Benefits of Learning A New Language

Learning a new language can either be a great pleasure or a real burden. For the people who are not into the idea of learning a new language, you may have taken a language class in school and struggled. Or maybe you grew up in a one language household and never had a desire, or saw the benefits, of learning another language. However, I can assure you that the benefits of learning a new language are real and will help you become a better version of yourself.

Enhance your skills

Adding a new language to your skills and resume could be quite an advantage. Speaking more than one language can be magical for your resume and can boost your professional career. This might be the little something you have to offer no other candidates do, which will work in your favor. Bilingual candidates also earn 5% – 20% more money per hour on average, for the same job. You don’t have to be perfectly fluent to indicate it on your CV either. Being A1 (Check this article if you are unfamiliar with the language proficiency levels) is sufficient so that you can add this skill to your resume. The only rule is to specify your level next to the language.

Build up your self-confidence

Speaking several languages will help you gain self-confidence. There are a few different reasons for this. First of all, others may not know that you have this ability. Once you share this hidden talent, they will be impressed that you can speak foreign languages. Secondly, it will give you stories to tell that can allow you to thrive in social situations and appear more interesting in groups such as:

• why did you start to learn a new language
• the difficulties you faced
• can you say this or that word in this language

Lastly, because most people love the sound of foreign languages, no matter what language it is! You will for sure have something that the others won’t. Having a conversation with somebody you could not have spoken with before learning this foreign language will undoubtedly boost your self-confidence.

Shape the way you think

The way we think is directly influenced by our language and the words we use. We all have different experiences in how we view the world based on the language, or languages, we speak. One way this occurs is that we do not pay attention to the same details. For example, did you know that there are around 50 words in Inuit to express the word “snow”? So, when we think about snow, we obviously can’t think about it the same way Inuits would. The language we use makes us omit a few (or I’d rather say a lot of!) criteria. This is actually true for most words. Another example is the many words we use in English that there is no direct translation for in Spanish.

A translation is only an approximate attempt to describe more or less the same notion in the target language. And the “more or less” might make all the difference! Some words simply do not have any equivalent in the target language. For example, there are many words in French that cannot be translated into another language. As explained by Lera Boroditsky in this article, our language shapes our thoughts, and knowing two or more languages can make us realize that our way of thinking can be different from one language to another.

Better understanding of your mother tongue

Understanding your own mother tongue paradoxically is a real benefit when learning a new language. Comparing your mother tongue with the target language will help you understand grammar, conjugation, syntax, or vocabulary. As a matter of fact, when we speak our mother tongue, we don’t even think about the way sentences are built or how it works anymore. Learning a new language will clearly question your knowledge of your mother tongue. The never-ending question will probably be:

In which language is this more logical?

Discover new cultures

Speaking a second language means getting to know a whole culture, history, and people. Not only because it will bring you close to people when traveling (people always feel closer to others who can speak the same language), but also because you will get to go through culture without the “subtitles.” Reading a book in its original language or listening to foreign songs are activities that you will be able to do once you have a better understanding of the language. Traveling, once the pandemic is over, is also one of the biggest benefits of learning a new language! How nice would it be to be able to ask for directions in Spanish or order food in French?

Train your memory

Learning something by heart is a training we used to do as kids at school, regardless of what language your teachers spoke to you in. However, now that we are adults, do we ever learn something by heart?! Unfortunately for our brain, rarely, if ever. Stimulating your brain thanks to a new language will definitely help you in your daily life. “Where are my glasses?”, or “I forgot what I was just thinking about!” will be sentences you will never utter again!

Staying focused, boosting your confidence, and discovering other cultures are among some of the many great benefits learning a new language will provide you. So don’t hesitate anymore and take that course you have been longing to take!

Guest-written by Sabrina Fennouh, author of the blog Frenchness.fr