10 Reasons Why Learning Languages Is Important for Everyone
Friday, 23rd August 2024
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In today’s globalised world, speaking more than one language is a great skill that allows you to connect with people from different cultures.
Learning a foreign language also enhances cognitive abilities, decision-making skills, cultural understanding, and self-confidence while allowing you to experience the world to the fullest.
The British Council emphasised the importance of ensuring all young people have the opportunity to study languages before leaving school, with 52% of year 9 pupils in England agreeing that understanding a second language was relevant to their lives.
Here are some of the benefits of learning languages you can share with your students:
Stimulates your brain
Learning languages is a great way to stimulate brain power, because as you learn things like grammar, sentence structure and lexis, you develop new neural pathways.
Science shows that we use the left side of the brain when speaking our mother tongue. But a second language uses both, which increases the size of the white and grey matter of the brain.
Also , the challenges and victories that come with learning more than one language boost brain power, and just like training a muscle, the more you do this, the stronger it becomes.
Cognitive Benefits of Language Learning:
Learning a new language requires cognitive skills like attention and memory which are required when remembering new vocabulary.
These skills can filter through to other areas of our lives and lead to enhanced creativity, multitasking skills, and improved problem-solving abilities.
Some of the many long-term benefits for brain health include:
Delays ageing of the brain: Research shows that maintaining two or more languages preserves brain function as you age. This has been linked to a decrease in neurodegenerative diseases like dementia and Alzheimer’s.
Builds self-confidence: Through language study, you become a resilient learner through perseverance and adaptability as you overcome challenges and embrace mistakes as you go. Making mistakes is a natural and essential part of the language learning process, and each mistake provides an opportunity for improvement and builds confidence.
Maintain attention span: Research suggests that learning a language helps the brain focus and ignore distractions as a result of regularly switching between languages. Juggling between two languages in your brain improves your ability to concentrate.
Kate Jones talks about how retrieval practice works and gives classroom examples in this episode of the Teacher Toolkit podcast.
Improves communication skills
With over 7,000 languages spoken worldwide, there are countless opportunities to discover new cultures, meet new friends, and expand your understanding of the world.
When you speak more than one language, you develop a more nuanced perspective on the world, shaped by the experiences and traditions of other countries and cultures.
Speaking more than one language can also improve communication skills, as it enables you to express yourself more effectively.
Career Opportunities
Bilingual people have significant career advantages as employers value strong communication and language skills nowadays.
Speaking a second language, or even better, knowing other languages, can increase international opportunities, allowing you to work with colleagues from different countries and collaborate across cultures.
Multilingualism is increasingly becoming a job requirement rather than just a desirable skill, and language learning is highly valued in today’s job market with around 43% of the global population speaking at least two languages.
The EU commission published data showing that around a quarter of jobs required an advanced level of foreign language skills, showing that employers are increasingly relying on employees who can communicate in more than one language.
Employers also regularly list knowing more than one language among the top skills they seek in candidates, showing that language skills are often a deciding factor for employers choosing candidates for jobs.
Because by knowing more than one language, individuals can connect with more people, expanding their professional network and opening doors to new industries such as arts, engineering, and education.
Language learning can also lead to higher salaries, especially in in-demand languages like German.
Helps you become a better learner
When developing language skills, you become a more resilient learner, better equipped to navigate the complexities of our globalised world.
Bilingual people excel in problem-solving, creative thinking, and communication, making them better learners in other school subjects and a highly-sought after skill by employers.
Improves Cultural Understanding and Exchange
Learning a language can deepen your respect for other cultures, as your language skills enable you to connect with people from diverse backgrounds and make new friends.
Learning languages, or even basic phrases, is essential for effective communication and cultural appreciation, helping build connections and navigate new environments. Speaking a foreign language abroad will transform your travel experiences by allowing you to fully immerse yourself in the culture, food, and arts beyond the tourist bubble. When speaking the native language, you can interact with locals and deepen these cultural connections.
Language study is a great way to foster cultural exchange, helping you to discover and appreciate people from different cultures. This leads to greater cultural awareness and international openness.
Additionally, language learning can promote acceptance worldwide, breaking down communication barriers. In fact, 72 per cent of Year 9 pupils in England agreed that speaking other languages is an important part of understanding different cultures and places.
Can improve your first language
Your mother tongue is picked up intuitively and without any formal education, learned by simply picking up the language you hear as a child.
However, when learning a new language, you’re introduced to grammar, vocabulary, idioms and sentence structure.
These things make you more aware of what you know about your first language and can help you learn more about the language structure you wouldn’t have known while learning a language intuitively from a young age.
You will become conscious of differences and similarities between both languages, including structure, vocabulary, grammar, idioms and sentence structure. Eventually, this improves comprehension and makes you better at your first language.
Language-Specific Benefits
French and Spanish are roman languages, that have Latin roots, meaning that in professions like Medicine and Law, where many terms use Latin words, this is hugely beneficial.
Language skills are often a deciding factor for international jobs and C-suite placements in global firms, making proficiency in a second language a significant career advantage.
Whether you’re interested in studying languages, speaking German, or exploring the Spanish language, the rewards of language learning are undeniable.
Final Thoughts
As we have seen, learning languages can open doors to new opportunities, foster deeper connections with people from different cultures, and broaden our perspectives on the world.
Learning a foreign language takes effort and dedication, but results in significant benefits such as enhanced empathy, cultural understanding, and cognitive development.
Ultimately, language learning can enrich our lives in countless ways, from the classroom to the workplace, and from our personal relationships to our professional pursuits.
By recognising the value of language skills, we can unlock new doors, connect with others, and develop a deeper appreciation for our world.
Plan your language study trip
Excel your students’ language skills by immersing them in the culture, because the best way to learn foreign languages is to live in them.
Our language school trip experiences to France, Spain and Morocco are selected by former Modern Foreign Language teachers to include classroom-based workshops, pedagogical activities, and exciting day trips.
FAQs
What are the main benefits to learning a language?
Learning a language delay ageing of the brain, improves cognitive skills and offers more career opportunities
Why are bilingual people better learners?
Learning a language requires overcoming mistakes, problem-solving skills and enhanced communication skills making them better learners in other subjects
How does learning a second language improve your first?
When learning a second language, you will become conscious of differences and similarities between both languages, including structure, vocabulary, grammar, idioms and sentence structure this awareness can improve your first language.
What are the career benefits of learning a second language?
Language skills are often a deciding factor for international companies and management positions, making proficiency in a second language a significant career advantage.
Why is language learning important for cultural appreciation?
Language skills enable you to connect with people from diverse backgrounds and appreciate different cultures.
