Throughout the 20th century, many scientists believed that bilingual children would have trouble concentrating and learning in school. In the last decade, however, studies have proved just the opposite. People that speak more than one language often perform better on tests that measure problem solving, concentration, mental flexibility and multitasking. Basically, speaking more than one language keeps your brain fit! Over half of the world’s population speak more than one language, and most countries have more than one official language. Native English speakers usually only grow up speaking one language. Young children learn language easily, but that’s because they’re constantly surrounded by native speakers! Unfortunately, adults don’t have that luxury. Bilingual brains have more grey matter. This part of the brain controls our muscles, sight, hearing, emotions, speech, and decision making. Learning another language makes our brains work harder and builds up our grey matter. Some schools in the U.K. and America have started conducting lessons in one language in the morning and switching to a different language for lessons in the afternoon. Teachers say that the children concentrate much better and have more self-esteem. For adults, it’s sometimes hard to stay motivated when learning another language, so make sure it’s always an enjoyable experience! Be sure to set goals for yourself, try a lot of different learning activities and talk to native speakers as much as you can. Don’t worry about the mistakes you make, after all, the reward for all that hard work is well worth it!