learning foreign language benefits essay

Benefits of Knowing a Foreign Language

There are numerous advantages of learning a foreign language. Essay sample is focused on social, health, and other foreign language benefits, as well as reasons to learn another language.

Benefits of Learning a Foreign Language Essay Introduction

Benefits of learning a second language essay body, benefits of learning foreign language essay conclusion, works cited.

Why are foreign languages in demand and popularity? Not everyone probably thinks about it until they face a particular situation. Let us consider several reasons for bilingualism, such as advantages in career, travel, unlimited communication, cultural content, and the fact that knowing at least one foreign language makes the person smarter.

The first cause of foreign language usefulness is professional opportunities. You need to know a foreign language to increase your employability, work in a prestigious fast-growing company, and get the appropriate payment. It also applies to study and internships in foreign countries because plenty of companies are trying to learn from the experience of their foreign colleagues. In the case you know the foreign language, you can help in the translation of texts, preparation of documents, or during negotiations with foreign partners. Besides, you can learn some interesting and helpful information by reading foreign professional literature.

The second reason concerns traveling. Knowing the foreign language, you will be happy to listen to guided tours in original, chat with people with great ease and pleasure, and, who knows, maybe the foreign language you can speak will save the life of someone. Traveling around the world, you can always find your way, talk to the locals, learn about their lives and culture, and perhaps, receive a useful lesson (“Ten Amazing Reasons Why You Should Learn a Foreign Language,” par. 8). In other words, knowing the foreign language allows penetrating the traditions of the other culture.

The third reason in favor of knowledge of a foreign language is communication. Usually, to learn a foreign language well enough, it is necessary to plunge into the environment of living in that particular culture. In turn, such a dive does not pass entirely but forms certain personal qualities. For example, some studies have shown that people, who know more than one language, expand their horizons and are more likely to empathize taking the first steps in communication. Communication in a foreign language with native speakers will significantly strengthen your communication skills and develop life-long friendships (“Ten Amazing Reasons Why You Should Learn a Foreign Language,” par. 14).

Moreover, a foreign language helps you to enrich yourself culturally by watching movies in their original, listening to the voice and intonations of actors, and avoiding translators. You can listen to your favorite songs of foreign singers and understand their meaning with great pleasure. Despite the considerable amount of translated literature, the knowledge of a foreign language opens the door to the world of original literature. It is also essential to point out that by learning a foreign language, you can improve your native language as well. When people start to talk in a foreign language, which has its grammar, logic, and exceptions, they choose words and phrases in the native language to translate, which helps to increase the speech culture and vocabulary of the native language.

Besides, if you are interested in the events taking place in the world, the knowledge of the foreign language would be your advantage. You can easily understand the news as many world newspapers and Internet posts are published in a foreign language. Consequently, you will be able to understand the meaning of the above, taking into account all the details. It is much more objective than hearing a translation, where a lot can be unsaid or translated inappropriately. Thus, knowledge of a foreign language provides access to information, while it is commonly considered that he who owns the information – owns the world.

Finally, the last but not the least reason is probably, the most important. Knowledge of a foreign language expands consciousness. According to Merritt, “speaking a foreign language improves the functionality of your brain by challenging it to recognize, negotiate meaning, and communicate in different language systems” (par. 3). Your mind will be reconstructed to understand completely new concepts. In this sense, learning foreign languages is highly efficient due to switching codes. Switching from one language to another is a challenging job for the brain that is undoubtedly useful. Several studies have shown that among patients with dementia, symptoms began four years later in people who know two languages than in people who know one language (Merritt par. 6). In other words, the brain of bilinguals was struck but continued to operate at a higher level for a longer time.

In conclusion, I would like to emphasize that people are blacksmiths of their happiness, and a lot in life depends on them. Knowledge of foreign languages gives people plenty of advantages. It is the opportunity to travel around the world without an interpreter, to read foreign literature, to watch foreign films in the original, and to have friends from different countries. If you are willing to change something in your life for the better, then learn a foreign language, and maybe somewhere, there is a pleasant surprise waiting for you, such as an exciting journey or attractive employment.

Merritt, Anne. “ Why Learn a Foreign Language? Benefits of Bilingualism. ” The Telegraph . Telegraph Media Group, 2013.

“Ten Amazing Reasons Why You Should Learn a Foreign Language.” Lingholic . n.p., 2014.

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"Benefits of Knowing a Foreign Language." StudyCorgi , 9 Sept. 2020, studycorgi.com/benefits-of-knowing-a-foreign-language/.

StudyCorgi . (2020) 'Benefits of Knowing a Foreign Language'. 9 September.

1. StudyCorgi . "Benefits of Knowing a Foreign Language." September 9, 2020. https://studycorgi.com/benefits-of-knowing-a-foreign-language/.

Bibliography

StudyCorgi . "Benefits of Knowing a Foreign Language." September 9, 2020. https://studycorgi.com/benefits-of-knowing-a-foreign-language/.

StudyCorgi . 2020. "Benefits of Knowing a Foreign Language." September 9, 2020. https://studycorgi.com/benefits-of-knowing-a-foreign-language/.

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Student Opinion

How Important Is Knowing a Foreign Language?

By Jeremy Engle

• March 29, 2019

Have you ever studied a foreign language ? Do you think it’s still necessary to do so?

Isn’t it easy to find people who speak English in other countries if you really need to communicate with someone? And aren’t there translation apps for your phone you can download anyway?

What is the value of knowing more than one language in the 21st century? Is it really worth the time, effort and investment?

In “ Do You Speak My Language? You Should ,” Bénédicte de Montlaur writes:

In January, the Modern Language Association made an astonishing announcement in The Chronicle of Higher Education: From 2013 to 2016, colleges across the United States cut 651 foreign language programs . French was the hardest hit, losing 129 programs, followed by Spanish with 118, German with 86 and Italian with 56. Once these programs close, they are very hard to reopen. According to a Pew study from last year , only 20 percent of K-12 students in America study a foreign language (compared with an average of 92 percent in Europe), and only 10 states and the District of Columbia make foreign-language learning a high school graduation requirement. The decline in language education could have devastating effects for generations to come. With fewer options for learning a foreign language in school, a sharp decrease in interest is likely to follow. According to the Modern Language Association, enrollment in college-level foreign-language courses dropped 9.2 percent from 2013 to 2016. The association says these changes are most likely a direct result of the 2008 recession, which hit foreign-language degree programs harder than many other humanities programs. As programs shrink so does the supply of qualified teachers . It’s a vicious cycle. And yet, knowing a foreign language is becoming ever more essential. The freshman congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who is Spanish-English bilingual, recently tweeted , “Bilingualism is a huge advantage in the economy and the world.” Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, who at age 29 is already one of the best-known members of the Democratic Party, is a case in point. Her sentiment is shared by many. In response, some educators and parents are rethinking the way language is taught and calling for expanded access to language education. Nationwide, parents and teachers have been leading grass-roots initiatives to provide foreign-language learning in public schools, and some universities have instituted innovative language programs. From pre-K to graduate studies, there is a move toward holistic language education, based on the notion that learning a language should be grounded in the real, everyday use of that language.

The article concludes:

If Americans want the next generation to be active participants in a multilingual world, dual-language and multicultural education is crucial. Government spending on foreign-language education and the education of qualified foreign-language teachers needs to increase. More states need to enforce language-education requirements. Colleges need to recognize the importance of their foreign-language education programs. In turn, more parents, students and teachers need to lobby for language programs. The necessity of foreign-language education could not be clearer right now. The future in America, and everywhere, is multilingual. And so is the present.

Students, read the entire article, then tell us:

— How important is knowing a foreign language?

— What languages can you speak, read or understand? If you know more than one language, how did you learn these additional languages? Was it hard? Fun? How has knowing another language affected and benefited your life?

— If you speak only one language, have you ever wanted or tried to learn a new one? What challenges did you face in acquiring a new language?

— How persuasive is Ms. de Montlaur’s argument that Americans need to study a foreign language? Do you agree with her that the future is multilingual? Should schools require that students learn a second language?

— If you were to study a new language, what would it be and why?

— How much is foreign-language education emphasized at your school? What would you recommend to improve the foreign-language program at your school?

Students 13 and older are invited to comment. All comments are moderated by the Learning Network staff, but please keep in mind that once your comment is accepted, it will be made public.

Learning Foreign Languages: What Are the Benefits? Essay

Have you ever wondered why some people have certain flexibility of mind? They can see problems from various standpoints, understand many views on a matter, and can find a suitable solution to a problem relatively easily. Good command of a foreign language is the major contributor to the person’s flexibility of mind, memory capacity, and ability to adapt to ever-changing circumstances.

While it is true that there are numerous study areas for a student to become proficient in, having a good command of a foreign language enhances the overall learning capacity and may even improve your health.

• Studying any foreign language improves your memory and can even prevent a possible onset of Alzheimer’s disease (Jha par. 2).
• Studying a foreign language improves your ability to understand complex concepts and ideas in other fields of study (Bialystok and Martin 1).
• Studies have shown that learning foreign languages modifies the gray matter, responsible for processing the information in the brain (“Learning Languages ‘Boosts Brain’” par. 3).
• People with a good command of a foreign language can manage their daily schedules more effectively and even make smarter financial decisions (Woodruff par. 1).

(Speaking a foreign language not only improves your overall learning capacity but is also an asset to your professional resume.)

Learning a foreign language enhances your career prospects, including potentially higher salary (“What Is a Foreign Language Worth?” par. 9).

• Speaking at least one foreign language gives you a competitive edge in comparison with other candidates for the job position you choose.
• Speaking a foreign language improves your decision-making process (Caldwell-Harris par. 2), thereby enhancing your ability to reach a compromise in difficult situations.
• It can boost your confidence regarding your professional performance.
• It can improve your teamwork skills, which is extremely useful in a work setting in your future career.
• Being proficient in a foreign language may result in getting an internship position abroad, which will improve your professional competence.

(However, the advantages of learning a foreign language are not at all limited to the areas of your life involving work and studies. A foreign language opens up a whole new world of experience, the most exciting of which is traveling.)

Speaking a foreign language gives you an opportunity to discover foreign cultures while traveling.

• Speaking the local language when traveling is a unique opportunity to learn about a particular foreign culture in a profound way.
• By communicating with locals in their language, you can gain insights into their thinking patterns and mentality.
• The local people will appreciate your efforts, whether you speak fluently, or not.
• By befriending the locals, you will gain an opportunity to witness their culture on the inside, as they might invite you to spend some time in their home.
• By learning about another nation’s mentality, you have an opportunity to find out new ways of looking at familiar things, shift your perspective, and broaden your horizon. (Speaking the local language has many practical advantages. It can come in handy when buying souvenirs and other products at the local market.)
• By haggling in the local language, you gain the vendor’s respect and save money you would normally spend by paying the “sticker” price. (Finally, being proficient in a foreign language is an advantage in almost every area of your professional activities, studies, and leisure. This skill will enrich your life from many perspectives.)

Having a good command of a foreign language can enrich your personality and lead to many exciting and pleasant experiences.

• Speaking a foreign language makes you a well-rounded person who can share interesting insights into the mentality and culture of another nation.
• Thanks to this skill, you will be seen as a far more interesting and extraordinary person, which will, in turn, boost your confidence and self-esteem.
• Learning about foreign traditions and customs allows you to make comparisons with your own cultural background.
• These comparisons help better understand your culture.
• Moreover, it helps you see the influence of other cultures on the one of your own and understand the underlying reasons for the particular beliefs and values.
• By learning more about a foreign culture and the culture of your own, you will feel like a citizen of the world and a part of the global fabric of cross-cultural experience.
• The ability to speak a foreign language will not only make you an attractive employee but also more appealing to the opposite sex.

As you can see, learning a foreign language has multiple advantages. It improves your learning capacity, preserves your health, enhances your career prospects, enriches your traveling experience, and makes you a well-rounded and interesting person to encounter. Overall, these innumerable benefits outweigh the difficulties that we might have while studying the language. Isn’t it truly worth the effort?

Works Cited

Bialystok, Ellen and Michelle M. Martin. “Attention and Inhibition in Bilingual Children: Evidence from the Dimensional Change Card Sort Task.” Developmental science 7.3 (2004): 325-339. Print.

Caldwell-Harris, Catherine. How Knowing a Foreign Language Can Improve Your Decisions . 2012. Web.

Jha, Alok. Being Bilingual May Delay Alzheimer’s and Boost Brain Power . 2011. Web.

Learning Languages ‘Boosts Brain’ 2004. Web.

What Is a Foreign Language Worth? 2014. Web.

Woodruff, Mandi. Here’s Why Bilingual People Make Better Financial Choices . 2012. Web.

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IvyPanda. (2023, October 31). Learning Foreign Languages: What Are the Benefits? https://ivypanda.com/essays/learning-foreign-languages-what-are-the-benefits/

"Learning Foreign Languages: What Are the Benefits?" IvyPanda , 31 Oct. 2023, ivypanda.com/essays/learning-foreign-languages-what-are-the-benefits/.

IvyPanda . (2023) 'Learning Foreign Languages: What Are the Benefits'. 31 October.

IvyPanda . 2023. "Learning Foreign Languages: What Are the Benefits?" October 31, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/learning-foreign-languages-what-are-the-benefits/.

1. IvyPanda . "Learning Foreign Languages: What Are the Benefits?" October 31, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/learning-foreign-languages-what-are-the-benefits/.

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IvyPanda . "Learning Foreign Languages: What Are the Benefits?" October 31, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/learning-foreign-languages-what-are-the-benefits/.

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• Essay Editor

Learning Foreign Languages: What Are the Benefits? Essay

1. introduction.

This essay has four main aims. The first is to persuade you, as a student, to seriously consider learning a foreign language. The essay is introduced with a brief discussion on the importance of learning foreign languages. The second aim of the essay is to help you understand the significance of these essays that often appear in examinations, for example, Directed Writing, Continuous Writing. The last phase is to provide you with a platform to practice writing essays in a more structured and academic way. This is in relevance to your examination. A more detailed explanation of the essay's relevance is discussed in the next issue. The final and main purpose of this essay is to analyze how useful these essays are for learning a foreign language. This is the key issue brought up in the title question and has many implications on learning a foreign language. Many research titles will be discussed in depth throughout this essay with an emphasis on the advantages and disadvantages of learning foreign languages through essay writing. This will also link well with the third issue of improving your essay writing skills in your own language. This will be an ongoing discussion on given research papers and hence only brief conclusions will be drawn on each issue at this stage. This will be followed by an evaluation on the implications and recommendations the research provides for students and teachers.

1.1 Importance of Learning Foreign Languages

Language is one of the most important aspects in the daily lives of creatures, and the most fundamental part of a culture. Thus, learning a foreign language is perceived as a way of entering and understanding the culture of the country and in some sense can lead to learning a language that is a derivative of the language you are learning, and understanding the culture of the country is understanding the nation itself. Thus in this sense learning a language is important in connecting with people and to gain an understanding of what the people are saying, it creates a sense of trust and bonds between people as they can understand each other, and there is nothing more joyful to see the smile on a face when they realize that they are being understood even though have been speaking a different language. A United States federal survey of educational instruction stated that "Early Language learning improved higher-order thinking skills, enhanced first language abilities, and had a positive effect on intellectual growth." An obvious benefit of learning a new language is to be able to communicate with others in their language, and the world is a community. With globalization on many societies' doorsteps, there is a need and desire to learn new languages to help to understand cultures other than one's own. Whether it is for future job opportunities, or travel to new and exotic places, it will enable one to be more open and acceptable of others. With these reasons it will provide more intelligence and will set an intellectual individual in contrast with others who lack this experience. Learning a language is a great advantage for upcoming long-term travellers because it builds relationships and can help in those times of need. With the knowledge of a language it can increase the chances of helping or being helped. On a study done on 500 US businesses it was found that "Proficiency in foreign languages is an important skill for many US businesses" and when asked "Should the United States make learning a second language a higher priority?" 91% of the participants agreed and strongly agreed.

1.2 Purpose of the Essay

The aim of this essay is to provide a general overview of why learning a foreign language is important. This is done by firstly explaining the different categories of foreign languages and secondly emphasizing their significance. In the final section, a variety of theories on language learning and how they can be linked to foreign language learning are discussed. This essay is important as it provides a general overview of the different kinds of foreign language and secondly each one's significance. Although it fails to address learning multiple foreign languages at a time, the information from the two categories can be generalized. By explaining how children are capable of learning two first languages at the same time and how a second language can integrate with itself, it is possible to conclude that learning multiple second languages can have the same effect. This information therefore covers a large aspect of foreign language learning. By providing the variety of theories, it is evident that foreign language learning is a profound and intricate process and not simply a substitute for learning an alternative skill. This can weigh heavily on language learners at tough times during the learning process and can provide extra motivation.

2. Cognitive Benefits of Learning Foreign Languages

Enhanced memory and problem-solving skills Recent studies have shown that bilingual people are better at remembering lists or sequences. There is neurobiological evidence from neurological research that bilingualism enhances mental abilities. The executive function of the brain that directs attention is more developed in bilinguals in comparison to monolinguals. This directs the brain's processing system to function more efficiently. This is usually used in controlling, solving problems, and other mentally demanding tasks. The more developed the executive function, the more prepared a person is to ignore distractions and choose the correct information or to remember it. It gets better with more use, with language being a great way to exercise it; monolinguals carrying out lessons in a foreign language have been known to improve their native language skills and to learn general problem-solving. Also, delayed onset of Alzheimer's and dementia has been noted in bilingual people. Improved multitasking abilities Enhancement of multitasking can be explained by either increased executive function (as discussed in 2.1) or it can be explained as a result of the switching between languages. Often times throughout the day, bilingual people find themselves having to switch between languages in different social situations. This switching can become a habit and a preference when doing something as simple as filling out a crossword puzzle when they may prefer to seek a particular word in another language. A study made by Ellen Bialystok from York University in Canada was given to show that elderly bilingual individuals showed four years of protection from symptoms of dementia compared to monolinguals. This study included 184 patients with dementia, of which 91 patients were bilingual and 93 patients were monolingual. These results persisted even being a level of education, occupation, and other factors. So as many people celebrate the culturally enriching values of learning foreign languages, they should not forget that it is potentially a very beneficial skill to learn for their cognitive development.

2.1 Enhanced Memory and Problem-Solving Skills

When a person learns a foreign language, the area of the brain that is responsible for memory is greatly improved. This means that daily practices of recalling vocabulary and grammar rules will help to keep the language in a native speaker's memory. The better a person's memory is, the more mental resources that individual is going to be able to allocate. Memorizing grammar rules and vocabulary in a foreign language and recollecting them has been shown to have a lasting effect on the mental capacity of a person. This means that they can remember sequences and lists more effectively. Studies have also shown that language learners are better at remembering sequences of directions. A study that was done at York University in Canada in 2004 researched the correlation between knowing more than one language and Alzheimer's. The results were extremely positive; they showed that the onset of Alzheimer's was on average 71.4 years for bilingual patients and monolingual patients at 75.5 years. This shows a 4-year difference and this still remained consistent even when factoring in the education and employment rates. Similar results have been found by other research teams. Problem-solving is best done in one's native language because it is the language that the person is most comfortable in. With that being said, bilinguals are better at ignoring irrelevant information and focusing on the task at hand. A study that was done in 2007 at the University of Strathclyde in the UK, led by Ellen Bialystok, showed that bilinguals are better at filtering out information that is irrelevant to a task. Another study was done by Bialystok in 2004; it showed that bilinguals are better at tasks that require conflict management. This is due to a bilingual's ability to choose between two competing alternatives before their best response.

2.2 Improved Multitasking Abilities

According to a study from the University of Leeds in England, bilingual people can outperform others in mental exercises and can pick up on confusing information more readily. Multitasking forces the brain to allocate the right frontal lobe resources, which is responsible for problem-solving and switching between tasks. It's found that bilingual people are better performing this exercise than monolingual people. When learning a foreign language, multitasking comes into play very often. It becomes second nature for someone, repeating and listening to an unfamiliar word then analyzing the correct usage of the new word. It is also common when someone reads and writes. Learning virtually anything, such as a musical instrument, learning to type, grammar drills, verb conjugation, watching television, or even engaging in language immersion, second language learners are constantly using forms of multitasking (Herrmann, 2005). After Richard Ru?sconi took a trip to Italy, he was able to confirm that learning a foreign language definitely enhances multitasking abilities. He was a part of a study that required him to complete a simple task of sorting cards, in which each card had an image of children and animals in various activities. The study participants were shown a card on a computer screen with a specific image and had to place the same card from a deck into one of four piles, each representing the different categories displayed at the top of the screen. Sounds simple enough, but the catch was that the categories often changed in order and description. The purpose of the study was to show that second language learners are better at quickly switching between tasks and juggling different demands. For the most part, children know the categories if the categories are animate/inanimate and then the present progressives of each, but the categories often varied and the children had to be ready to identify them in their various forms. At first Ru?sconi was quite clueless about what to do, because he was in the early stages of learning Italian. He said there was disconnect between the Italian and the task so he decided to do the similar task in Italian. After 2-3 months of carrying out the experiment, it was clear that the second language learners were more proficient at the game and Ru?sconi was actually having difficulty in the English sorting task. This is direct evidence that learning a foreign language greatly enhances multitasking abilities.

2.3 Increased Creativity and Mental Flexibility

Researchers have shown that people who have studied another language are better at tasks that require you to switch from one task to another. This is because the ability to switch from one language to another requires mental dexterity. A study conducted in Israel found that students who learned new languages developed stronger listening skills and better the ability to get on tasks. When bilingual speakers speak in their non-native language, they sometimes feel like they are different people. The personality change that some people display when speaking in an alternate language might lead to the increased creativity described in these studies. If having a different persona doesn't reflect creativity, I don't know what does. People are full of different ideas and personalities. Being able to change the way you speak and the way you act in different languages. With the new growth of psychological research that points to the benefits of personality change and trying on new identities, the effects of language on creativity could be another scientific gold mine.

3. Cultural Benefits of Learning Foreign Languages

Understanding different cultures and perspectives One of the most profound benefits of studying another culture is the acquisition of cultural perspective, which is the ability to see that culture's worldview from the inside, and to understand why its people think and act the way they do. It is said that to understand the culture of a society is to understand why people act the way they do. A derived understanding of the inner workings of a particular society, which is often not available to those who do not speak the language, can be the byproduct of a focused language study. Language is the verbal expression of culture. Direct access to a culture is through its language and it's a window to the soul of a people. If you are not part of a culture, the best way to understand a culture is by understanding the language of that culture. Language utilizes verbal communication to tell others who we are, where we come from, and the values and beliefs we hold. The ability to understand other culture's language will enable one to engage in a more meaningful understanding of other cultures. By understanding where a culture comes from and their values one can make sense of their behavior and the way they view the world.

3.1 Understanding Different Cultures and Perspectives

The understanding of each other's culture and perspectives becomes a big issue in the modern world with the increasing of globalization. By learning foreign languages, an individual will be able to understand and appreciate the culture of the people who use that language. "Language and culture are interwoven" (Fantini, Alvino E., 1985). This statement shows that language and culture are tightly related. If one wants to truly understand a language, they should also understand the culture and the way of thinking of the people who use that language. The reason is because the structure of a language often reflects the culture of a society. And learning the cultural truths which are embedded in the language helps the learner to have a broader understanding of the way of life of the society concerned. For example, the difference between addressing a person with 'tu' and 'vous' in French gives an illustration of the different levels of familiarity and politeness which is a reflection of the French concern for the level of respect towards others who hold a social status. It is important for an individual to understand the culture and perspective of other societies in the global world. Ignorance breeds prejudice. Prejudice spawns quarrels and wars. So if one can promote understanding between nations by learning the language and culture of others, then he is participating in world peace and understanding. He will be able to teach others what he knows and in turn learn from them. This will act as a platform to open discussion and will get rid of the barrier of ethnocentrism where one tends to judge the behavior of other groups by the standards of his own culture. This is due to the fact an individual feels secure within his own culture because it is what he knows. Any difference in behavior from other cultures is seen as wrong because it is not understood. By comparison with his own culture, he judges the other as inferior. This will inhibit intercultural communication and can cause negative effects like racism and discrimination.

3.2 Building Empathy and Global Awareness

Foreign language learning is claimed to have the ability to increase empathy, concern, and volition to act for social justice. Specifically, at the intermediate and advanced levels, language learners can read literature, watch movies, and listen to music from other cultures. Through these media, one can come to understand the perspectives of people from other countries and gain an understanding of the society and worldview from which these cultural products are created. An important aspect of intercultural understanding that is often undervalued is language. Without language, one cannot go very far in understanding a culture. Language and culture are interconnected. The best way to understand a culture is to understand its language. With the study of language, it is possible to learn not only what is said but the subtleties of how it is said. This understanding provides a gateway to a deeper understanding of other human beings and their societies. Language study has thus been claimed as a key to the promotion of world peace and understanding. One obstacle to global harmony is the issue of cultural misunderstanding and intolerance. A multilingual learner, Pico Iyer, noted, "I've never come across a second language learner who, pondering over verb tenses, feels like going to war with a neighbor." In a world where countries are becoming ever more multicultural and ethnically diverse, seeking to improve tolerance and understanding, language learners are in a pivotal position to lead the way for a more unified global community. A deeper understanding of other cultures provides a backbone for a clearer and more constructive view of the world.

3.3 Strengthening Intercultural Communication Skills

Foreign language learners show greater cognitive development in areas such as mental flexibility, creativity, problem-solving, conceptualizing, and reasoning. These skills are transferable to other aspects of their learning and are of great benefit to them in their professional and personal lives. However, these skills represent a vital difference between monolingual individuals and someone who is bilingual or multilingual. While learning the language, students are indirectly learning the culture and customs of the country in which the language is spoken. This, in turn, expands their cultural knowledge and global understanding. With this comes a greater awareness of the people of that culture and a broader perspective of the world. Intercultural understanding and communication are of high importance in a world of increasing global interdependence. An online survey conducted in 2007 found that 97% of respondents from UK businesses with a language strategy said that language skills are vital for the UK's prosperity post-Brexit. The cultural knowledge that comes with foreign language learning will also enable greater understanding of how people in other countries live and what their attitudes and beliefs are. This can be crucial for international business negotiations and in fields such as medical intervention and aid. Doctors and medical staff with multicultural and multilingual communication skills are better able to serve patients from varying countries and cultures. This can result in increased patient comfort and understanding, as well as better diagnosis and treatment of conditions. Foreign language learning can also be influential in areas of global concern. Students can use their language skills to volunteer services and provide aid to those in need. An example of this is the student-run charity organization Partners for Change. This organization seeks to provide a better future for young people in Guatemala and El Salvador, two of the poorest countries in the Americas. By learning Spanish, the official language of these countries, students will be better equipped to help and understand the needs of the people in these communities.

4. Career Benefits of Learning Foreign Languages

The demands of the current global economy point to a future where multilingual individuals will have an advantage in the job market. Employers are seeking graduates who are not only fluent in a second language, but who are also culturally sensitive and aware. Learning a second language helps to accomplish cultural sensitivity and provides an understanding of the cultural practices and more effective second language communication. Language skills can be utilized in any profession and industry. In today's increasingly global business community, international contacts and contracts are becoming more and more common. People with foreign language skills are finding work in areas such as: - International agencies and non-governmental organizations - International marketing and financial analysis - International trade and development - Publishing and editing - Tourism and hospitality - Education and administration - Translation and interpretation

4.1 Expanded Job Opportunities

Expanded job opportunities are one of the most desired benefits as many people learn a foreign language for the purpose of advancing their career. At the most basic level, a foreign language is a skill which can be used in a wide range of jobs, simply as an additional skill, or as a necessary skill. In an increasingly global job market, the ability to speak another language is a valuable commodity. It gives you the ability to work in many different kinds of job in various sectors. Understanding another language changes your perspective of the world. You are able to see a different culture from the inside and in a more intimate manner. As the business market of today is looking for people who can think from a global perspective, this is a skill that can put you above the rest when looking for employment in your chosen field. By demonstrating the value of language learning, students can be encouraged to take up languages, thus creating a greater supply of young people proficient in other languages. This will in turn create several job opportunities for those who can speak a foreign language, or for those who are willing to learn.

4.2 Competitive Advantage in the Global Job Market

One of the main reasons to learn another language is the knowledge of a second language gives graduates a competitive edge in career choices. The ability to communicate in a second language clearly sets a job candidate apart from others. For example, if a job posting lists bilingual as a qualification, it's quite evident what is meant. Having the ability to say you are bilingual in Spanish and English is something that can be said in the opening sentence or "Objective" of a resume. It's also possible to demonstrate this in a "Profile" or "Summary" section at the top of a resume. Being able to list bilingual will make an impression. An interviewer has the know-how to switch to Spanish when saying "please find a seat" as the interview begins. When language skills are a good match a more informal level of conversation can result in easing tension. Also international business is a huge market, with many of the largest U.S. corporations having offices overseas. In this case, a second language can be a career requirement. What a great thing to be able to put on a resume. And if you are already employed second language skills can lead to promotion. Greater opportunities exist for college graduates in these high demand fields for teachers and other education personnel, education administrators, and in public and private sector health care. The ability to work in and among non-English speaking communities is an invaluable asset. In health care, social services, and public safety it enables public servants to better communicate and address the needs of the people they serve. This is dramatically illustrated in areas with large populations of immigrants from around the world. This may even involve overseas mission work. At home or abroad a second language can enable health care and social service workers to communicate basic health and lifestyle practices that can improve the quality of life for those in need. A second language also gives the edge to service workers in public safety, law, and firefighting. They can more effectively interact with the community and have the ability to diffuse potentially dangerous situations without having to resort to force. It is entirely possible that armed forces enlistment will even be influenced by a need for language skills in operations taking place around the world. Oftentimes a seemingly small second language skill can make a vast difference in job opportunities for a person.

4.3 Increased Salary Potential

There are many ways that foreign language skills can increase your potential salary. The most obvious way is to use your language skills to get jobs with a language bonus. Many different jobs offer employees a financial reward for speaking another language. In these cases, the salary increase can be significant. Some jobs require different levels of language skills that qualify you for a higher or lower language bonus. In this case, it is important to get a qualification in the language you are learning, such as GCSE or A-level. These jobs range from anything in sales and customer service to working for translation services. One example of a job with a high language bonus is a London-based air steward for JMC airlines, who are willing to offer a £200 premium to air stewards working flights to Barcelona. This can mean an increase of around £2400 per year. A surefire way to get a job with a language bonus is to do a job directly using your language skills in countries where that language is the native tongue. Examples of these are language teaching and translation jobs. In the case of a translator, especially a freelance translator, the salary can sometimes depend on what languages you are able to translate between. Usually the rarer the language, the higher the pay.

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12 Benefits of Learning a Foreign Language

In today’s hyper-connected, fast-paced world, there are  many reasons to learn another language.

Perhaps you’re one of the lucky ones who grew up speaking two languages as a native bilingual. If so, you have some unique advantages compared to the rest of us.

However, if you’re looking to become bilingual, you’ve got good things going for you too.

Below are 12 awesome side effects of becoming bilingual — or multilingual !

Why Learn a Second Language?

1. you can talk with more people., 2. it’s a major advantage in the workforce., 3. traveling is easier and more fulfilling., 4. you gain cultural knowledge and perspective., 5. you have access to more information and entertainment., 6. it improves your communication skills., 7. it makes other languages easier too., 8. you can help more people., 9. it improves a ton of cognitive functions., 10. it delays the effects of aging., 11. it boosts your creativity., 12. your self-confidence will soar., which language should i learn, how do i get started.

Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)

What’s the fastest way to make 1.2 billion friends?

Learn Chinese !

But seriously—learning another language gives you uncountable opportunities to meet and connect with others due to the simple fact that you can talk to more people.

Of course, learning another language allows you to meet people who already speak that language, too.  For one, you can connect with fellow language learners .  Another way is to find a language exchange partner .

Or chat with your taxi driver. Make small talk with the store clerk. Get to know the man who sits next to you on a long bus ride.

These people might have the potential to become your new business partner, best friend or soul mate. That’s pretty thrilling!

You don’t even need to be fluent to get started.

When I traveled around Myanmar, I spent a couple weeks in a city called Yangon. I only knew the basics of the Burmese language, but I was determined to practice those few phrases at every opportunity.

One street vendor was so taken with my efforts that he spent 30 minutes trying to communicate with me about his family, work and life philosophy. Not only did I leave that conversation with new language skills, but also with a free bag of food and a hug!

But the conversations are just the beginning.

Communicating in someone’s native language  also shows respect, and it allows you to connect on a deeper level. You might be surprised how open people are when you speak their mother tongue.

Adding a second (or third, or fourth) language to your CV gives you an unparalleled advantage in today’s global economy.

More and more employers are looking for people who speak multiple languages . This is especially true for fields like customer service, hospitality, health care, information technology and administrative work.

Multilingual people can communicate and interact with diverse communities. This is a valuable asset in an employee’s skill set.

You definitely up your professional value if you can negotiate with manufacturers in another country or communicate with customers who don’t speak your native language.

Plus, fluency in a foreign language opens up opportunities abroad which simply are not available to monolingual job hunters.

Your ability to speak another language also conveys that you’re motivated and driven to learn new skills.

It’s possible that you could be compensated for maintaining your language skills through foreign proficiency bonus pay, too—take the US military for example.

Which language is best? Try learning Spanish, Arabic or Mandarin Chinese to give yourself an edge !

Traveling—whether for business, vacation or visiting family or friends—is much easier if you speak the language of your destination:

• Restaurants. Most non-speaking travelers resort to the “point and hope” method of ordering food. But when you know the local language, you can order specific foods you know you like or want to try. 
• Transportation. If you’re in a big city, you might hear some English translations. But the farther away you get from the capital, the less likely you are to hear any familiar words. Where you are, where you’re going and how you get there is all going to be communicated in the country’s native language.
• Signs.  If every sign you see is just random squiggles, there are bound to be problems. Where’s the bathroom? Which way is the subway? What’s the name of this road? Which side of the road should I be driving on? Signs are everywhere, and they’re often important.
• Avoid miscommunication.  Most visitors who don’t speak the language struggle to communicate even the simplest things to locals. Suddenly, trying to buy a shirt or deposit money at the bank becomes lost in translation.

Language helps you understand the world.

Learning another language isn’t just about words and grammar. Knowledge of the society and culture behind that language is necessary to achieve any degree of fluency.  The history and  culture  of a people are reflected in the language,  and vice versa.

It’s important to remember that languages aren’t simply different sets of words to express the same ideas—they’re entirely different outlooks on the world.

Linguistic relativity  is the concept that  language dramatically shapes the way we think about, perceive and interact with the world around us.  Most people who speak multiple languages will tell you there’s a profound spiritual and emotional element to it.

Allow this to open you up to the world, broaden your horizons and bring you closer to people of all races and nationalities.

You may develop a deep appreciation for another culture, fall in love with a native speaker or become unlikely friends with someone totally different from you.

Perhaps the most fun perk to learning another language is consuming native media .

You’ll have access to a whole new selection of music, movies, TV shows, books, news programs, podcasts, websites and more.

Of course, it takes time and effort to reach a level where this is comfortable. But there’s plenty of multilingual content to get you started!

For example, people who speak Spanish and English can understand every word of the songs of Enrique Iglesias, Shakira, Pitbull and other internationally-successful Latin pop stars.

Japanese and English speakers hold claim to some mind-blowing “Kill Bill” scenes and the cultural miscommunication in “Lost in Translation.”

It may take a while, but try not to get frustrated on your path to understanding— consistency is key.

One day you’ll be reading or listening to something in your target language and suddenly realize that you understood it with no extra effort at all.

Of course, learning a second language improves your listening and speaking skills.

You’ll learn to listen more effectively and to be as clear as possible when you’re talking. The ability to clarify intended meanings will benefit you in any situation and any tongue.

You’ll likely gain reading and writing skills as well. You’ll think more carefully about the words you use and the meaning you’re expressing in your non-native language.

In fact, your acquired language literally helps you think more logically, process information and speak more evenly .

Learning another language will also make you more adept at piecing together information and interpreting context, whether it’s an unclear situation or cross-cultural communication.

The ability to look at things from various angles and understand someone else’s perspective means you’ll be able to communicate more respectfully and more effectively in any language.

Learning your first language happens naturally through observation, so many people don’t explicitly know the underlying rules or logic of it.

To learn a second language, though, you pretty much have to learn the rules .

Many people who learn another language discover that they also gain unanticipated benefits in their first language, like becoming more conscious of and knowledgeable about their native grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation.

If you learn another Indo-European language (such as French ) as a native English speaker, you’ll likely discover significant amounts of borrowed vocabulary, which will help you better understand how English became English .

What’s more, the acquisition techniques you use to learn your second language can be applied to subsequent languages too.

Learning a language trains your brain to analyze and process various linguistic structures. Your brain learns to identify language-learning techniques and break them into steps—and will do the same with other foreign languages!

So, studying your second language increases your ability to replicate this “metalinguistic awareness” process later. Your brain’s increased knowledge of syntax, grammar and sentence structure will give you a head start on learning your third language.

Studying a foreign language doesn’t have to be all about you!

Perhaps it’s obvious, but speaking another language allows you to help more people.

For example, if you’re a certified teacher with multilingual abilities, consider using your unique language skills to teach others. You could help out refugees in your home country, tutor students while living abroad or simply teach your friends and family the language(s) you speak.

If you can’t or don’t want to teach, there’s volunteer programs around the world where multilingual speakers are a particularly valuable asset to the team. Medical assistance programs, educational consultancies and cultural events are good places to find volunteer opportunities.

Being the bridge of communication between cultures is a great feeling, and the joy you’ll get from helping someone in need will make all the hard work of learning the language worth it.

Learning another language makes you smarter—and not just because you’ll know more words and grammar structures.

Acquiring a second language improves memory, increases attention span and strengthens problem-solving abilities.

Check out this video by the British Broadcasting Corporation that breaks down the advantages of learning new languages.

In fact, studies have shown that multilingual people:

• are more logical
• use more of their brains
• have better working memories
• can switch between tasks more quickly
• have greater self-control
• are more focused
• make better financial decisions

All of these executive function benefits are likely the result of the bilingual brain’s constant need to choose the correct language and words to speak at any given moment, as well as its ability to detect which language it’s hearing.

Of course, the younger you are when you begin learning a second language, the easier it will be and the quicker you’ll see the effects. And for children especially, learning another language can help build social, cognitive and emotional intelligence,  as well as lead to higher standardized test scores .

Learning a foreign language may also teach children to be more culturally accepting—just as it helps adults broaden their perspective and cultural knowledge.

Further, not only do these advantages make it easier to learn more languages, as mentioned above, they make it easier to learn anything .

It’s thought that all this is because learning languages helps your brain exercise, sort of like how bodybuilders grow and tone their muscles . And who wouldn’t love to be strong?

If picking up a language as an adult looks good, doing it as a senior is even more impressive!

Having multiple languages under your belt as you age can also have major advantages.

In particular, research has shown that knowing more than one language can potentially reduce the risk of dementia and delay Alzheimer’s Disease.

Regardless of education level, gender or occupation, multilingual subjects in this study experienced the onset of Alzheimer’s about four and a half years later than monolingual subjects.

Study results also show that speaking more than one language increases the amount of neural pathways in the brain.

This allows information to be processed through a greater variety of channels and can keep your brain sharp as you age.

Anyone learning a language has experienced moments of serious linguistic problem solving.

You know what you want to say, but not in the language you’re currently speaking. You can’t move forward without the word, so you have to get creative.

Using your second language requires you to learn how to give clues, context, explanations and/or gestures to get your point across. It improves your skills in divergent thinking—the ability to identify multiple solutions to a single problem.

Because, on top of your limited language and mental roadblocks, you usually need to consider different linguistic and cultural nuances too.

All of this helps you think outside the box.

As a matter of fact, researchers are also concluding that multilingual speakers are more creative than monolingual speakers. This is likely because learning a foreign language gives you leeway to experiment with new words and phrases.

So, every time you stumble over those words and phrases, remember that you’re actually training your brain and developing skills that benefit every aspect of your life.

Confidence increases as you learn a new skill—like speaking a foreign language!

Some of this may come from learning something you enjoy, but language instruction also relies heavily on social interaction. Conversations with native speakers are essential to mastering your target language.

At first, speaking can definitely cause some anxiety . But don’t be afraid to let your conversation partners know that you want to practice. It’s a great way to break the ice and start making new friends.

Because English is such a global language, native English speakers who make the effort to learn a foreign tongue are often received with gratitude and curiosity. You might be surprised how many people will want to help you practice!

And remember that practice itself can be a confidence builder.

As you learn and get better at the language, you’ll find that you have increased self-awareness and more confidence wielding your second language… which can also make you more attractive to others!

Truly, people will respect the fact that you’re learning another language. Native speakers will be impressed with your dedication, friends and family will be proud of your motivation and strangers will be interested in your story.

So get learning and build up that confidence!

While there’s advantages for learning any language, some are inevitably more useful than others .

You can check out this post for a more detailed guide to answering this question, but if you’re really not sure where to start, check out the benefits of the languages below to see if any strike your fancy:

• Spanish : As one of the most widely-spoken languages in the world, Spanish comes with plenty of benefits.
• French : Learning French has many pros—like becoming fluent in the language of romance.
• German : If you’re interested in central Europe at all, German is a great way to get familiar with the area and culture.
• Japanese : Learning Japanese is likely an opportunity to discover a completely different culture and way of thinking.

Gone are the days when the only way to learn a second language was becoming stranded in a foreign country or going back to high school language classes.

These days, there are many ways to learn online to become proficient in the language of your choice.

For example, maybe you plan to study on your own . Set yourself up for success by setting goals, being consistent and making sure you get lots of language input.

Depending on the language you choose, you may need to learn a new alphabet system . You’ll definitely need to learn a lot of vocab .

Just because you have to learn grammar doesn’t mean you can’t have fun though! You can absolutely make your studying as enjoyable as possible — try watching movies , for example!

If you don’t feel ready to watch full-length movies in your target language, don’t worry. Try shorter ones first, like Disney movies dubbed in your preferred language.

You can also prepare with FluentU.

FluentU takes real-world videos—like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks—and turns them into personalized language learning lessons .

With FluentU, you hear languages in real-world contexts —the way that native speakers actually use them. Just a quick look will give you an idea of the variety of FluentU videos on offer:

FluentU really takes the grunt work out of learning languages, leaving you with nothing but engaging, effective and efficient learning. It’s already hand-picked the best videos for you and organized them by level and topic. All you have to do is choose any video that strikes your fancy to get started!

Access a complete interactive transcript of every video under the Dialogue tab, and easily review words and phrases from the video under Vocab.

You can use FluentU’s unique adaptive quizzes to learn the vocabulary and phrases from the video through fun questions and exercises. Just swipe left or right to see more examples of the word you're studying.

The program even keeps track of what you’re learning and tells you exactly when it’s time for review, giving you a 100% personalized experience.

Start using the FluentU website on your computer or tablet or, better yet, download the FluentU app from the iTunes or Google Play store. Click here to take advantage of our current sale! (Expires at the end of this month.)

Obviously, there’s many benefits of learning a second language. So no matter which tools you use to learn it, you won’t regret doing it!

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• April 8, 2024
• Education Advice

9 Benefits of Learning a Second Language

UOTP Marketing

With the English language being the world’s lingua franca, many English speakers may think it’s not necessary to learn a new one. They aren’t necessarily right. Learning a language never goes to waste. You can use it while in a new country to communicate with the locals so they can help you find your destination or to maybe feel at home after you moved there to teach English to non-English speakers . It can even help you in your job, and your business travels.

Knowing a second language means a whole new literature is in your hands. However, these aren’t the only benefits of learning a second language . There are many more. Here’s our list of nine of them.

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Why Is Learning a Second Language Important?

In today’s increasingly interdependent world, speaking a second language is an essential skill that gives you the ability to communicate and connect with people from all over the world in a quicker and more meaningful way. Connections are now more important than ever, considering the continual globalization of the world’s economy, and knowing a foreign language will always give you a significant advantage.

There are tangible benefits to being bilingual—it can improve your brain and memory functions, boost your creativity and self-esteem,  help in your career opportunities, as well as increase your understanding of the language you already speak. Read on to find out more about the benefits of learning a foreign language.

1. It Stimulates Your Brain

Learning a new language undoubtedly helps your gray matter grow . Acquiring a new language means that you’re going to learn a whole new set of rules of grammar and lexis (whether you find this part amusing or not). While your brain is trying to keep up with the new language’s complexities and take in the new patterns, new developments are happening in the brain. Just like muscles, the brain gets stronger and bigger the more you put it to use.

Nothing challenges the brain like learning a language does. Scientists have established that we use the left side of the brain when speaking our native language. Whereas, second language usage isn’t limited to a specific hemisphere. It uses both of them, increasing the size of the white and grey matter of the brain.

But that is not all; acquiring a new language also helps to stave off cognitive decline and mental aging. Recent research shows that multilingual adults experienced the first signs of Alzheimer’s and dementia at a later age compared to monolinguals. They also researched other variables like health, economic status, educational level, and gender, but none of them contributed as much as the number of languages that person spoke.

2. It Improves Your Attention Span

With the human attention span seemingly narrowing more and more every day, according to many studies, deciding to learn a new language may be the antidote to this situation.  Recent studies show that the average attention span of a person has reduced from twelve to eight seconds. Researchers suggest that learning a new language helps the brain maintain focus and block distractions . This is a result of regularly switching between languages.

When speaking, bilinguals or multilinguals are constantly switching between two or more languages in their head, and this juggling improves the brain’s ability to concentrate on one thing while ignoring other irrelevant information. As one study notes:

“The need to constantly control two languages confers advantages in the executive system, the system that directs cognitive processing. These effects have been demonstrated primarily using visual stimuli and are heightened in children and older adults. Specifically, bilinguals, relative to monolinguals, are better able to monitor conflicting sensory information and tune into a relevant stimulus or stimulus features amid irrelevant information, via a process known as inhibitory control.”

3. More Career Options to Choose From

We are living in a multicultural world; many companies are opening offices overseas to extend their market. So the need for bilingual candidates is greater than ever. By acquiring a foreign language, you will double the number of available jobs for you and climb the career ladder much faster.

In the highly competitive job market , employers are looking to hire someone who stands out from the rest of the candidates. Knowing a foreign language could help you be chosen among many other job applicants. Having a foreign language listed in your CV might be what a potential employer is looking for.

Also, nowadays, people who are proficient in more than one language are high in demand in the job market in all sectors and industries, as the employers consider them to be better communicators and problem solvers. Skills that one master by acquiring a second language.

4. It Boosts Your Creativity

Knowing a foreign language isn’t beneficial only to the brain; it also influences your level of creativity. As a person starts to learn a language, they get familiar with the culture of the place where that language is spoken. The more you learn about new cultures, the more you’ll look at the world around you from different perspectives. The change of views will make you more original, elaborate, and flexible—all qualities of being a creative person.

In addition, learning a new language forces your brain to put words together in creative ways, which stimulates your brain and boosts your creativity. This creativity will spill over into other aspects of your life too. Plus, experts say that being creative improves your well-being , And who are we to argue with experts?

5. It Improves Your First Language

One learns the mother tongue intuitively and without any formal education. Being raised in a society where a particular language is spoken, children start to pick up the language they hear.

However, learning another language is a whole different deal. From the beginning, you’ll get introduced to grammar, vocabulary, idioms, and sentence structure. As you learn more about the second language, you become more conscious of what you know in the first language. While before you couldn’t quite explain the abstract rules and language structure, learning a new language helps you put names to what you learned instinctively in the first language.

Furthermore, you become aware of the differences in structure, vocabulary, grammar, idioms, and sentence structure between the two languages. All of these factors improve comprehension and conversation and can make you better at your first language.

6. You Build Multitasking Skills

Not many people are good at multitasking. However, this often doesn’t apply to bilingual people. They are some of the most experienced when it comes to multitasking. Their brain has been practicing in switching from one language to the other daily. When the brain gets used to this demanding job of switching from one language to another, it isn’t difficult for them to use this skill in other tasks, too.

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A study done by the National Institutes of Health concluded that bilinguals switch tasks faster than monolinguals. They found that bilingual children in their research responded quite well to their multiple computer tasks in comparison to their monolingual fellows.

Other research also found that bilinguals demonstrate more efficient brain functioning than non-bilinguals, and a bilingual person’s brain maintains better task-switching even as they get older.

7. It Slows Down Cognitive Decline

If you still haven’t started and needed another incentive to start learning a new language, here’s one. Learning a language may reduce your chances of getting early onset of cognitive impairments. More than 16 million people in the United States live with cognitive impairment , be it Alzheimer’s, Dementia, or any other disorder. The latest study on the effect of bilingualism in cognitive aging found that people who spoke more than one language regardless of their gender, ethnicity, and occupation experience the onset of cognitive decline four years and a half later than the ones who spoke only one.

While knowing a second language is not exactly the fountain of youth, it definitely helps keep your brain younger.

8. It Improves Your Memory

The brain is compared to muscles for one reason. Seeing that the more physical exercises you do, the more the muscles strengthen and get larger. This aspect applies to the brain too. The more you challenge it, the more the brain expands, and the better it functions.

You can think of learning a language as an exercise for the brain. Having first to understand and then later recall multiple grammar rules and vocabulary, strengthens the memory muscle. That’s why people who know more than one language are more likely to retain information. They’re way better at remembering lists, names, cell phone numbers, and directions than monolinguals.

Don’t believe that? There is actual evidence that learning vocabulary boosts memory . So, delve into another language and give your brain a good workout to strengthen your memory.

9. It Boosts Your Self-Esteem

No one wants to be put in the spotlight, especially when talking in a foreign language when the chances of making mistakes are quite high. Yet, this is what characterizes language learning. It breaks you out of your shell again and again that eventually, you’ll feel comfortable in every situation regardless of whether you’re making mistakes or not.

Nothing beats the confidence you feel when talking to a native speaker in their language. That’s when your self-esteem will sky-rocket. Becoming proficient in a language is like mastering any other skill. Once you’re there, you’ll feel confident and nice about yourself.

The benefits of learning another language are innumerable. Those that we mentioned in our list are just a part of them. Yet, no matter how many lists are out there, no one can convince you of the benefits as much as your own language learning experience will. With that in mind, choose a language that you find exciting and appealing and open the door to the many benefits that come with language proficiency.

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The Bottom Line

Learning a second language is a valuable investment in yourself that can provide numerous benefits, from enhancing cognitive abilities to broadening career opportunities and facilitating cultural exchange. By exploring the world through language, you can gain a deeper understanding and appreciation for different perspectives and cultures. 

If you’re interested in pursuing language learning, the University of Potomac offers a range of courses and programs to help you achieve your goals. Don’t hesitate to explore your options and take the first step towards expanding your horizons.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the benefit of learning a second language.

Learning a second language has numerous benefits, such as improving cognitive abilities, enhancing communication skills, broadening career opportunities, facilitating travel and cultural exchange, and even delaying the onset of age-related mental decline.

How can I learn a second language?

There are several ways to learn a second language, such as taking classes, using language learning software or apps, practicing with native speakers, watching movies or TV shows with subtitles, listening to music or podcasts, and reading books or news articles in the target language.

What is the most useful 2nd language to learn?

The most useful second language to learn depends on your personal goals and interests and the cultural and economic context you are in. However, some of the world’s most widely spoken and influential languages are English, Spanish, Mandarin, French, Arabic, German, Portuguese, Russian, and Japanese.

What are the two hardest languages to learn?

Mandarin Chinese and Arabic are often considered the two hardest languages for English speakers to learn due to their complex writing systems, tonal pronunciation, and grammatical structures that differ significantly from English.

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Home Essay Samples Science Second Language

The Importance of Learning a Foreign Language

Table of contents, breaking down barriers, cognitive benefits, professional advantages, cultural enrichment, role of education, references:.

• Bialystok, E. (2001). Bilingualism in Development: Language, Literacy, and Cognition. Cambridge University Press.
• Crystal, D. (2017). English as a Global Language (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press.
• Dewaele, J. M. (2018). Why the dichotomy ‘L1 versus LX user’ is better than ‘native versus non-native speaker’. Applied Linguistics, 39(2), 236-240.
• Grosjean, F. (2010). Bilingual: Life and Reality. Harvard University Press.
• Nikolov, M. (2009). Early Learning of Modern Foreign Languages: Processes and Outcomes. Multilingual Matters.

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15 Benefits of Learning a Foreign Language

Learning to speak a foreign language is often times considered a necessity of successfully integrating and functioning in a particular community.

Communicating effectively helps you to get the most out of your foreign experience. Imagine being lost in a country where you don’t speak the language and the locals don’t speak yours. You have to retort to signing, pointing and google translate.

The need for communication is essential and quite evident in these kinds of scenarios. The same can be said for someone who has moved to a different country for a new job, vacationing in a foreign country or an English teacher teaching abroad.

Benefits of learning a new language

In all these cases knowing a foreign language would prove to be quite useful in day-to-day life. There are a number of benefits attached to learning a foreign language , and here are just a few of them.

1. Learning a foreign language accelerates brain power

Speaking a language helps you to access multiple areas of your brain, this is because each language requires differing skills with regards to pronunciation, etymology, structural rules and varying degrees of complexities. It therefore makes sense that the more languages you speak the more brain power you exude. Think of a foreign language as a gym session for your brain. The result? Quicker and clearer processing of information, enhanced reading techniques, and accelerated problem-solving skills.

2. It helps your brain develop how to multitask

Have you ever watched someone switch between two or more languages? It is something quite awe-inspiring. It could be equated to watching a juggler juggling a bunch of clubs with intense precision, switching back and forth between languages creates the same effect. Your brain is essentially tapping into each language’s specific mechanics, simultaneously. Your brain is exercising and stretching its multitasking abilities, therefore speaking a foreign language could help you increase your ability to switch back and forth between various daily activities with ease.

3. The onset of Dementia and Alzheimer’s is stalled

Studies that focus on the onset of Alzheimer’s found that the development of dementia and Alzheimer’s amongst multilingual individuals was delayed. According to the study, Alzheimer’s symptoms only start developing at the age of 75 or more amongst those who were multilingual compared to the age of 71 or less for those who only spoke one language. This outcome was concluded considering that all other factors were held equal. This means factors such as overall health, diet, economic status, and education level weren’t considered.

4. It improves memory and retention

Learning a new language requires you to retain a great amount of new information. This includes an excess amount of vocabulary, structural rules and pronunciation requirements. Not only are you learning and memorising all these new concepts you are also making your brain use them as a communication tool. As such, learning a foreign language essentially strengthens your brain’s memory as it forces it to recall newly learned information, the brain is then required to associate this information with mnemonics resulting in better retention.

5. Gives the mind a slight information processing edge

Learning a new language can prove to be a rather challenging task. This is because languages tend to be linked to more than just learning vocabulary but also have historic and cultural links to their country of origin. This makes learning a new language quite difficult and challenging and as such requiring strong will, discipline and focus, ultimately building critical thinking skills. These skills can then be aptly used in an online course for passing IELTS .

6. Improves decision-making abilities

When you learn a foreign language not only are you learning new vocabulary you are also learning idioms and phrases that are nuanced and specific to that language. This means learning a new language is not simply about knowing vocabulary but also knowing how appropriate and relevant the words you have learned are in a social construct. Multilingual people not only have to weed through different languages in their minds, they have to decide which words to use appropriately in any given conversation. This requires critical-thinking, decision-making skills and on the spot problem-solving.

7. Improves ability to speak first language

One of the tools used for learning a new language is translating words back to the learner’s home language or first language. This means that the foreign language is first introduced through the lens of your home language, as a result, you are forced to expand your own home language skills. It also means you might need to search for the appropriate home language words to accurately translate the foreign words you are learning.

8. Enhances performance in various academic areas

Knowing a foreign language while tackling academics could prove to be quite a magic trick to pull out of the hat. As already stated, learning a foreign language requires intense focus and self-discipline. This means when it comes to studying techniques such as cramming and memorisation your brain has already been basted. You have exercised brain muscles that monolinguals haven’t even accessed yet. This will of course translate to test and exam scores that have been affected by your brain’s ability to study and retain information. Learning a foreign language also helps you to improve your comprehension abilities as your brain has to not only learn new words but also understand them. As such, studying and comprehending what you have studied becomes a lot easier. As a result reading and understanding exam vocabulary becomes easier and correcting written work such as essays requires less effort.

9. Allows individuals to be more open and receptive of other people’s cultures

As previously mentioned learning a foreign language requires you to somewhat understand the history and culture of the language’s origins. This means delving head first into the language’s associated culture; including foods, political associations, music, dance, and history. In order to successfully immerse yourself; you will need to have an open mind and receptive energy. This allows you to be appreciative of differences and less fearful of learning how different people do things.

10. Speaking a foreign language opens up various career opportunities

Well this one makes total sense, earlier we mentioned moving to a foreign country for a new job. Even though you don’t need to speak a country’s language to get the opportunity to work there, knowing the language certainly gives you an advantageous edge. Corporates want to know that you will do well in your role before hiring you, knowing the language strongly signals that you would be in the best position to perform your role well.

11. Builds self confidence

Successfully mastering a concept that is foreign and completely new to you is reason enough to feel extremely accomplished within your own abilities. Learning a new language helps you prove to yourself that you have enough self-discipline, perseverance and strong-will to produce results, which is certainly a confidence booster. Every time you are able to flex your language skills you are essentially injecting a new dose of confidence into your life.

12. It helps in self-discovery and self-actualization

Proving to yourself that you are completely capable of achieving something that you put your mind to helps you come to terms with yourself and all your capabilities. As you dive into all the intricacies and complexities that go with learning a foreign language you get to know yourself a little more, and finally having a full conversation in that language allows you to reach a state of self-actualization.

13. It opens doors to different forms of expression

This benefit is especially perfect for those who express themselves in some form of artistic expression. Whether this is poetry, music, writing or singing, learning a new language gives you a new form of self-expression. You allow your brain to tap into a new artistic wave length where you can produce your art in a different and new way.

14. Expands your potential pool of dating candidates

A language barrier is absolutely not a sufficient reason to eliminate a potential dating candidate as history proves that people from different backgrounds and languages can successfully fall in love and live happy lives. However, knowing your potential love interest’s language promises a much smoother romantic interaction.

15. Allows you to successfully integrate yourself into a different culture

Moving locations and starting over is certainly not an easy feat, in fact, it is one of the most difficult things one might ever have to do. Knowing the foreign language of the country you will be calling your new home will make this transition much easier. You won’t struggle with basic things such as asking for directions or reading road signs. The challenges of moving won’t disappear but they certainly won’t feel all-encompassing.

Why should you learn a new language?

Learning a new language is a complex task, but the benefits of language learning include social and cultural connections, as well as health and cognitive advantages . Research shows that it's never too early or too late to start learning a new language -- our brains are far more adaptive and flexible than previously thought, and our brains are built for language learning! Whether you are 8 or 80, learning French or Korean, studying a new language for the first time ever or for the first time in 50 years, there's never been more reason and more support for learning a new language.

Connect to people and cultures

Language is all about communication and connection, and studying a new language brings people and cultures closer to us. At the beginning, learning a language might feel like all vocabulary and grammar, but it doesn't take long to build up the skills to make meaningful connections in the new language. In fact, the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (or CEFR ) prioritizes personal, family, and descriptive language for beginners.

Learners today have more access to more languages -- Duolingo has courses in 40 languages -- and so the importance of personal and cultural reasons for language study is becoming clearer. A recent report shows that interest in culture drives learners to Korean, and this trend is likely linked to the rise of Korean entertainment and media, including K-pop and Korean dramas. The study also shows that family reasons are especially important for those choosing to study Chinese. Language is such a strong link to heritage that in some places we see the local language has become more popular on Duolingo than languages like Spanish and French: Hawaiian and Japanese are now the second and third most popular languages to study in Hawaii, and Irish has overtaken Spanish as the most popular language to study in Ireland.

Challenge your brain

Adults' brains may not be quite as flexible as children's, but they are still really adaptable and ready to learn! Most learners can reach their communication goals without striving for the vaguely-defined concept of "fluency," and your adult brain is definitely equipped for that kind of language learning. Even after just a few months of language study, adult learners' brains show changes and even some processing patterns like those of native speakers. And after a year of learning, adults show improvements in the kind of cognitive adaptations that make bilinguals successful in switching between their languages.

Being bilingual trains your brain to perform a cognitively complex task: turning one language "down" while turning the other "up," in every interaction, for every word! Bilinguals' brains treat languages like a seesaw, raising one up higher when it's needed, and pushing lower the one not being used. This push-and-pull in their brains gets bilinguals practicing a specific kind of attention and control .

Bilinguals who codeswitch , or use both their languages in the same conversation , are getting another kind of cognitive workout by keeping their language seesaw balanced: they might move from all one language, to all another language, and then to really sophisticated systems of mixing that use both languages at once!

Support healthy aging

For older adults, language learning can serve as an engaging activity that promotes problem solving and strategizing, which research shows can improve cognitive functioning .

Languages provide new ways of interacting with people in our communities and around the world. While students may have the option of learning a new language in school, technology makes it easier than ever before for older adults to learn, too. Apps, virtual language meet-ups like Duolingo Events , and online forums give adults ways to engage directly with language practice partners and native speakers. Exploring new cultures, travel, and making new social connections with people around the world can also have a positive impact on older adults. For example, research shows that interacting more regularly with more people has benefits for older adults' health and quality of life .

Bilingual adults who use their languages regularly may even show a delayed onset of dementia symptoms compared to monolinguals -- bilingual brains are better able to resist the disease and function healthily for longer!

It's never too early or too late to start learning!

From your brain's perspective, people of any age can learn new languages -- but it's typically harder for adults to find the time and resources to get the learning to stick. Language learning takes time and patience, and it should also be enjoyable.

The best way to learn a language is whatever method motivates you to keep at it! Here are some ways to start your learning journey today:

• Use free tools and resources to try different things and discover what works for you.
• Find ways to practice a little bit at a time, every day. It's better to study 5 minutes every day than an hour one day a week!
• Link your study time with other parts of your schedule to help you remember and fit in language practice. You could do lessons with your morning coffee, read a bit on your afternoon commute, or listen to music in the language while working out.
• Label household objects with stickers of the words in the new language. You can go room-by-room or focus on the objects that you interact with the most.
• Watch shows on your favorite streaming service with audio in the new language and captions in your own language. This will help train your ear, and it won't even feel like studying!
• Find or create a playlist with songs in the language you're studying . This is a great way to get used to common phrases, and the repetition in songs is great for learning. The language will really get into your head!
• Follow social media accounts that post in the language you're learning, enabling you to see posts about your favorite topics in the language as you scroll.
• For languages you have some experience with, change your phone's interface to the language. You'll learn tons of useful vocabulary really quickly.

For more tips and learning ideas, check out the rest of the Duolingo Blog ! You'll find posts with activities for kids and the young at heart , ideas for staying motivated , and ways to improve specific skills, like speaking and reading !

Español: ¿Por qué deberías aprender un nuevo idioma?

Aprender un nuevo idioma es una tarea difícil, pero hacerlo trae beneficios como aumentar tus conexiones sociales y culturales, además de numerosas ventajas para tu mente y tu salud. Según estudios, nunca es demasiado tarde o demasiado temprano para empezar a aprender un nuevo idioma: nuestros cerebros son mucho más flexibles y pueden adaptarse más de lo que solía creerse, ¡y además están hechos para aprender idiomas! Ya sea que tengas 8 u 80 años, que estés aprendiendo francés o coreano, o que estés aprendiendo un nuevo idioma por primera vez o desde hace 50 años, nunca ha habido más razones para aprender y más formas de respaldar tu aprendizaje de un nuevo idioma.

Conéctate con personas y culturas

Lo esencial en los idiomas son la comunicación y el conectarnos, y aprender un nuevo idioma nos acerca más a otras personas y culturas. Al principio, aprender un idioma puede sentirse como solamente una repetición de vocabulario y gramática, pero no tardamos mucho en desarrollar las habilidades necesarias para formar una conexión importante con el nuevo idioma. De hecho, el Marco Común Europeo de Referencia ( MCER, o CEFR , en inglés) da prioridad a un lenguaje más personal, familiar y descriptivo para los principiantes.

Hoy, las personas que aprenden idiomas tienen un mayor acceso a más idiomas (Duolingo ofrece cursos en 40 idiomas), por lo que cada vez es más clara la importancia de los motivos personales y culturales para aprender idiomas. En un reporte reciente vimos que el interés en la cultura coreana conduce a las personas a aprender coreano, lo cual está seguramente ligado con el ascenso de los medios y entretenimiento coreanos, entre los que están el k-pop y los dramas coreanos. El estudio también demostró que los lazos familiares son uno de los factores más importantes a la hora de optar por aprender chino. El idioma tiene una conexión tan fuerte con la herencia que vemos que en algunos países es más común que las personas aprendan el idioma local en Duolingo que otro idioma como el español o el francés: el hawaiano y el japonés son ahora el segundo y el tercer idioma más popular para aprender en Hawái y el irlandés superó al español como el idioma más popular para aprender en Irlanda.

Desafía a tu mente

Quizás los cerebros de los adultos no sean tan flexibles como los de los niños y niñas, ¡pero aún así tienen una alta capacidad de adaptación y están listos para aprender! La mayoría de las personas que aprenden idiomas pueden alcanzar sus metas comunicativas * sin la necesidad de recurrir a un concepto tan vago como la “fluidez” y, además, el cerebro de los adultos tiene todo lo necesario * para ese tipo de aprendizaje de idiomas. Incluso después de unos pocos meses * de aprendizaje de idiomas, el cerebro de los adultos presenta cambios y hasta ciertos patrones de procesamiento comparables con los de un hablante nativo. Después de todo un año de aprendizaje, los adultos muestran el tipo de adaptación cognitiva que permite a los hablantes bilingües alternar entre sus idiomas.*

Ser bilingüe entrena a tu cerebro para realizar una tarea cognitiva compleja: “bajar” un idioma mientras el otro “sube”... ¡en cada interacción, para cada palabra! Los cerebros de las personas bilingües tratan a los idiomas como un sube y baja, donde uno queda en alto cuando es necesario y el otro queda debajo cuando no es utilizado. Este movimiento en sus cerebros permite que las personas bilingües practiquen un tipo específico de atención y control .*

Aquellas personas que pueden poner en práctica la alternancia de código ; es decir, usar ambos idiomas en una misma conversación, están realizando un ejercicio cognitivo * diferente, al mantener equilibrado ese sube y baja de idiomas: quizás no pasan completamente de un idioma al otro del todo ¡o quizás emplean un sistema sofisticado * donde mezclan ambos idiomas para utilizarlos al mismo tiempo!

Un envejecimiento lleno de vitalidad

En el caso de los adultos mayores, el aprendizaje puede servir como una actividad entretenida que promueva la resolución de problemas y el pensamiento estratégico, los cuales pueden mejorar el desempeño cognitivo ,* según indican los estudios.

Los idiomas nos proveen de nuevas formas de interactuar con los miembros de nuestras comunidades y con comunidades en todo el mundo. Aunque se puede elegir aprender un nuevo idioma en una escuela, la tecnología hace que aprender hoy sea más fácil que nunca, incluso para los adultos mayores. Las apps, las reuniones virtuales de idiomas como Duolingo Events * y los foros en línea dan a los adultos nuevas maneras de interactuar directamente con otras personas que aprenden idiomas y con hablantes nativos. Explorar nuevas culturas, viajar y establecer nuevos lazos sociales con personas en todo el mundo también puede tener un impacto positivo en la vida de los adultos mayores. Por ejemplo, los estudios demuestran que interactuar con una mayor regularidad con personas ha beneficiado la salud y calidad de vida de los adultos mayores .*

Los adultos bilingües que utilizan sus idiomas de forma regular incluso podrían retrasar el inicio de los síntomas de demencia , en comparación con los adultos monolingües: los cerebros de las personas bilingües son mejores al momento de resistir la enfermedad y funcionan de forma sana por más tiempo.

¡Nunca es muy tarde o muy temprano para empezar a aprender!

Si pensamos desde tu cerebro, las personas de cualquier edad pueden aprender un nuevo idioma, pero en general es más difícil para los adultos hacerse del tiempo y los recursos para retener lo que aprendieron. Aprender idiomas lleva tiempo y paciencia, y también debería ser algo que disfrutar.

¡La mejor forma de aprender un idioma es utilizar el método que más te motive a seguir aprendiendo! Aquí hay algunas formas de empezar hoy tu nueva aventura de aprendizaje:

• Usa herramientas y recursos gratuitos para intentar diferentes cosas y descubrir qué funciona mejor para ti.
• Encuentra formas de practicar un poco cada vez y cada día. ¡Es mejor aprender durante 5 minutos cada día * que una hora por semana!
• Inserta tu tiempo de aprendizaje en otros momentos de tu día para recordar e incluir la práctica de idiomas en tu día a día. Podrías hacer lecciones mientras bebes tu café por la mañana, leer un poco mientras usas el transporte público por la tarde o escuchar música en el idioma que estás aprendiendo mientras estás ejercitándote.
• Etiqueta los objetos de tu casa con calcomanías que incluyan cómo se dicen esas palabras en tu nuevo idioma. Puedes ir cuarto por cuarto y enfocarte en los objetos que más utilizas.
• Ve programas en tu televisor o servicio de streaming favorito con el audio configurado en el idioma que estás aprendiendo y subtítulos en tu propio idioma. Esto te ayudará a entrenar tu oído... ¡y además no se sentirá como que estás estudiando!
• Busca o crea una lista de reproducción con canciones en el idioma que estás aprendiendo. Es una gran forma de acostumbrarte a las frases más comunes. Por otra parte, la repetición en las canciones es genial para aprender. ¡El idioma realmente entrará en tu cabeza!
• Sigue cuentas en redes sociales que hagan publicaciones en el idioma que estás aprendiendo, de forma tal que veas publicaciones sobre tus temas favoritos en ese idioma mientras lees las publicaciones de tus contactos.
• Si ya tienes algunos conocimientos, cambia la interfaz de tu teléfono a ese idioma. Aprenderás una gran cantidad de vocabulario útil muy rápido.

Para más tips e ideas para aprender, ¡no dejes de leer el resto del blog de Duolingo ! Podrás encontrar publicaciones con actividades para niños y niñas y para todos aquellos que son jóvenes por dentro ,* ideas para que mantengas tu motivación y formas de mejorar habilidades específicas, como hablar y leer .

• Enlace en inglés.

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Learning a Foreign Language Essays

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Foreign Language IELTS Essay: IELTS Writing Task 2 Essay Samples

• Updated On December 14, 2023
• Published In IELTS Preparation 💻

Writing Task 2 of the IELTS exam has displayed a large variety of questions over the years. However, there are still some general themes and topics that are often repeated in Task 2 of this English proficiency test. One of these recurring themes is the new language or the foreign language theme.

Table of Contents

In this theme, you can be asked to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of learning a different language belonging to any of the foreign countries. Additionally, you can also be asked to express your own opinion on the topic. This blog shares detailed information about Foreign Language IELTS Essay. Before we get deeper into the topic and start discussing model answers, let’s walk through some general tips that can help you in leaving a good impression on the examiner about your English language skills in task 2.

Tips to Ace the Foreign Language Essay Writing Task 2 IELTS

Although you can find an endless number of relevant examples for the essay writing task in IELTS, there really is no fixed format that can guarantee you a good band score in the writing section. So, what really works in helping you get a good score in task 2?

• A strong introduction and conclusion that are in coherence with the topic assigned: This will immediately get your examiner hooked onto the paragraphs written inside your piece and will leave a great impression on them!
• Use of refined vocabulary along with excellent use of grammar: Making use of good (and sometimes complex) vocabulary accompanied by an accurate usage of the English grammar is a pre-requisite for getting a good score in writing. It shows the examiner that your own knowledge of the language is vast.
• Providing relevant examples from different parts of the world: Many aspirants miss out on supporting their arguments along with good examples from either their own country or a different country. This leads to them losing out on marks in task 2.

Following these three tips will really catapult your writing task 2 score, which will have a greater impact on your overall band score for the writing section. To make the application of these tips more clear, let’s take a look at some of the sample answers for the foreign language theme.

Foreign Language IELTS Essay Samples

Question – Some people believe that the only reason for learning a new/foreign language is for travelling or working in a foreign land. While others argue that there are many more reasons as why someone should learn a new language apart from their native language. You have to discuss both these arguments and give your own opinion on the following topic. Make sure to give reasons for your answers and provide examples. Minimum word limit – 250 words

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Sample Answer 1

Learning a second language or a foreign language is linked to many advantages that far surpass the sole reasons of learning a new language for travelling or working in a foreign land. However, for the sake of playing the devil’s advocate, I’ll say that some people belonging to a different school of thought consider better job opportunities and travelling to be the only motive behind learning a foreign language. I am of the opinion that there are other reasons like learning about a foreign culture, and the bright prospect of cognitive development that propel many monolingual people to study a new language. With ever-increasing globalization and the opening up of international barriers, more and more people choose to emigrate to new and foreign lands in the hope of better job prospects. This often requires them to learn a new tongue. For instance, many people prefer learning languages like English, Spanish, and French, rather than the Russian language because countries speaking the former tongues have shown more affinity towards emigrants and provide a multitude of better job opportunities. This makes many people believe that jobs and sometimes travel are the only driving forces for learning a new tongue, especially for a young learner. On the other hand, some people including myself have researched the pros and cons of learning a foreign language thoroughly and have found that the pros far outweigh the drawbacks. The onset of memory ailments like dementia can be slowed down by cognitive development that comes with learning a foreign language. Furthermore, multilingual people are more confident and can easily acclimate themselves to new and alien surroundings by the virtue of their communication skills that have been expanded and upscaled. They find it easy to overcome language barriers and truly become global citizens speaking the global language. In conclusion, to go through the tough process of honing effective communication skills in a third language or a second language, people realise that it is not just for the sake of travel or work that they are doing this process. Instead, it stems from a deeper love for the language and the confidence that speaking a new tongue instills in them. Question – When living in a foreign country where you have to speak a new language, you can face serious social and practical problems. To what extent do you agree or disagree? Give reasons and examples in your answer and write at least 250 words.

Also Read: SAT Writing & Language Test 2022

Sample Answer 2

Language barriers arguably form the backbone of the biggest social and practical problems that people living in a foreign land have to face and overcome often. In my personal opinion, it can also spark serious problems in various countries, however, the widespread use of technology in curbing these issues to a certain extent over the past few decades. People belonging to different cultures can have issues in understanding each other because of speaking different languages and sometimes even because of different ways of pronunciation of the same words. Migration is not on the rise in the twenty-first century and people often move to distant lands in hopes of jobs, travel, and sometimes studying. In such a scenario not speaking the land’s language can become a basis for social problems like discrimination, racism, etc. Interestingly enough, technology has played a pivotal role in curbing the extent of practical problems faced by people when moving to a new land without being savvy with the foreign language. For instance, there are many web-based applications that do the translation job for people and save them the trouble of having to explain their point to the natives merely through vague hand gestures.

By way of conclusion, I stand firm on the point that social problems can far exceed practical problems when migrating to a foreign land without being fluent in the foreign language and perhaps, some language learning could really help in becoming a part of the foreign culture quicker and better. Although, as far as practical problems are concerned, technology is a boon that is eliminating most of them.

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Home — Essay Samples — Science — Language — Advantages of Learning a Foreign Language

Advantages of Learning a Foreign Language

• Categories: Language Language Diversity

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Words: 545 |

Published: Feb 12, 2024

Words: 545 | Page: 1 | 3 min read

• One of the major advantages of learning a foreign language is the professional opportunities it provides. In order to increase employability and secure positions in prestigious, fast-growing companies, individuals need to have knowledge of a foreign language. This is also true for those seeking study or internship opportunities abroad, as many companies value the experience gained from working with foreign colleagues. Additionally, being able to translate texts, prepare documents, or assist in negotiations with foreign partners can be highly beneficial in various professional settings. Moreover, reading foreign professional literature can provide individuals with interesting and helpful information.
• Another reason to learn a second language is for travel purposes. Knowing a foreign language allows individuals to fully immerse themselves in the culture of the country they are visiting. It enables them to understand guided tours in their original language, engage in conversations with locals, and gain a deeper insight into the lives and traditions of other cultures. Furthermore, being able to communicate in a foreign language can even be a life-saving skill in certain situations.
• Communication is yet another significant advantage of learning a foreign language. To truly master a foreign language, individuals must immerse themselves in the environment and culture associated with that language. This immersion not only improves language skills but also develops personal qualities such as empathy and open-mindedness. Communicating with native speakers of a foreign language strengthens communication skills and can lead to lifelong friendships.
• Moreover, learning a foreign language allows individuals to enrich themselves culturally. Watching movies, listening to music, and reading literature in their original language provides a more authentic experience and allows for a deeper understanding of the content. Additionally, learning a foreign language can improve one's native language skills. When individuals try to translate words and phrases from a foreign language into their native language, they are forced to choose the most appropriate words and phrases, thus increasing their vocabulary and enhancing their command of their native language.
• Furthermore, knowledge of a foreign language provides access to a wealth of information. Many news articles and online posts are published in foreign languages, and being able to understand them without relying on translations provides a more objective understanding of global events. This ability to access information is crucial in a world where knowledge is power.
• Lastly, learning a foreign language has significant cognitive benefits. Speaking a foreign language challenges the brain to recognize, negotiate meaning, and communicate in different language systems. This exercise improves brain functionality and can delay the onset of symptoms in patients with dementia. Bilingual individuals have been found to experience symptoms four years later than those who only know one language, suggesting that bilingualism can have a positive impact on cognitive health.

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Student Essay: The Value of Foreign Languages

Benefits of Learning a Foreign Language

Understanding the importance of learning a foreign language becomes evident when communicating with people who speak a different language. Language is the use of organized sounds or symbols to exchange information, and being able to speak another language offers both social and professional benefits. By interacting with speakers of the new language, we can improve our skills through practice. In terms of careers, having proficiency in a foreign language gives us an advantage as professionals fluent in a second language are highly sought after for travel and business purposes.

In addition, these individuals can also gain advantages and explore innovative technologies and ideas. Additionally, speaking a second language not only builds trust with international business professionals but also encourages their involvement in a business venture. When communicating in their native language with foreigners, the latter are more likely to feel comfortable dealing with sales or business personnel. Expanding on this idea, we can recognize another benefit of learning a new language: it promotes a wider perspective and cultural sensitivity.

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Learning a new language not only alters one’s mindset but also provides an opportunity to immerse in a different culture and gain a deeper understanding of one’s own. In the present era, younger generations are increasingly inclined towards travel and exploring various corners of the globe, something unimaginable for our ancestors.

While it may be impractical to learn the language of every desired travel destination, knowing the local tongue simplifies solving everyday problems that arise while traveling. Moreover, it enhances the overall experience by facilitating comprehension of the foreign country and its culture, eliminating frustrations and feelings of isolation during the journey.

In essence, vacationing with language proficiency offers greater enjoyment as it not only garners appreciation from locals who recognize your effort to learn their language but also improves service quality in establishments like shops and restaurants where you can read signs, understand menus, and engage in conversation with staff.

The process of learning impacts our perspective on both the world and others. It is crucial to acknowledge that acquiring knowledge of a foreign language does not automatically result in empathy towards native speakers. Nevertheless, studying a language significantly contributes to cultivating understanding and empathy towards members of a specific society.

Studying foreign languages can promote understanding and dispel misunderstandings with native speakers. This is particularly evident when language learning starts early and persists for a considerable duration. Moreover, it is commonly believed that being bilingual fosters an open-minded perspective towards concepts and ideologies. This belief arises from the captivation of bilingual individuals with the customs and practices linked to the language they are acquiring. Additionally, some people initially become deeply interested in the music, literature, history, and culture of a specific country. This interest serves as motivation to acquire a comprehensive understanding through language learning.

Learning a foreign language offers various advantages, including better social skills, increased cultural knowledge, and improved cognitive development. Not only does it facilitate communication, but scientific research also demonstrates its positive effects on mental abilities. Historically, studying a foreign language was considered a way to enhance intellectual capacities.

Researchers have found practical and humanistic benefits to acquiring a new language. Moreover, individuals who study a foreign language from elementary school until college tend to achieve higher average scores compared to those who do not engage in extra learning. The amount of time dedicated to studying a specific subject also impacts the improvement in average grades.

When students focus on subjects such as math, biological sciences, physical sciences, and social studies, their average scores increase. However, studying a foreign language stands out because the more time a student dedicates to it, the more their scores improve. Therefore, students who have spent four or five years studying a foreign language achieve higher scores than those who have studied other subjects for the same duration. This is truly remarkable! And there’s even more when it comes to the cognitive development associated with language studies.

Research indicates that individuals who are multilingual tend to possess superior problem-solving skills compared to those who speak only one language. In various tests assessing verbal and nonverbal intelligence, bilingual participants consistently outperformed monolingual participants. This advantage is often attributed to the linguistic abilities of bilingual individuals, which enable them to exhibit greater mental flexibility. Additionally, being fluent in multiple languages and cultures can enhance communication with people from different countries and cultures. As a result, learning another language and culture can facilitate more effortless and logical problem-solving, providing a wider array of solutions for social issues.

Regardless of the motives underlying the acquisition of a foreign language, gaining proficiency in a second language offers remarkable experiences and numerous advantages. It not only enhances comprehension of written text in everyday activities but also fosters personal growth concerning cognition, perception, cultural awareness, and interactions with diverse individuals.

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The Benefits of Learning a Foreign Language

IELTS essay The Benefits of Learning a Foreign Language

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