In my past two blogs I talked about how the United States does not have a language education policy and the harms of that lack, but why should students learn a second language in the first place? If other countries have english in their language education policies, why should we teach our students another language? If they run into a person who is from another country with one of these policies, they can just communicate with English, right? Although this can sometimes be true, many times it simply is not. Learning a second language has so many more benefits beyond verbal communication and that is why the United States needs to create a policy to support language education. There are ten main benefits to learning a second language, so let us explore those benefits.

The first and obvious benefit is connection. Knowing a second language will be able to connect you to more people. If you travel to a country that speaks that language, you will be able to form stronger connections with locals than you could if you did not know the language. You can even connect to people within your community, if you work a costumer service job or even are just a classmate, you can connect to people who cannot speak English well if you can speak their language.

The second benefit is that it can advance your career. Being bilingual is a hot commodity in the working industry now a days. If you are bilingual the chance of you getting a job are much higher than someone who is not; between 2010 and 2015, the number of United State’s job postings specifically geared toward bilingual candidates more than doubled. Many companies will pay you more if you are fluent in another language and sometimes give you more benefits. If you work for an international company, you may have the opportunity to travel with them more to translate. Many times people think that if you are fluent in another language, the only jobs you could get are as translators or teachers but that is simply not true. Almost every job has a lookout for people who are bilingual.

The third benefit is cognitive benefits. People who can speak another language have improved problem-solving and critical-thinking skills, improved memory and multitasking skills, enhanced concentration, and better listening skills. Bilinguals can switch between competing tasks and monitor changes in their environment more easily than monolinguals. People who are fluent in a second language also show signs of greater creativity and flexibility. In addition, as a person ages, if they know more than one language it will help to stave off mental aging and cognitive decline.

Benefits four, five, and six all go together in a way; deepen your understanding of other cultures, see the world, and go to the source. Knowing a second language also will teach you a little bit about the culture. Being fluent in another language exposes us and creates an appreciation for the arts, history, religions, and traditions of the people who speak that language. A greater understanding of the culture, promotes greater empathy, tolerance, and acceptance of others. There have even been studies that show that children who have studied another language are more open and positive toward the culture associated with the language they studied. If you travel to a country that speaks the language you studied, you are more likely to have a better trip than someone who does not speak the local language. While people who are monolingual are capable of visiting the same places, travelers who know more than one language can be more independent and experience more things. If you know the local language you can read signs, navigate your way through the city, ask locals questions, go to shows, and plus create more connections. Learning  a second language can also give people the opportunity to study or work abroad, getting to travel for free. If you are bilingual you can “go to the source” meaning that you can access information that others may not be able to. In a world of more than 6,000 spoken languages, we sometimes require translation. Someone who is proficient in another language can navigate the internet in two different languages giving them access to different types of media, news outlets, entertainment sites, ect.

If you know two languages, learning another will be easier, and that is are seventh benefit. Learning a second language will not only improve grammar and vocabulary of your first language (English) but will also make it easier to learn a third or fourth language. Research shows that being bilingual makes it easier to pick up additional languages faster, especially in younger children. This is because when you learn a new language, you create new brain networks that are already ready when learning a third language.

The last three benefits all sort of go together; boost confidence, strengthen decision making, gain perspective. When learning another language, you will make mistakes often in front of other people, it is a necessary part of the process. Learning a language means taking risks and putting yourself out there, becoming vulnerable, and moving out of your comfort zone. This will increase your confidence levels. To continue, studies show that decisions made in your second language are more reason-driven than those made in your native language. When we deliberate in our non-primary language, we are more likely to separate emotions and biases, thus strengthening our decision making skills. Lastly, as we explore a new language and culture, we will naturally draw comparisons to what is most familiar. By learning another culture, light will be shed on aspects of your own culture, both positive and negative. You could find greater appreciation for the life and culture you have or you may consider changing some things.

To conclude, learning a second language is extremely important and the United States should create an education policy to encourage the importance. There are ten main benefits the United States can use to back up the policy.

Resource

“10 Benefits of Learning a Second Language.” Lead with Languages, 16 Jan. 2020, www.leadwithlanguages.org/why-learn-languages/top-ten-reasons-to-learn-languages/.