“I’d love to
speak another language, but…”
Over the years,
I’ve heard more reasons not to learn a language than I ever would have
imagined. I even used to make excuses for myself, before I learned my first new
language, Spanish.
I’ve yet to hear
(or come up with) a single good reason for not learning a language.
That’s right.
Nada.
What about good
reasons to start learning a new language? I know hundreds, and hear new ones
every day! Every language learner I’ve met so far has their own personal reason
for wanting to speak another language.
Why learn
another language?
Here are a few
of the best I’ve come across. Speaking a second language will…
1.
Open Up a World of Job Opportunities
Learning a second
language opens up a ton of career opportunities. I’m not just talking about
freelancing or working location-independently either, though these are
excellent ideas which I’ve personally used. There are lots of other
ways that speaking two or more languages can improve your employment prospects.
The world is
changing fast. More companies than ever are doing business in several – often
dozens of – countries around the world, but they can’t do it without hiring
globally-minded people who can speak at least one foreign language. Ever wanted
to be like those people you see in the airport travelling to foreign countries
“on business” all the time? That can be you.
Even in small,
local companies, chances are that the ability to speak a second language will
set you apart from other applicants.
2. Give Your Brain a Boost
Speaking a second
language each day really can keep the doctor away! Study after studyhas demonstrated the
cognitive benefits of learning another language, no matter how old you are.
Memory improvement, longer attention span, and a reduced risk of age-related
cognitive decline, are just a few of the known positive effects of speaking two
or more languages.
3. Establish Deep Connections and Cross-Cultural
Friendships
I’d bet that at
least once in your life, you’ve felt a pang of regret during an encounter with
someone from a different culture, when you realised how the experience could be
enriched by knowing that person’s language.
Has this ever
happened to you? You visit a food stall at a local market while on holiday (or
even in your own city), where the employees are chatting away together in their
native language. You order something, in English, interrupting their fun
conversation.
Another local
comes by while you’re waiting, orders some food in the local language, and
starts talking cheerfully with the cook about…something. A minute later, the
cook stops talking and hands you your plate with a simple “Thank you, bye!”
You just missed
out on an authentic cultural experience because you couldn’t join in.
Or what about
this? You have a friend from another country who you enjoy hanging out with,
but you only speak to each other in English. You feel a connection with that
person, and think they’re a great friend. And then they mention one day about
this other group of friends, who speak their native language, that they meet up
with all the time. But you’ve never been invited, because you wouldn’t
understand what anyone is saying.
Ok, so you can’t
learn every language in the world and have an intimate knowledge of every
single culture out there. But if there’s even one culture that
you’d like to understand better, or even one person in your
life you’d like to know better, then one of the best ways you can start is by
learning to speak their language.
4. Get an Outsider’s Perspective about Your Own
Culture
Trying to
understand your own culture exclusively from within it is like trying to
understand what a bus is like if you’ve only ever ridden inside it. You can’t
see the bus’s wheels, the exterior colour, or the engine that drives it.
Want the bigger
picture? You need to get off that bus and examine it from the outside.
I strongly
believe that language and culture are intimately linked. Learn another language
and you’ll have insight into another culture. You’ll get to “ride on a
different bus” and not only see what it’s like inside and even get comfy in there, but get a clear view of
your own for the first time.
Too many people
go their entire lives never questioning the universal “truths” they take for
granted in their own culture. But step outside this narrow scope, and it’s like
stepping out of the Matrix; once your eyes are truly opened to that new
perspective, you can never go back.
5. Become More Interesting and Meet More
Interesting People
If your first
language is English, the second most common language in the world, and yet you’ve made the
effort to learn another language rather than expecting the world to accommodate
your monolingualism, then you’re a rare breed indeed. This makes you
interesting. People will approach you. They’ll want to talk to you. They’ll
want to know what motivated you to “bother” learning another language.
Believe me, if
you’re a native English speaker who speaks two or more languages, you’ll have
many more lively, engaging conversations about a variety of topics than you
ever would have had otherwise.
Sure, you could
spend your life getting by in English everywhere you go, but
that’s boring. Be fun! Be interesting! Be multilingual!
6. Stay Smart in Touristed Areas
There’s always a
danger of obvious tourists being targets, or getting hassled by touts, which
can ruin your experience of a place where people are actually warm and genuine.
The “obvious tourist” tends to be whoever is speaking English, or some other
distant tongue.
But everything
changes when you use the local language.
I had heard
countless stories of how a visit to the Pyramids of Giza is nothing but a
frustrating chain of shooing away one tout after another, but by
dressing/acting like a local and replying in (my albeit broken) Arabic the
entire time, I actually didn’t feel hassled by a single person all the way
there. It was actually an experience
I’ll never forget!
In over a dozen
years travelling the world, I’ve managed to stay sane and stay safe by attempting to
blend in as best as I can, as well as responding confidently enough in the
local language that potential scammers will believe you’ve been there a while,
and they’ll think twice before trying to pull a fast one on you.
7. Become a Better Learner
Every time I
learn a new language, I find it easier than the one before. The reasoning is
simple: with every new language I study, I figure out ways to learn more
efficiently. In other words, I develop language hacks.
Because of my
extensive experience with this sort of trial and error, I’ve already identified
many common hindrances that I can help you avoid right from the get-go, as well
as language hacks that can help you learn faster.
As you spend time
learning your first foreign language, you’ll identify your own inefficiencies
and eliminate them. You’ll start gaining momentum in your chosen language and
learn more and more quickly. Then you’ll be able to hit the ground running with
the next language. You’ll be on your way to polyglotism before you know it.
8. Conquer Your Fear of “Looking Stupid”
If a foreigner
walked up to you to ask for help with something like directions, and they struggled
to find the right English words, and made many mistakes but were obviously
trying hard, would you feel like laughing at their effort? I doubt it. You’d
more likely be impressed with their courage to walk up to a stranger and speak
a language imperfectly. That’s a person who has conquered their fear of making
mistakes in front of others, and has managed to communicate with you and gotten
help with what they need.
Can’t imagine
having that sort of courage yourself? Well, if you decide to learn a language,
and you start by speaking from day 1, then you’ll get over your
fear very quickly. Not only will you be able to communicate effectively (note
that I didn’t say “perfectly”) in a new language, but your confidence
will get a huge boost, and you’ll never be held back from trying any new
skill. Ever wanted to try dancing? Creative writing? Public speaking? How great
would it be to shed your inhibitions and just go for it!
9. Bring Out Your Inner Mr Spock
This may sound
surprising, but studies have shown that when you make a decision in your second language, you’re more
likely to think logically and avoid basing your decision on emotion. In other
words, you’ll become more like Star Trek’s Mr Spock.
There’s no way
around it. Humans are emotional creatures. Everyone is guilty of making
decisions too hastily and too emotionally. But if you learn to speak another
language, you’ll learn to think in that language. And when you
think about your decisions in a foreign language, that emotional bias tends to
go away and you end up choosing the more logical outcome.
10. Enjoy Works of Art in their Original Language
Bollywood films,
manga, telenovelas, Swah rap – the world is full of non-English works of
creative art. Don’t you wish you could appreciate some of them in their
original language rather than relying on badly-translated subtitles or English
dubs, which lose much of the charm that made the original product popular to
begin with?
If you’re a fan
of any type of foreign media – or you’d like to be, but aren’t
interested in experiencing it in English because of all nuances lost in
translation – then this is an excellent reason to start learning that new
language. You’ll already have a very clear goal in mind, so you’ll know what
type of vocabulary will be most useful to learn, and you can use those
materials as a study aid as you progress in your new language.
11. No More Paying the Sticker Price
Tired of
overpaying for gifts and souvenirs at markets when you go on holiday? It’s
common knowledge that at many of these places, there are two prices: one for
locals and one for tourists.
Even if you bring
your best haggling game to the table, if you
try to haggle exclusively in English instead of the local language, you might
not get very close to that coveted “local price”. But if you make the effort to
learn the local language, then you’ll start the game off with a better hand,
and end up saving quite a bit more money than you would have otherwise. And the
best part is that you’ll also be participating in an authentic cultural
experience in the country you’re visiting.
12. Discover You Can Do It!
As I mentioned
earlier, I’ve heard pretty much every excuse that people give for failing to
learn a second language. Too old, not enough time, wrong genes. None of them
hold water.
Whatever doubts
you have, you really can learn another language. You could even hold your first
conversation just seven days from now.
So What are You Waiting For?
Everyone has
their own unique reasons for wanting to learn another language. But while the
reasons may be different, they can all be put into action in the same way: by
committing to stop making excuses, and to start speaking
the language you’ve always wanted to learn.
Once you’ve held
your very first conversation in a foreign language, trust me: you’ll never look
back.
PORTAL DA
LÍNGUA INGLESA has no responsibility for the
persistence or accuracy of URLs for external or third-partly internet websites
referred to in this post, and does not guarantee that any context on such
websites are, or will remain, accurate or appropriate.
In some
instances, I have been unable to trace the owners of the pictures used here;
therefore, I would appreciate any information that would enable me to do so.
Thank you very much.
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