Aster Taken“Learning a language is worth it”.
You might have heard this saying whenever you told someone you wanted to learn a new language. But is learning languages really worth it? Continue reading to uncover a few reasons why language learning is important.
We know our native languages, however, why is it important to learn more? Well, not to point out the obvious, but one of the reasons is to communicate with people who do not speak our native tongue. But there is more to that than just communication – upon doing some online research and asking people around me, I compiled the following shortlist:
1. Career Prospects
Or just to broaden job opportunities if you are not a career-driven person. Sometimes, finding a job is quite a ride and learning foreign languages can give you ‘extra points’ when searching for jobs. It can be the defining factor that makes you stand out from other candidates. This places you on the path of getting that job or going up a few steps in your career ladder.
2. Getting to Know Other Cultures
When you are learning a certain language, you are likely to run into some cultural phenomenon that the language has. It is the first step of getting to know the culture. Maybe a new song, dance, TV show or even food! Once you get the hang of the language you are learning, you can begin reading books. By doing so, you’ll unlock a different cultural perspective and understand certain expressions as you’ll no longer be reading it in translation. Moreover, if you enjoy travelling, visiting a foreign country can be experienced differently when you know the local language.
3. Stretching the Brain
It is proven that when you are learning various languages, you are practicing different areas of your brain such as memory, critical thinking, problem-solving, and others of the sort. Shortly said, the process of learning languages and later using them gives you skills that are quite hard to achieve. This will make you a more well-rounded person in general.
4. More Opportunities Around the Globe
When you know various languages, you can easily move to any area that speaks the language you’re learning or mastering. This allows you to have more opportunities. The simplest example of it is media content. We are in the so-called golden age of social media. Sure, there is some competition looking to create content in English as there are many English speakers. However, lesser-known languages, such as Lithuanian, can be great opportunities – I am Lithuanian, that’s why I decided to include it as my prime example ;). Of course, there are always translations, but these tend to not always be accurate and can end up harming content quality. As I know English, it gave me more options in the content creation area. Additionally, I was able to choose the study program that was most interesting to me as I know English. Some people are missing opportunities like these just by not knowing the language.
5. Meeting People
Learning languages will broaden your communication area. When you know a foreign language you can communicate with various people outside your culture. If I wouldn’t have known English, I would not have met some of my friends, which is unfortunate as they truly enrich my life. Although we are from absolutely different cultures, we can communicate with each other just because we decided to learn a foreign language.
Learn a New Language
So, as you can see, there are plenty of reasons why you should learn languages. Although I have only listed just a few of them, there are way more – you just have to look for your reason to get started. On that note, if you wish to learn a new language and meet people from all over the world, join SPEAK as a participant at no cost whatsoever!
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