The 12 Best Benefits Of Learning A Second Language

Benefits Of Learning A Second Language // Why You Should Learn A New Language

Here’s the deal – there are many, many benefits of learning a second language. We could talk about it for hours.

But you want answers, you want to know the main reasons for learning a new language, whether it be your 2nd, 3rd or even 4th!

Learning a foreign language not only can provide personal fulfilment, it can also open the door to a multitude of new opportunities not available for the monolingual speakers.

Let’s dive in and see why you should learn a new language today!

Reason 1 – It BOOSTS your BRAIN Power

Reason 2 – It will BROADEN your HORIZONS

Reason 3 – It will ENHANCE your CAREER

Reason 4 – It will get you a HIGHER SALARY

Reason 5 – Meeting a SPECIAL SOMEONE

Reason 6 – COMMUNICATE as you TRAVEL

Reason 7 – IMPROVE Your MEMORY

Reason 8 – Improve Your NATIVE LANGUAGE Skills

Reason 9 – Become a Better MULTI TASKER

Reason 10Access FOREIGN LANGUAGE MEDIA

Reason 11Make NEW FRIENDS

Reason 12Develop NEW SKILLS

1. It Boosts Brain Power

Learning a second language exercises your brain, improves your memory and attention span.

While acquiring a new language, in fact, your brain will naturally analyse and process the new linguistic structures and identify the best techniques to assimilate its syntax and semantic details.

Furthermore, while pursuing full fluency in the desired language, you will be forced to find creative ways to express what you think using alternative methods, this will boost your creativity, problem-solving skills, and multi-tasking abilities.

2. It Broadens Your Horizons

Knowing more than a language not only can make your holidays and experiences abroad easier by allowing you to speak with locals or other foreigners, it will also change your perspective and the way you view the world around you.

Meeting and talking with native speakers is an essential component of the learning process.

While doing that you will automatically become “the foreigner” and this will help you to develop more empathy and openness to different cultures and habits.

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3. It Will Enhance Your Career

Noah - another LTL student who enjoyed a successful internship with us

This is one of the best benefits of learning a second language

As nowadays more and more companies are expanding their business internationally.

Being able to communicate in multiple languages makes a candidate more attractive than others that can only speak their native one.

Furthermore, speaking another language conveys that you are a goal-oriented, highly motivated, and resourceful person, all skills that can differentiate you as a valuable asset to your prospective employers.

4. It Will Help Boost Your Salary

As bilingual and multilingual employees are higher in demand than those who can just speak one language, they can earn up to 10 to 15% earn more money on average than monolingual speakers.

Of course, some languages are more lucrative to learn than others.

As shown in Becky Barr’s article Highest Paid Languages Of 2017

“Japanese and the Chinese languages were named the most lucrative non-English tongues for UK job seekers” followed by French, German and Arabic.

So, what are you waiting for?

Choose the foreign language that inspires you the most, stop making excuses, and start learning!

5. Meeting a Special Someone

Chinese Idiom: Love at First Sight
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There’s a lot of people on this planet – 7.7 billion to be precise!

That said, speaking just one language limits your options of communication to a vast number of people, depending on your 1st language of course.

Now if there’s one language you could learn that opens up more doors than any in the world, it’s Mandarin.

Why? Pretty obvious right…

Mandarin is the most spoken language in the world – over 1 billion overall.

Simple maths tells you that speaking Mandarin opens the door to roughly 12.5% of the whole population in the world.

You never know, learning that extra language might lead to meeting a very special someone…

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6. Communicate and Travel

We’ve all been there…

You want to get something simple like a bottle of water, but just shouting WATER (in your language of course) generally won’t do you any good.

Benefits of learning a second foreign language - Nelson Mandela Quote

How much easier your life would be if you knew how to ask for a bottle of water and spoke in the native language?

It’s true… your life really does become a whole lot easier!

Having the ability to be able to do the simple things, that we take for granted, makes a huge difference for every day things. Here’s some examples:

  • Navigating a taxi driver
  • Asking if the dish you want has peanuts because you have a peanut allergy
  • Asking a local where the nearest supermarket is
  • Opening a bank account in China

The list is endless. It’s a huge benefit of learning a second language and should never be underestimated.

7. Improve Your Memory

Storing some English, Italian, French and Chinese in your brain can’t be a bad thing right.

When switching between languages you are constantly digging into the memory bank which you have wisely expanded.

Information is available at our fingertips these days and that in turn as weakened our memories oddly enough.

A benefit of learning a second language is expanding and enhancing that memory of yours!

8. Improve Your Native Language’s Skills

Wait a minute, by learning Chinese I improve my English?

You heard it here first!

By learning another language you sometimes come across words that even in English you are stumped by.

Odious, Arduous – what are they? I know them in Chinese but not English.

Quick research tells you the meanings and voila… you’ve just banked two new words to your native tongue that you never expected!

9. Become Stronger at Multi-Tasking

Anyone who speaks more than one language everyday will be able to relate to this.

Switching between languages takes mental strength in many cases. Speakers of 4+ languages will often joke about those awkward moments when they used a French word when embarking in a German conversation!

The point is, when learning that second language, you become much more adept at multi-tasking and switching between general day-to-day tasks.

Pretty cool, eh!

10. Gain Access to Foreign Language Entertainment Media

By learning a new language, you can then access all the TV shows, music, video games, books, comics, and movies available in that language that you can’t get in your native tongue!

As a bonus, you can also better understand media you may have been previously consuming in translation or with subtitles, and more deeply connect with it!

Learning a new language isn’t just about work opportunities… it’s also about all of the fun that comes along with having twice as much fun media to read and watch!

11. Make New Friends

While love has already been mentioned, don’t forget platonic relationships!

Being able to communicate in a new language can help you meet so many more people to connect with over shared interests!

Additionally, you won’t only meet friends because you can speak their language (even if they can’t speak yours), you can also make friends with fellow language learners!

Other people are undoubtedly going to be learning the same language as you, and you can meet them in your language classes, through online forums, or even in language exchange groups.

The possibilities are endless!

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12. Develop New Skills

Language learning is a skill in and of itself, but what about the skills that go along with it?

Language learners all share a few traits in common – perseverance to come back to their second language day after day, commitment to continuously improving themselves, and a hunger for knowledge!

Additionally, many learners of a second language also possess strong time management skills, from balancing their work, family, and social commitments with their hobbies, like language learning.

Not only are these transferable skills (hello, resume boosters), they’re also applicable to other areas of one’s life, like relationships.

So, want to improve your time management and demonstrate perseverance and commitment?

Learn a second language!

Benefits Of Learning A Second Language – FAQ’s

Can I earn a higher salary if I speak more than one language?

As bilingual and multilingual employees are higher in demand than those who can just speak one language, they can earn up to 10 to 15% earn more money on average than monolingual speakers.

Will my memory improve if I learn another language?

Yes. When switching between languages you are constantly digging into the memory bank which you have wisely expanded.

What are the most valuable languages to learn as an English speaker?

“Japanese and the Chinese languages were named the most lucrative non-English tongues for UK job seekers” according to this article – followed by French, German and Arabic.

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    Manuel Saldaña Quintans , Student Advisor

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