With the world growing more and more competitive, knowing a few foreign languages has its bonuses. At some workplaces it is a must. Knowing a foreign language, whether it is for social, professional or personal reasons will have its benefits. Here are a few:
Professional reasons – most people would learn a foreign language because their employer insists on it. Some professions entail knowing at least one or two languages. This depends on the type of job obviously. International languages such as English, Spanish, French and German are requirements especially in development or hospitality related jobs while Russian, Japanese and Chinese are useful if you are in the business trade.
Social – knowing one or two foreign languages will definitely give you that ‘one-up’ in society. Knowing a foreign language can also have its benefits when you meet a foreigner who cannot speak the language you do. Not only will you be able to impress them, if this happens at a business meeting, you might even be able to make a successful partnership as well.
Family – foreign languages come in handy when your family consists of people from diverse backgrounds and nationalities. In most cases, everyone just communicates with the most commonly known language in the family. But if you do know one of their languages, then communication is certainly on better grounds.
A healthy mind – scientific research indicates that learning a new language stimulates brain cells, making your level of understanding and learning other new subjects even better. This could be true, as you need to learn a few thousand new words when learning a new language. You would need to understand the linguistic concepts, grammar, sentence structure, etc.