Learning a foreign language is more than just a boost to your CV or handy for travelling. It will make you smarter, more decisive and even better at English, said Anne Merritt, a Telegraph journalist, a few years ago*.
She went on, “Physiological studies have found that speaking two or more languages is a great asset to the cognitive process. The brains of bilingual people operate differently from single language speakers, and these differences offer several mental benefits.”
Maybe you remember struggling at school, trying to learn French, German, Spanish or Italian. Or perhaps the dreaded Latin, from which many other languages are derived, so it turns out it was useful after all!
Your school reminiscences aside, there are some real advantages today of being multilingual or at least bilingual, especially with Brexit on the horizon:
- Learning keeps your mind active, curious and agile so it can help decrease your chance of Alzheimer’s or dementia
- You can meet and network, possibly make some new business colleagues or get the message out that you’re looking for a new job
- It’ll impress existing or future employers and may get you a chance for promotion into an area where you need that other language
- You can speak to the locals when travelling abroad – order food, find directions, buy things and get yourself out of trouble!
- You’ll be smarter and know you’ve accomplished something; it’ll boost your confidence
- Once you learn one language, it’s so much easier to learn another
- If you’re thinking of buying a home abroad, or have to work in another country, being able to speak the native language will help you with property deals, negotiating, or settling better into a new business environment
- There are so many Spanish-speaking countries in the world, such as Cuba, Mexico, Argentina, Peru and Chile, so Spanish is really useful
- French is spoken in many other countries including Luxembourg, Belgium, Seychelles, Senegal, Switzerland and Canada, to name but a few
- And if you happen to fall in love, those few words always sound so much more romantic than English!
You can learn 1-2-1, in a group or via Skype with The Language Guru. Book online now.
*http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationopinion/10126883/Why-learn-a-foreign-language-Benefits-of-bilingualism.html