Why You Should Learn a Foreign Language

One of the biggest misconceptions about the English language is that almost every one in the world speaks it. This is false; about only 5 ½ % of the world speaks English as their first language and 10% as their secondary or third language. This might give one the idea that maybe learning another language will be useful; you have to start somewhere if you're going to want to communicate with 90% of the rest of the world, right? Here are 4 reasons to learn a foreign language. There are more benefits than you may think.

Increase understanding of the world. A very famous Italian film director, Federico Fellini, once said that a different language is a different vision of life. It is like buying a new pair of eyes and ears. Learning a foreign language transports you into the mind of another culture. Everyone in the world in dependent upon another to a certain extent, and therefore understanding other cultures is critical to survival. Think world peace. Only 9% of Americans are at least bilingual while over 50% of Europeans are at least bilingual. That says a lot about our future as a country.

Get a better job. Who gets paid more, the secretary that speaks English and French, or the one that speaks only English? Companies that do international business find it paramount to have employees that are fluent in more than one language. People going into the fields of communication, advertising, entertainment, science, travel, engineering, and politics will benefit immensely from knowing another language. It's a key to a door that opens up to opportunities and higher salaries.

Learn English better. Yes, learning a foreign language makes one reflect upon their own mother tongue. Vocabulary is boosted and literacy improves in general. Memory also improves when one has more than one language under their belt. These results can be seen by studies in student's test scores. Usually, bilingual and trilingual students score better on the ACT and SAT.

Travel without hassle. Most people enjoy traveling, but knowing the language of the country you are visiting adds a whole other dimension that a monolingual person would not be able to experience. You are robbed from communicating and fully understanding a country when you do not speak the language. Plus, most people appreciate when travelers attempt to speak their language. At the end of your trip, you will be more satisfied knowing everything that was going on instead of being left out in the dark.