years of memory for Spanish learned in school. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 113(1), 1-29. https://doi.org/10.1037/0096-3445.113.1.1
  • Bialystok, E., Craik, F. I. M., & Luk, G. (2012).Bilingualism: Consequences for mind and brain. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 16(4), 240-250. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2012.03.001
  • Craik, F. I. M., Bialystok, E., & Freedman, M. (2010).Delaying the onset of Alzheimer disease: Bilingualism as a form of cognitive reserve. Neurology, 75(19), 1726-1729. https://doi.org/10.1212/WNL.0b013e3181fc2a1c
  • Dehaene, S., Cohen, L., Morais, J., & Kolinsky, R. (2015).Illiterate to literate: Behavioural and cerebral changes induced by reading acquisition. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 16(4), 234-244. https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn3924
  • DeKeyser, R. M. (2007).Practice in a second language: Perspectives from applied linguistics and cognitive psychology. Cambridge University Press.
  • Friederici, A. D. (2011).The brain basis of language processing: From structure to function. Physiological Reviews, 91(4), 1357-1392. https://doi.org/10.1152/physrev.00006.2011
  • Kuhl, P. K. (2004).Early language acquisition: Cracking the speech code. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 5(11), 831-843. https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn1533
  • Kuhl, P. K. (2010).Brain mechanisms in early language acquisition. Neuron, 67(5), 713-727. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2010.08.038
  • Luk, G., Bialystok, E., Craik, F. I. M., & Grady, C. L. (2011).Lifelong bilingualism maintains white matter integrity in older adults. Journal of Neuroscience, 31(46), 16808-16813. https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.4563-11.2011
  • Mechelli, A., Crinion, J. T., Noppeney, U., O'Doherty, J., Ashburner, J., Frackowiak, R. S. J., & Price, C. J. (2004).Structural plasticity in the bilingual brain. Nature, 431(7010), 757.https://doi.org/10.1038/431757a
  • Montrul, S. (2008).Incomplete acquisition in bilingualism: Re-examining the age factor. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 30(2), 253-281. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0272263108080323
  • Schwabe, L., Joëls, M., Roozendaal, B., Wolf, O. T., & Oitzl, M. S. (2012).Stress effects on memory: An update and integration. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 36(7), 1740-1749. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2011.07.002

Don't miss our other blogs.

  • What’s it like to teach English in Nepal?

    By
    Okuma zamanı: 3 minutes

    Anandi Vara was trained in teaching English in Kathmandu, Nepal before teaching at a monastery in Pokhara. There she taught students ranging from six to 10 years of age, both in groups and individually. Here she reveals the lessons she learned during her time there– including how to avoid being perturbed by a cockroach attack.

    Whatever you do: don’t freak out

    It just makes everything worse. It’s easy for things to get overwhelming – a sense that can be made worse by the feeling of homesickness, especially if it’s your first time living abroad – but thinking rationally, and getting to the source of what’s causing the worry, usually helps. It’s important, as you don't want to share your fear in lessons because you’re the teacher and need to show confidence.

    This was, however, tested to the limit when I had a cockroach dangled in front of my face. It took all my strength to stay calm. I gave an unimpressed look, thereby establishing myself as the figure of authority, which seemed to work.

    Be aware of cultural traditions

    It is important to remember that every country has its own traditions. I was teaching in a monastery, so I made sure to wear respectful clothing, even in the face of soaring temperatures. The more I learned about the Tibetan culture, the more fascinated I became by it. The students taught me how to write my name in Tibetan and the meaning behind it. I learned about Tibetan history and Tibetan culture.

    I also found that the more I showed willingness to learn about the Tibetan culture, the more I bonded with the students, so that when it was time to teach, the students were more cooperative in lessons, engaging and participating more.

    Teaching is two-way learning

    There is so much I learned teaching abroad, both in the classroom and out. Making mistakes as you begin is only natural, but it’s whether you can learn from these mistakes that counts. No two students are ever the same so it’s a constant process of learning as you go. As a result, I learned about the environment I was in – from traditional prayer ceremonies to the Tibetan alphabet– and about myself, notably organizational skills and a renewed curiosity about the English language.

    Be Flexible

    Sometimes it doesn’t matter if you’ve planned your lesson down to the smallest detail – if it doesn’t take, then it doesn’t take. I was only 10 minutes into a lesson once and I could tell that I was beginning to lose the students’ attention. Not only did it show that they were uninterested, it also distracted me from what I was doing. It was at this point that I threw out my existing plan and tried a whole new lesson: I had the students up on their feet and engaging with each other and, although completely improvised, it was very successful.

    Patience is a must

    During my one-on-one mentoring session, my student seemed to have no motivation. He wasn’t learning as well as the other students and had therefore given up. No matter what I tried, he refused to cooperate, but I didn’t let it put me off. I kept trying different methods until finally finding one that he responded to. I made sentence structuring into a game. It wasn’t anything fancy and consisted of scraps of paper with words written on them.

    Although it took a lot of time to find the right angle, it was worth it because he soon realised that although it might take longer for him to pick things up, he would eventually get there and have a greater sense of accomplishment.

  • Children engaged in a classroom activity, with colorful educational posters and a banner in the background.

    How to use flipped learning to support your learners

    By
    Okuma zamanı: 6 minutes

    What is flipped learning?

    To understand better what flipped learning is, first let’s see how it differs from blended learning, a term with which it is often confused.

    Blended learning is a way of teaching that combines face-to-face classroom teaching with online resources. We freely use online resources to create a more personalized learning experience.

    Flipped learning is a little different. As the name suggests, it "flips" a traditional lesson. It tells us exactly which stages of the lesson should go online. In a flipped learning class, all of the more traditional aspects (also called "study stages"), are completed online and the homework (also called "application stages") comes into the classroom.

    Let’s look at an example.

    A typical receptive skills lesson normally has six stages:

    1. Lead in
    2. Set context
    3. Pre-teach vocabulary
    4. Gist task
    5. Detailed task
    6. Follow up

    With a traditional teaching model, we do the first five stages in class and set the last one for homework. With flipped learning there are a few ways to tackle these stages, but a basic model would look like this:

  • Precision teaching with AI: Aligning GSE objectives with generative AI for targeted materials

    By
    Okuma zamanı: 4 minutes

    English teachers today face increasing demands: create engaging content, differentiate instruction and address diverse learner needs – all within a limited time. The rise of Generative AI, like ChatGPT, offers a promising solution. But without proper guidance, AI-generated content can lack educational value. This blog post introduces a practical, research-informed approach to using AI tools aligned with the Global Scale of English (GSE). You will learn how this framework helps educators design accurate, personalized and level-appropriate English teaching materials quickly and confidently.

    Why GSE and AI are a game-changing combination for ELT

    The Global Scale of English (GSE) is a CEFR-aligned framework developed by app, offering detailed "can-do" learning objectives. It includes nearly 4,000 descriptors across speaking, listening, reading and writing skills, offering more precision than traditional level labels like A2 or B1. At the same time, Generative AI tools such as ChatGPT can generate entire lessons, tasks and assessments in seconds. The challenge lies in ensuring this content is aligned with clear pedagogical outcomes.

    Pairing AI’s creative speed with the GSE’s structured outcomes offers a scalable way to meet learner needs without compromising instructional quality.

    Unlocking measurable, differentiated and efficient teaching with GSE and AI

    The GSE makes objectives measurable

    Unlike generic teaching goals, GSE objectives are specific and measurable. For example, a B1-level learner objective might state:

    “Can identify a simple chronological sequence in a recorded narrative or dialogue.” (GSE 43)
    This clarity helps teachers define outcomes and ensure each AI-generated task targets an actual language skill, not just generic content.

    Generative AI enhances productivity

    Teachers using Generative AI can create draft lesson materials in minutes. By inputing a structured prompt such as:

    “Create a B1 reading activity that helps learners summarize the main points of a short article.”
    ChatGPT can instantly generate content that meets the learning goal. When guided by the GSE, AI becomes a collaborative assistant as well as a time-saver.

    The GSE + AI combination supports differentiation

    Because the GSE includes descriptors across a wide proficiency range (from pre-A1 to C2), teachers can tailor AI-generated content to meet the exact needs of their students. Mixed-level classrooms or tutoring contexts benefit especially from this, as teachers can create multiple versions of a task with consistent scaffolding.

    Practical tips

    • Use the GSE Teacher Toolkit to select objectives based on skill, level or function.
    • When prompting ChatGPT, include the GSE descriptor in your input for more precise results.
    • Always review and adapt the AI output to match your learners’ context, culture and curriculum.
    • Create a prompt library mapped to GSE codes to save time in future planning.

    A step-by-step example of the GSE and AI in action

    Here is a typical application of the workflow:

    1. A teacher selects a GSE objective, such as:
      “Can write a basic formal email/letter requesting information.” (GSE 46).
    2. Within seconds, a sample formal email, accompanied by a short reading comprehension task and a vocabulary activity, is generated.
    3. The reading task serves as a model to help learners analyze the structure, tone, and key language features of a well-written email before attempting their own.
    4. The teacher then reviews and refines the output for clarity, appropriateness, and context relevance.

    This process supports targeted teaching while significantly reducing preparation time.

    Overcoming challenges: Ensuring quality and relevance

    Challenge: AI outputs may lack cultural context, level appropriateness or instructional clarity.
    Solution: Always pair AI with professional judgment. Use the GSE to check that skills match the intended outcome, and adjust the complexity of the language as needed.

    Challenge: Teachers may be unfamiliar with how to write effective AI prompts.
    Solution: Start simple with templates like:

    “Create a [skill] activity at [level] that supports this GSE objective: [insert objective].”

    Challenge: Risk of over-relying on AI for instruction.
    Solution: Use AI as a starting point, not the final product. Combine AI-generated content with classroom interaction, feedback and your own creativity.

    Teaching tools that make this easier

    • : for exploring and selecting level-appropriate learning objectives
    • : for generating customizable teaching content
    • GSE Smart Lesson Generator: an AI-powered lesson creation tool developed by app that uses the GSE framework to automatically generate high-quality activities and lesson plans
    • Google Docs or Word: for editing and organizing your materials before class

    Confidently transforming English teaching

    Combining Generative AI with the Global Scale of English allows teachers to design materials that are both fast and focused. The GSE provides the structure; AI provides the speed. Together, they offer a sustainable solution for personalized English instruction that respects both learner needs and instructional quality.