19 reasons for learning a foreign language
It is never too late to start learning new languages. Whether you decide to learn the English language, take up Italian lessons or study Chinese, each of these decisions has its advantages. If you have any doubts, take a look at our nineteen reasons for learning a new language
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19 great reasons for learning a foreign language
from a personal and professional point of view
It is never too late to start learning new languages. Whether you decide to learn the English language, take up Italian lessons or study Chinese, each of these decisions has its advantages. If you have any doubts, take a look at our nineteen reasons for learning a new language.
When you learn a new language, you develop and enrich your personality
1. When you spend time in a foreign country and you know the language you can interact with the locals, your experience will be more pleasant and impressive because you will be able to discover everything you want to know about the people and their culture. When there is no language barrier everything is easier and people are more open.
2. Apart from finding out everything you wanted to know, you will be able to move more freely, you will be able to organize your own agenda not depending on anybody else.
3. If you talk to somebody in their mother tongue, apart from overcoming the language barriers, you will gain their affection because they will notice your efforts, want to help you and you will be warmly welcomed.
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4. Intercultural connections that you can build by learning a new language will fulfil you. Meeting somebody else (who is different) is always a chance to develop a better understanding of yourself, and the same applies to languages and cultures.
5. Memory development – some studies have shown that the people who speak more languages are able to remember the shopping list more easily, for example. Furthermore, those people are better at making distinctions between relevant and irrelevant information.
6. Training your brain – studying a new language includes storing new information and using new knowledge. In this way you keep your brain active and you prevent degenerative processes.
7. You will also learn to think differently, from a different perspective.
8. Your brain will be more flexible and it will be able to adapt better because according to Claude Hagège, a French linguist, “bilingual people have a superior cognitive flexibility. Knowing another language helps the development of the verbal intelligence, theoretical understanding and overall reasoning.”
9. Some studies even confirm that bilingual people are happier, richer, more appealing…
Knowing a foreign language is a huge asset in the business world
10. During business trips abroad, new opportunities may arise – make the most of them!
11. Excellent knowledge of a few foreign languages is always an asset to CV – the fact that you are able to communicate with other parts of the world and thus present their business ideas will help you become more popular.
12. If you are the only person in the company who speaks foreign languages, you will be truly irreplaceable.
13. If you can greet a customer or a client in their mother tongue, all negotiations are certain to get off on the right foot.
14. If an opportunity for moving to another country arises, the bosses will always choose a person who speaks at least some of the target language. If this seems appealing to you, you should start learning English, Spanish or some other language right away.
15. Reading books in another language allows you to stay in touch with relevant events in the world of economics or some other industry in any part of the world. Knowledge is power, you should use this advantage.
16. You will also improve your communication skills: in fact, when learning a language, one becomes more aware of language structures, such as grammar, figures of speech and thus will pay more attention to such structures in their native language.
17. More than a third of companies nowadays hire employees based on their language skills.
18. There is a possibility that your knowledge of foreign languages also provides a higher salary.
19. Nowadays, many companies are ready to invest in their employees in terms of enabling them to learn a foreign language but if you can show initiative or knowledge you acquired on your own it will certainly be more appreciated and will have a more positive effect on your career development.