6 Reasons Why You Should Learn Another Language Now

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Have you ever wanted to learn another language? What held you back? Maybe English isn’t your strong suit, so you can’t see yourself doing well with a second language.

Perhaps you started but got stuck on some advanced grammar and quit. Research shows many of us who were not taught a second language starting in elementary school struggle with becoming bilingual later in our adult lives.

How to Learn Another Language More Effectively

A never-ending supply of tools is available to begin learning a foreign language. Tools like Rosetta Stone make this easy. And it’s best not to overwhelm yourself with language exchange and language study.

Take your time, 30 minutes a day, to practice. Try to practice briefly if you decide to do more than 30 minutes daily. It always helps to step away and return to your target language learning.

Location Matters for Language Learners

Those living in Los Angeles should have no difficulty finding people who speak whatever language they want to learn. For some people around the United States and worldwide, selecting a language corresponding to local and surrounding populations may be preferential. Knowing new words can be done through Android apps and TV shows. However, attending language school when young can boost learning vocabulary of different languages.

It is common for Europeans to grow up speaking numerous languages throughout their lives. In other, more independent nations, specific languages may be more commonly spoken in the local area, and there are many benefits to learning these first. Learning these languages locally allows students to learn the language more effectively by enabling them to interact with native speakers.

This is perhaps most prevalent along the southern border region of the United States, where Spanish is as expected or even more common than the English language. For English speakers, it may be challenging to sit at home and practice, but at the same time, it may be frustrating to delve too deeply into a culture that they do not yet fully understand.

If you are not in a location that influences other cultures, there are still ways to practice with others! Rosetta Stone offers group coaching online so you can practice learning a new language worldwide with members.

Consider Which Language To Learn

To learn Spanish more effectively, care should be taken to mix with native speakers and hang with the locals who are more accustomed to the mix of languages in the local area. No matter what language is more prevalent in the local area, wherever the student may be, learning a new language more effectively can open up doors to a new world! Read this for a more definitive explanation of how to learn Spanish more effectively.

Even though I took French in high school, I lost much of it over time. I wish I had stuck with it because I now live in a French/English bilingual city, and many jobs require you to know both languages! However, there is no time like the present to start language lessons.

Let’s get started!

There are so many benefits to speaking multiple tongues. From keeping your mind sharp to putting you ahead of the pack in job competitions, you will never regret learning a new language once you get started. On this list, you might even discover unknown reasons to study a foreign language you never thought of before! Read on for my top six reasons to learn another language now!

1. Strengthen Your Cognitive Skills

It seems impossible that simply speaking more than one language can make you smarter. But it’s true! When you know multiple languages, your brain is challenged to think in different ways than when you are unilingual.

As a result, it automatically applies those analytical and problem-solving skills to other parts of your life, too. You may even start to think more creatively when you learn another language!

Similarly, being bilingual helps you hone your multitasking skills. Switching between languages at any time teaches your brain to focus on multiple tasks simultaneously. One study from Pennsylvania State University tested people’s multitasking skills while driving.

They were given distracting tasks to complete while in a driving simulator. Those participants who spoke more than one language made fewer driving errors, showing that knowing a second language may improve their ability to focus on multiple things simultaneously.

Do you want to become more observant of your surroundings? Speaking another language has been shown to increase perception.

Multilingual people learn to sift through all the data their brains take in, so they only focus on what’s important. Having to do this with another language naturally lets you become more alert in other environments, too. (The Telegraph)

2. Become Better At English

Now, This one might sound counterintuitive, but hear me out.

When you learn another language, you become hyper-aware of your native language. So, if you already speak English, you will think more about English grammar, sentence structure, and vocabulary because you are learning about all those things in another language. While you are not directly studying English, you will note more minor details of how the language works that you may not have considered before.

As a result, your communication skills in English are sure to improve. You may become a better writer and editor because you think more about words’ meanings and language structures. Your listening skills might improve, too! Studying a second language makes you better at distinguishing meaning, so don’t be surprised if you are suddenly really good at “reading between the lines” when talking to others.

3. Improve Your Memory

Want to improve your memory? Learn another language. Just like any other muscle in the body, your brain needs frequent exercise to stay sharp. That’s why people who take part in brain-intensive hobbies after they retire are at a lower risk of losing their mental capacities.

While doing puzzles or playing an instrument are other good options for keeping your mind “in shape,” knowing more than one language will also build stronger mental muscles.

When your brain switches between two different vocabularies and sets of grammar rules, it is working harder to communicate daily. This daily mental exercise makes bilingual people better at remembering other things, including grocery lists, people’s names, and where they parked their cars.

Though it’s far down the road, speaking more than one language may let you enjoy your twilight years for longer. Many studies have shown that people who speak two or more languages show signs of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease years later than unilingual people. Whenever you don’t feel like doing that language lesson, consider that it may help you spend a longer, happier life with your family in real life! (The Telegraph)

4. Have An Edge In The Job Market

Let’s be honest. Nowadays, it is HARD to set yourself apart from the crowd.

Whether you are applying for college or a job, it seems that education and experience don’t have the same value as they once did. Everyone has degrees and does their time at internships, so you need some unique skills behind your name to help you stand out.

That’s probably why you should learn another language right now.

Even if the program or job you are applying for doesn’t require knowledge of a second language, it will make you look super bright! For one thing, employers will connect your bilingualism to all of those fantastic cognitive skills I outlined earlier in this post. Problem-solving, perceptive, multitasking, and analyzing look amazing on any application!

Additionally, the world we live in today is globally connected. Speaking a second (or third or fourth) language is powerful. It will allow an organization to work with a new group of clients who also talk about that language. For this reason, knowledge of another language is a huge resume booster.

Speaking a second language can also open so many more doors for your career or education than if you are unilingual. If you speak fluent German, why not apply for that fantastic job in Berlin? Know Spanish?

Take a leap of faith and apply to a university in Madrid. Even jobs based in the US need people to travel to foreign offices for meetings or short-term postings, and being bilingual makes you the perfect candidate for these.

5. Increase Your Respect For Other Cultures

If you genuinely want to understand another culture, learn its language. It’s not uncommon to act culturally biased without even realizing it. We grow up doing things a certain way, so we naturally consider other life forms “weird.” However, if you learn another language, you might find yourself with a lot more respect for the culture that speaks it.

The way that societies structure their languages and vocabulary is like a window into their values. You will realize that your culture is not better or worse than another in any way, merely different, leading to more positive views of the other culture. Who knows, you may even start to think differently about values and practices that have always been a part of your life!

Once you understand more about another culture, you will likely become more tolerant and welcoming. Seeing that people who speak other languages are not some “other” helps you embrace cultural diversity and become less fearful of those different from you. This attitude can help you make new friends, forge better business connections, and be kinder.

When you learn another language, a new world of art, film, and music opens up. While you were once stuck with reading subtitles, you can now enjoy foreign films with a new understanding. You can read books in their original language instead of translations to better understand the author’s meaning. (Auburn University)

6. Feel Amazing!

The most important reason you should learn another language is that it will make you feel great about yourself!

Successfully tackling any new skill or experience as an adult can provide you with a massive sense of accomplishment. Becoming bilingual brings an exciting new element to your life and gives you something to discuss when people ask, “What’s been up with you?

Doing new things can boost your confidence.

As young adults, we often get stuck in a routine of working, coming home, and sleeping. We barely have time for social lives, let alone life enrichment! So when you carve out time to do something you’ve never tried before (like studying a foreign language), you’ll feel more confident and adventurous.

This is the perfect way to stay motivated about your personal growth. You will also realize your self-worth when you feel down about your skills.

BONUS REASON: Enrich Your Travel Experience to Learn Another Language

Many Millennials love to travel.

When you speak more than one language, world travel becomes much easier and more enjoyable. Speaking at least some of the language of wherever you are visiting can put you at ease.

Instead of constantly typing words into your translator or studying a phrasebook, you can focus on your surroundings. Traveling will feel less stressful, and you can see places differently.

Here Are Even More Reasons You Should Learn Another Language!

Still not sure if you should learn another language? While the six reasons above are pretty darn good (I might be biased), the video below discusses seven reasons you should be bilingual. The narrator speaks nine languages fluently, so this video is the final boost you may need!

Ready To Get Started?

When you’re an adult, learning any new skill can be difficult. As we age, our brains are so overtaken by all the information we have there that it is harder to learn new things.

Being set in our ways of thinking and doing things doesn’t make it easy, either! Becoming bilingual is so worth the challenge, though. You will gain a helpful new skill and boost your confidence because you accomplished something difficult!

If you aren’t sure where to start learning a second language, try Rosetta Stone. Unlike other language-learning programs that provide boring worksheets full of vocabulary words, this company strives to help you learn a new language in a real-life context. Conversations don’t come with tidy scripts!

They have a ton of languages you can choose from to improve your vocabulary and grammar. Here is a list of languages you can learn:

• Arabic
• Dutch
• Filipino
• German
• Greek
• Hebrew
• Hindi
• Irish
• Italian
• Japanese
• Korean
• Mandarin Chinese
• Persian
• Polish
• Portuguese
• Russian
• Spanish
• French
• Sweedish
• Turkish
• Vietnamese

Pronunciation is just as important as reading and writing the words. You will also learn to perfect your accent with their TruAccent® feature, which gives you a score on your pronunciation of specific phrases’ accuracy. Pretty cool, right?

They also have another cool feature called Seek & Speak®. This lets you partake in a fun scavenger hunt-like activity for everyday items; I like fruits and veggies. It tasks you with seeking out a list of things, and once you take an image of one of the items, it will translate it for you.

Individuals and corporations have used the Rosetta Stone for over 25 years, so you know that their methods work. With so many languages included in Rosetta Stone, you will find one (or more!) you’re interested in.

It gets better.

Unlike the olden days when you were tied to a desktop computer and your CD-ROMs, you can now take Rosetta Stone everywhere! Open the app on your mobile device and start learning! You can even download lessons in a no WiFi zone (like the subway).

It’s easy to fit your daily language lessons in during your free time at the gym, on your commute, or before bed.

An annual subscription to Rosetta Stone is only $9.99 a month and gives you access to all the languages. They also have a Lifetime Subscription, and to join, you only need to pay a one-time fee of $179! Or, if you want to try it out before committing, their 3-month subscription costs $11.99 per month.

Get a Rosetta Stone language software subscription for you or a friend here!

If you have ever wanted to learn another language, do it now! Make travel more enjoyable, relieve memory loss, connect with new people, or boost your confidence. I promise you won’t regret it.

Grab your Rosetta Stone subscription and get started on those language courses today. It will change your life!

Do you know more than one language? Why do you think people should learn another language? We’d love to hear your opinions in the comments below!