The Many Advantages of Learning a Foreign Language

If you have ever tried to learn a foreign language, you may have realized that the older you are, the harder it becomes to truly master a language that is not your native tongue. Scientifically, it is a proven fact that successfully learning a new language as we get older is much harder due to neural commitment. When the brain is first exposed to a specific language, the learning process occurs due to the natural strengthening and weakening of neuron connections.

After learning a language or two, the connections between the neurons tend to be much more hard-wired, which makes them a lot harder to change. This means that when an adult attempts to learn a new language, the brain is competing to use the same neural pathways, but they have already been wired and are difficult to re-wire completely.

The Benefits are Well Worth It

Though learning a new language can be harder, dependent on your age, the fact is that learning a foreign language is extremely beneficial. By the end of it, all of the time and effort that is put forth is well worth the benefits of having learned a new language. No matter if you’re looking to find out how to learn Spanish, French, German, Chinese, or some other language, any foreign language is well-worth learning.

Below are five advantages to learning a foreign language:

1. Easier Communication – If you ever have to, or decide, to travel to a foreign country, wouldn’t it be nice to be able to openly talk and converse with the locals? By learning a foreign language, you are able to develop new communication skills that allow you to converse with an entirely new group of people. Even if you never leave the country, the popularity of foreign tongues spoken in the U.S. continues to grow, so knowing languages such as Spanish and Chinese can be extremely helpful right here at home!
2. More Job Opportunities – When you are able to boast that you know a foreign language on your resume, employers will automatically be drawn to learn more about you. Nowadays employers are looking for well-rounded applicants, which sometimes includes the ability to speak a language aside from English. At the same time learning a foreign language can also allow you to work in a foreign country as well as become employed in a travel position.
3. Cultural and Personal Enrichment – Learning a foreign language allows you to understand and learn more about cultures and lifestyles outside of your own.  With the influx of Spanish and Chinese cultures in the U.S., there isn’t a better time than now to learn the languages of these cultures so that you can better understand and even appreciate them. Personally learning a foreign language also provides a new sense of identity and possibly even new values.

While you won’t master a foreign language in just a few hours or days, within weeks you’ll find that slowly, but surely, you are able to remember foreign words, speak in sentences, and possibly hold small conversations in a new language. Learning a foreign language opens plenty of doors that are beneficial for a lifetime.