Have you been hesitating over the idea of plunging in to a new language? Allow us to feed you ten quick reasons to hesitate no longer!

Ten Reasons To Finally Learn A Foreign Language

• 1. Expand your view of the world
  There is a lot to learn from the world, despite what Fox news tells you. Language gives you a prime opportunity to explore new cultures, traditions, and step outside your English-speaking box.
• 2. Travel Like A Native
  While it is definitely acceptable to travel to countries where you can’t speak the language, it limits your experiences dramatically. Limiting yourself to American tours or faintly English tourist areas means you miss out on the real culture, people, and opportunities of foreign adventure.
• 3. Teaches you how to learn
  You just can’t bullshit a language. Believe me, my 12-year-old self trying to “il sauages” her way to an A learned this hard and fast. Structure is essential and it becomes ingrained like learning your times tables was.
• 4. Gain cultural awareness and literacy
  Can you imagine being able to read the original texts of beautiful literature? To be aware of all the intricate details that another country’s traditions can develop you as an individual? Language builds character – and it is a very rare reward.
• 5. Build practical skills
  For travel, commerce or as a tool for other disciplines – language makes you a genius (no promises).
• 6. Understand Your Native Tongue
  One thing a lot of people forget is that learning a foreign language will improve the knowledge of your own language through comparison and contrast. It’s a two for one!
• 7. Expand opportunities for meaningful leisure activity
  I know an abundance of people who hate subtitles. Learning the language is pretty much the best way to get around that. In addition, you won’t get horrific book translations but actually understand what the writer intended to be understood. Vocabularies can vary in extraordinary amounts – and learning the mother tongue is the only true way to avoid confusion.
• 8. Relocation, relocation
  Bored of middle America? Move to France, Germany, Spain, Canada (though I’m not sure you’d want to). One of the biggest rewards of your efforts would be to become a ‘real’ member of a foreign society and adapt with learned ease.
• 9. Enable the transfer of training
  Speaking from experience, after mastering one foreign language, learning a second foreign language actually becomes very easy.
• 10. Get Money
  Headhunters love the bilingual. With all the best companies, you can almost guarantee that they will have a foreign office somewhere that YOUR skills could be put to good use. I have frequently seen opportunities go to less experienced but bilingual candidates, simply for the fact that experience can be developed, but businesses will rarely bank on trying to put someone in a language course for a position.