When you learn a new language, you are not simply acquiring a new vocabulary; you are also exploring new cultural perspectives. To a certain extent, every language is a product of its culture, and every culture is influenced by its language.
As an example, in the 1960s, psycholinguist Susan Ervin-Tripp performed tests on women who were bilingual in Japanese and English. She asked them to complete sentences in each language. When completing the sentence, “When my wishes conflict with my family…,” in Japanese, the women said something to the effect of, “it is a time of great unhappiness.” When completing the same sentence in English, the respondents said, “I do what I want.”2
As you can see, cultural values are quite different from one country to the next. Ervin-Tripp concluded that people who speak multiple languages also have multiple (language-based) mindsets, within which different, culturally- influenced thought processes take place.2 As a result, being bilingual can stimulate your thought processes, challenge you to think in new ways and broaden your perspectives.