Evidence-based answer · Last updated · How it’s made
The evidence suggests learning languages is linked to empathy-related skills, but the connection is modest, uneven, and depends heavily on how you learn (immersive, interactive contact with other cultures matters more than just studying grammar). Being bilingual from childhood or using multiple languages actively is associated with somewhat better perspective-taking and "reading" other people, but simply knowing more languages in the abstract does not reliably boost empathy on its own.
Answered for language learning in general. No specific language was set for this question, so the findings are drawn from general second-language research rather than one language’s literature.
A study comparing 240 Hungarian-Serbian bilinguals and Hungarian monolinguals found bilinguals scored higher on both empathy and on a test of guessing what other people are thinking and feeling.1
In plain terms
A large study of 2,158 people found that simply knowing several languages was not linked to higher empathy, and neither was growing up bilingual or having lived abroad — but people who used multiple languages often and at a high skill level did show a small but real empathy boost.2
In plain terms
People with higher cognitive empathy (and higher tolerance for uncertainty) tend to have more positive attitudes toward code-switching, the practice of mixing two languages in the same conversation.4
Example
Programs that pair learners with real conversation partners from another culture — such as a letter- and gift-exchange program between Mexican and Canadian students, or study-abroad and homestay programs — consistently report gains in empathy, cultural understanding, and perspective-taking alongside language gains.5,9,10,12
Example
Teaching approaches that deliberately build in reflection on culture and perspective — such as culturally responsive teaching, reading literature from other cultures, or having students examine social-justice topics in another language — are reported to increase students' empathy and cultural awareness, though results vary across different activities and dimensions of empathy.6,8,11
In one classroom experiment, students who practiced culturally-themed conversations with AI simulation software showed much larger gains in intercultural competence than a control group using lectures and reading, but gains in emotional empathy specifically lagged behind gains in factual cultural knowledge — suggesting some human interaction may still be needed to fully develop empathy.7
Some language-teaching frameworks explicitly list empathy as one ingredient of "emotional intelligence," alongside motivation and self-awareness, that helps learners communicate and read cultural cues, but this is presented as a conceptual argument rather than something these particular sources measured directly.3,13,14
In plain terms
If the goal is to build empathy through language learning, the sources point away from passive study (memorizing vocabulary or grammar alone) and toward active, real human contact: talking regularly with native speakers, exchanging letters or messages with people from another culture, or spending time abroad living with a host family. Frequent, high-level use of a language seems to matter more for empathy than simply "knowing" several languages on paper, so conversation practice and sustained language exchange partnerships are likely to do more than passive courses. If in-person exchange isn't available, structured virtual exchange programs or culturally-themed classroom activities (discussing holidays, traditions, or literature from another culture) are a reasonable substitute, and even AI-based conversation simulations have shown some benefit — though the evidence suggests they build cultural knowledge faster than they build emotional empathy, so pairing them with real human interaction is likely to work best.
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