Scientific headlines are readily available regarding how getting to know a language is good for mental performance as well as good for well being. A quick investigation of this topic discloses headlines such as:

- \Learning languages 'boosts brain'\,
- \Learning another language 'could protect against dementia'\,
- \Learning new languages helps the brain grow\,
- \Learning a foreign language may help you live longer\ ... and so on.

All these are all genuine news bulletins from leading news outlets that publish and discuss research on this subject.

An insightful quotation from an article on CNN about those who converse in two languages and their durability to aging:

\As the human body begins its natural decline in old age, bilinguals seem to maintain better cognitive function, said Ellen Bialystok of York University in Toronto, Ontario. This is the case even for individuals with dementia. Bialystok and colleagues have examined many Alzheimer's patients, both monolinguals and bilinguals. They found that bilinguals were on average 4 to 5 years older than monolinguals at comparable points of neurological impairment. End quote.\

Meaning, that those who speak two languages decline much more slowly in terms of neurological damage than those who only speak one language.

Once this is clarified, exactly what type of language should a man or women study which has the desired effect? Well it has be something that is quite different to the type of language one is already speaking, one which requires quite a paradigm shift. The best method to pick is to discover out the most challenging languages to learn in the world! From research on this subject, Arabic in particular is one of, if not the hardest language to learn in the world.

Arabic is the language of the Middle-East, a few 100 million people, and currently there is an intense focus on this region from political, cultural and economical angles. It is consequently a wise move to make sure you can speak in this language.

Arabic is one of the most intellectually stimulating languages in the world, and it has very intriguing concepts behind word structure and formation and in lexical systems. From my practical experience, it has forced me to engage my thinking approach a whole lot more, in fact, multiple times more, when speaking! I know, speaking without thinking is something we all fall into!

I'm currently learning arabic with a fun social website where you compete with thousands of others! - I find this very exciting, stimulating and a lot more fun than the regular approach of studying a language. So if you are looking for intellectual stimulation and fun, I suggest you take up the challenge of learning arabic. Arabic Course Online