Learning a new language is a great idea for many different reasons. Anyone of any age group can learn a new language (yes, even those of you who hated French in school!) and it can be an excellent skill to have.
There are many benefits to learning a new language, across various aspects of your life. For example, only knowing one language limits yours social, economic and professional development!
Learning a new language can be great fun and comes in handy too if you love to travel abroad. Whether you’d love to speak a European language such as French or Spanish, or have your sights set on the more exotic Japanese or Punjabi, I strongly feel that a second language (or a third, or a fourth…) is a skill that everyone could benefit from having!
Here are my top three reasons for learning a new language:
1 – Improve your employability skills
Knowing a second language is always an excellent addition to your CV when applying for any job – yes, even those where you don’t need to speak it!
Many businesses are constantly expanding and becoming more global, so employees who are multilingual are becoming increasingly appealing to employers.
Local employers still like the fact that you can speak a foreign language as they’re aware it’s not an easy skill to pick up – it shows intelligence and dedication, two skills they value highly whatever the job role!
2 – Gain a deeper understanding of different cultures
Learning a new language is about more than just words – you’ll undoubtedly pick up cultural knowledge along the way from textbooks, your tutors or talking with native speakers of your chosen language. It’s a great way to widen your knowledge and understanding of the culture of different countries, and you’ll appreciate them more.
This is obviously excellent for people who travel abroad a lot or who wish to travel in the future. Understanding new cultures can make travelling much more enjoyable and it can also make it a whole lot easier too! You don’t want to go making any cultural faux pas…
3 – Keep your brain active
Learning a new language requires listening, reading and writing skills and so while learning, this can help you to develop and improve upon these important life skills. Research has proven again and again that continuing to learn throughout your life, especially in later life, keeps your brain ‘active’ and reduces the risk of certain conditions such as Alzheimer’s.
So yes, learning a language is healthy too!
I’d love to hear from people who know a second language – how has it helped you in life? Did you prefer to learn online, in a class, with a private tutor or just self-taught?
Michelle Star writes for ProActive Vision, a provider of e-learning classes and private, home tuition. Start learning a new language with them today, or take one of their many other academic or professional subject classes! Find Proactive Vision on Facebook.
Photo credit: Tim Hyde and Kenneth Lu respectively.