Advantages of bilingualism

Here are the advantages of being bilingual and why study Spanish as a second or third language.

Greater cognitive capacity. Bilingualism improves people's cognitive functions, including memory, problem solving and decision-making.

Mental flexibility. Bilingual people tend to be more adaptable and creative as they are used to switching between languages. Perspectives and customs change depending on the place or country where you are, so a bilingual person has more capacity and mental speed to change.

Delaying cognitive decline. Speaking two languages can delay diseases such as Alzheimer's or dementia. Studies confirm that studying a language is a challenge for the mind, therefore, exercising it promotes cognitive decline.

Improves concentration. Bilingual people tend to have a more developed ability to filter out distractions, so they concentrate on specific tasks more easily.

Multitasking skills. Switching between languages trains the brain to handle multiple activities efficiently. Therefore, people who speak more than one language have a greater ability to perform more than one task or activity at the same time.

Better cultural understanding. Being bilingual fosters greater empathy and understanding of different cultures and people. Each language has its origin in a country and each place has its customs, so having lived in another country, understanding the culture will be easier. Although there are bilingual by birth who speak two languages naturally because that is what they have learned at home.

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There are thousands of people in the world who are bilingual or multilingual. Nowadays, most students prepare themselves to be bilingual, either in their schools or in specialized programs, because speaking more than one language opens doors in many fields.

Therefore, in this donQuijote article you will learn the advantages of being bilingual, why study another language, the difference between the terms bilingual and multilingual, and why you should learn Spanish in Spain.

What is bilingualism?

Bilingualism is the ability of a person to speak two different languages fluently, both written and spoken, in any context. Bilingual people can speak two different languages and express themselves fluently in any of them.

What is multilingualism?

On the other hand, multilingualism defines people who can speak fluently in more than two languages. These people can speak smoothly, and switch from one language to another, when talking to their environment.

There are several places in the world where several languages coexist, so most of the population learns them to express themselves within their environment. Therefore, many people speak two languages fluently from birth and learn others throughout their lives.

If being multilingual has left you amazed, polyglots are able to speak fluently in five or more languages.

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Benefits of being bilingual

Benefits of being bilingual. Find out in this article the advantages of being multilingual in more than two languages. Have you ever thought of study Spanish?

Practical Spanish Benefits of being bilingual. Find out in this article the advantages of being multilingual in more than two languages. Have you ever thought of study Spanish? benefits of being bilingual, advantages of being bilingual, advantage of being multilingual, benefits of bilingualism, advantages of bilingualism, benefits of multilingualism, what is multilingualism, what is bilingualism Off Marta Díaz

• Sorprenderse (Be surprised) – Nos sorprendimos con la noticia (We were surprised by the news)
• Asustarse (Get scared) – Te asustas con facilidad (You get scared easily)
• Sentirse (Feel) – Me siento muy bien hoy (I feel very good today)
• Cansarse (Get tired) – Nos cansamos tras una hora corriendo en círculos (We got tired after an hour of running in circles)
• Quedarse (Stay) – Me quedo en casa los domingos (I stay home on Sundays)
• Irse (Leaving) – Nos vamos en diez minutos (We're leaving in ten minutes)
• Llamarse (Be named) – Me llamo María (My name is Maria)
• Divertirse (Have fun) – Nos divertimos mucho en la fiesta (We have a lot of fun at the party)
• Quejarse (Complain) – Siempre se quejan del tráfico (They always complain about the traffic)
• Reírse (Laugh) – Me río mucho con tus bromas (I laugh a lot at your jokes)
• Acercarse (Approach) – Te acercas a la puerta cuando oyes un ruido (You approach the door when you hear a noise)
• Darse cuenta (Realize) – Me di cuenta de que olvidé mi teléfono en el restaurante (I realized I forgot my phone at the restaurant)
• Imaginarse (Imagine) – Me imagino que estará lloviendo (I imagine it's raining)
• Equivocarse (Get wrong) – Nos equivocamos en la dirección (We got the wrong address)
• Atreverse (Dare) – ¿Te atreves a saltar? (Do you dare to jump?)
• Esforzarse (Make an effort/Try) – Me esfuerzo por aprender español (I'm making an effort to learn Spanish)
• Arrepentirse (Regret) – Me arrepiento de no haber estudiado más (I regret not having studied more)
• Olvidarse (Forget) – Me olvidé de traer el paraguas (I forgot to bring my umbrella)
• Concentrarse (Cocentrate) – Me concentro mejor por las mañanas (I concentrate better in the morning)

Integrating reflexive verbs into your daily conversations will allow you to describe your routines, emotions and actions fluently. But if you still have doubts, an intensive Spanish course is what you need. Travel to Spain with don Quijote and keep practicing, surrounded by Spanish 24 hours a day, and with classmates with the same goal as you. Learn Spanish with us!

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List of Spanish reflexive verbs

Once you have understood how Spanish reflexive verbs work, you can practice using them in your conversations. But if you still don't know what these verbs are, we leave you a list of the most used reflexive verbs in Spanish and sentences in which they are used:

• Levantarse (Get up) – Me levanto a las 7:00 a.m. (I get up at 7:00 a.m.)
• Ducharse (Shower) – Se ducha cada mañana (She showers every morning)
• Bañarse (Bathe) – Me baño después de hacer ejercicio (I bathe after exercise)
• Cepillarse los dientes (Brush your teeth) – Nos cepillamos los dientes después de cada comida (We brush our teeth after every meal)
• Lavarse las manos, la cara, el pelo… (Wash your hands, face, hair…) – Se lava las manos antes de comer (You wash your hands before you eat)
• Peinarse (Comb) – Te peinas antes de salir de casa (You comb your hair before you leave the house)
• Vestirse (Dress) – Me visto rápido cuando tengo prisa (I dress quickly when I am in a hurry)
• Ponerse (Put on) – Se pone el abrigo porque tiene frío (You put on your coat because you are cold)
• Quitarse (Take off) – Se quita los zapatos al entrar (You take off your shoes when you come in)
• Afeitarse (shave) – Me afeito cada dos días (I shave every other day)
• Maquillarse (Make up) – Se maquilla para la fiesta (She puts on makeup for the party)
• Acostarse (Go to bed) – Me acuesto a las 10:30h (I go to bed at 10:30 p.m.)
• Despertarse (Wake up) – Nos despertamos temprano los fines de semana (We wake up early on weekends)
• Secarse (Dry off) – Me seco el pelo después de bañarme (I dry my hair after I take a bath)
• Enfadarse (Get angry) – Se enfadó porque llegó tarde (He got angry because he was late)
• Alegrarse (Be happy) – Me alegro de verte (I'm glad to see you)
• Entristecerse (Get sad) – Nos entristecemos cuando termina el verano (We get sad when summer ends)
• Preocuparse (Worry) – Se preocupan por sus hijos (They worry about their children)
• Calmarse (Calm down) – Se calma después de un rato (He calms down after a while)
• Aburrirse (Get bored) – Me aburro cuando no hay nada que hacer (I get bored when there is nothing to do)

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Examples of reflexive verbs in Spanish

To understand how reflexive verbs work in sentences, here are several examples in different contexts to understand it better:

• María se peina cada mañana antes de ir a trabajar (Maria combs her hair every morning before going to work).
• Me cepillo los dientes después de cada comida (I brush my teeth after every meal).
• Se enfadó con Juan por no respetar su trabajo (He got angry with Juan for not respecting her work).
• Nos alegramos mucho cuando te vimos ayer (We were very happy when we saw you yesterday).
• Se ayudan cuando hay problemas, por eso hacen tan buen equipo (You help each other when there are problems, that's why you make such a good team)
• Nos escribimos todos los días después de clase (We write to each other every day after school).

You should not forget that certain Spanish verbs can be reflexive and non-reflexive. The differences between them are in the context. For example, the verb llamar, when the context is to call someone, is non-reflexive. E.g. “El director llamó al grupo de Juan para presentar el proyector” (The director called Juan's group to present the projector). However, the verb llamarse is reflexive, since it refers to saying one's own name. E.g. “Me llamo Raquel ¿y tú?” (My name is Raquel, and you?).

Other examples with reflexive and non-reflexive verbs in Spanish are:

• Quedar: when you have an appointment or event. g. “Mañana quedo con Ana para estudiar” (Tomorrow I will meet Ana to study).
• Quedarse: when it means to stay in a place. g. “Ana se queda en casa cuando llueve” (Ana stays at home when it rains).
• Callar: when someone makes another person keep silent. E.g. “El maestro mandó callar a los estudiantes porque hacían mucho ruido” (The teacher told the students to be quiet because they were making too much noise).
• Callarse: when a person decides or is forced to remain silent. E.g. “Nos callamos cuando entró el director al salón” (We kept quiet when the principal came into the classroom).

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