The other day, when I was reviewing the conjugation of the Spanish verbs ser and estar for the umpteenth time, I began to question why I was putting so much effort into learning Spanish. I felt the need to remind myself of all of the great reasons to learn a foreign language. Today I’d like to list some common reasons for learning another language, or you can check out the video below. So now to answer the question: Why learn a foreign language? Let’s take a look!
Why Learn a Foreign Language?
There may be many reasons why someone would want to learn a language, and each reason can feel very personal to you. If you’re thinking about learning a language but you need a reason to keep you motivated in your learning, here are 7 reasons to learn a language.
1. Travel and Meeting New People
To get the most out of your travel experience, you need to discover for yourself the life and culture of the locals. You can’t do this without actually speaking the language. Once you’re there and able to talk with people, you’ll get to see first hand how people live and maybe even meet some friends along the way.
If you’d like to see other cultures without everything that goes into traveling, you can just watch a travel documentary at home: you’ll see it all from the comfort of your living room couch. This is also an environmentally friendly way to travel!
2. Work
Speaking another language can be a very useful asset for some jobs. It will definitely give you a competitive advantage in many different fields! And depending on the work that you do, it could also give you wider access to customers, clients, or patients.
3. Love
Because of immigration and globalization, society has become increasingly multicultural. As a result, mixed-race couples and multicultural couples are more and more common. In fact, I’m married to a Colombian woman, which gave me a very good reason to learn Spanish 😉
4. Brain Training
You need to exercise your brain to prevent it from aging too fast. Learning a foreign language is an exciting, intellectual activity that can actually change the structure of your brain.
French Linguist Claude Hagège asserts that “bilinguals have greater cognitive malleability and flexibility than monolinguals. Knowing a second language enables people to develop verbal intelligence, conceptual training, and general reasoning skills and to discover the underlying rules for solving problems.”
And not only can these changes help you in your daily life now, they can help you in your future as well! There’s evidence to suggest that learning a foreign language can delay Alzheimer’s as well!
Start learning a new language today
5. Beauty of Language
Some languages have a beautiful musical rhythm. Personally, I think Spanish sounds very nice. Other languages have lovely written forms (e.g. Japanese, Mandarin, etc.). If you’re someone who likes to sit back and enjoy the beauty of things, getting to know a language can keep that feeling going over the entire course of your learning.
6. Curiosity
Curiosity is the desire to understand. And as it applies to this topic, maybe you want to understand what others are saying or understand other cultures. This can make people more open-minded, increase their tolerance, and enrich their own identity.
7. Interest in Language
Some people are interested in the linguistic aspects of another language and decide to learn it for that reason. Especially those of you who love math and formulas, the structure of grammar and syntax might be something you can quickly understand and build on!
Why Learn a Foreign Language? (Video)
If you’d like to share this information or keep it saved for later to review, you can also check out the video below that goes over these topics.
For More Information
If you’ve found your reason to start learning a foreign language, these videos might help you get started:
- Is It Really That Hard to Learn a Foreign Language?
- 5 Mistakes You Might Be Making While Foreign Language Learning
- How to Read a Book in a Foreign Language
- 6 Ways to Practice Writing in a Foreign Language
Why did I learn a foreign language?
I started to learn English as a second language at school (as most of the students).
Then, for travel experience (passion, pleasure, curiosity) and meeting people around the world. I needed to discover life, cultures and traditions to understand other cultures.
Moreover, we need to exercise our brain to prevent it from aging too fast and easily communicate with foreigners.
Working in international contexts, English was useful for some jobs.
Today, I will take the TOEIC Exam, necessary for the TRIUM EMBA Program.
What is a foreign language for?
I want to learn English in order to change my place of residence, live in a democratic country, have a good income, have confidence in the future, realize my labor and intellectual potential, give a good future to my children, travel freely around the world, easily communicate with foreigners, easy to find materials for your development.
I really love to speak and communicate with a foreign partner