Going through the process of learning a foreign language can be occasionally annoying at best and extremely difficult at worst. I would know. I’ve been taking spanish for seven years now and I’m still so far from fluent it’s sad, but I carry on because I think that it’s worth it. Why? Let’s see…
Job Market Boost:
A lot of times, what we take in college is directly influenced by what will help us get hired once we graduate. The fact is, the job market is a terrifying place and any tool you can use to get a leg up on the rest of the competition is an immense help. One thing that can always help is showing at least basic competency in a different language. According to this U.S. News article, you can expect a 10 to 15 percent pay increase for knowing a second language.
Communication with the Population:
According to this article from the Center for Immigration, the number of people that speak a language other than english is at an all time high. In fact, one of five homes reportedly speak a different language. As much as some people might want America to be an english-only country, the fact is that it’s not. It never really was, and it’s certainly never going to be. Learning a second language won’t just help you communicate in the workforce, it might help you communicate with your neighbors.
Expand Your Horizons:
Maybe one day you’re hoping you’ll visit Spain, Costa Rica, Japan, France, Germany or some place where the dominant language isn’t english. Sure, you could manage with a translator app, a lot of miming and constantly hoping to find someone who speaks your language, or you could dive into the culture head first linguistically. Besides, even if you only know a little bit of a different language and you spend time surrounded by it, you’ll be amazed at how fast you learn.
Other Effects:
Fun fact, according to the same U.S. News article from before, neurologist Dr. Judy Willis claims that “compared to monolinguals, the studied bilingual children, who had had five to ten years of bilingual exposure, averaged higher scores in cognitive performance on tests and had greater attention focus, distraction resistance, decision-making, judgment and responsiveness to feedback.” In short? Knowing a language gives you more than just, well, a second language. Studying another language is also said to help you perform better in your native language.
Not only is learning a second language a relatively easy way to understand other people and cultures, it can open a lot of doors for you. Sure, it’s a long road of hard work, but it seems like every single study says that there are only positives to learning a second language. Maybe learning a second language just isn’t in your cards right now, and that’s fine. Just never close yourself off to the idea. Afterall, it’s never too late to learn another language.