We look in awe at people who do and accomplish things we desire.
It’s fascinating to see someone speak one language with you and speak another
with someone else.
Why stay in awe when you can also be that person? You can
also pick up a second language. It’s never too late to start.
Learning a language isn’t as hard as many think. It’s all
about practice, repetition, and enjoying the process.
If the chance to speak another beautiful language isn’t
enough, there are benefits of being bilingual too. You can find out about them
in the next five minutes.
As a bilingual, you will subconsciously use these benefits
in your everyday life seamlessly.
Benefits of Being Bilingual
Being bilingual has its fair share of perks that will
benefit you no matter how old or young you are. Did you know over 40% of people
in the world are bilingual? The same amount of people are estimated to be
monolingual, or speak one language.
Is that you? Maybe not after today. There is plenty of
research being done on the benefits of learning a new language. You may find
these benefits to be more than enough to pick up a book or talk to someone and
get started.
It Increases You Job Marketability
Adding more than one language to your resume will help boost
your marketability to potential employers. Many businesses serve customers who
don’t speak English and require assistance. Business owners know this and offer
additional resources for multilingual consumers.
If you can speak French, Spanish, or Chinese, you may find
yourself deciding between more jobs than you can handle.
You Get Paid More to Do the Same Thing
Once you have the job, you can expect to have a little more
change in your pockets. It’s a kind reward that shows how much of an asset your
second language is.
You can expect a 5-20% increase in your salary. This will
depend on where you live and what company you work for.
It Broadens Your Perspective and Changes You
Being able to speak another language helps you understand
the cultural background of a group better. This understanding comes when you
see things differently. It may feel as if you’ve become a new person.
Maybe you’re more patient or choose to be more vocal towards
situations you would have once left alone. This new perspective can help you
with a new group of friends, family, or in the workplace.
Here’s an interesting finding: some people “frame-shift”
their perspective in another language. They will be more assertive or loving
when they speak one language over another. Have you ever noticed this? It’s not
so much as a personality change as it is adaptation.
Enhanced Personal Skills
Bilinguals hold more information in their brain. They must
constantly choose what words they want to use when switching languages.
Eventually, this becomes second nature.
Being bilingual improves personal skills such as
multitasking, decision-making, and problem-solving. Bilinguals are able to
process information more easily and efficiently than monolinguals.
You’re Able to Learn Additional Languages Quicker
Being bilingual makes you better apt to learn a third or
fourth language. Learning a second language allows you to gain better aptitude
and understanding more languages. This is all thanks to experience.
Allows Kids to Have an Academic Advantage
One advantage kids have over adults is that they can pick up
a new language faster.
Speaking another language stimulates their overall learning
potential. A bilingual child outperforms other kids their age in academics.
Especially in problem-solving and creativity.
On average, college students score higher on SAT and ACT
college entrance exams.
Even with these obvious advantages, America’s education
system falls short. Only 20% of kids learn a foreign language in school.
Even the busiest parent can fill this educational gap thanks
to online tools. You can, for example, teach your child Spanish at home. French
and German are also popular languages to teach children. Maybe you missed out
on the chance to learn a language in your youth, but you can do it with your kids.
Increases Social and Cultural Nuances
Knowing a second language allows you to interact with a
particular culture better. You will understand the nuances and the meaning
behind certain words.
This is usually hard to explain to other people who don’t
speak another person’s language. This is something translators can never
accomplish. You’ll finally be able to laugh at a line you previously didn’t get
in a conversation, song, or movie.
Makes Travel and Assimilation Easier
If you decide to travel to another country, knowing the
language of that country helps. There is less of a language barrier because you
can speak the country’s tongue, even if its a little bit. Speaking with locals
won’t seem scary, and you can do more independently. Being bilingual will be
less costly too as you won’t need a guide.
This is especially helpful for people who decide to live in
another country. It makes the process of assimilation easier.
It’s Anti-Aging For the Brain
Your brain loves learning. Think of it as food for the
brain. Being bilingual means you can maintain cognitive memory and function as
you get older. The first thing most people notice as they get older is memory
fog and decreased cognitive flexibility.
The anti-angling effect and has been found to help slow the
onset of neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s or dementia.
You don’t have to wait to get old. Your memory game will
change. You may finally be able to start to remember peoples’ names.
It’s Attractive
There’s a strong correlation between being bilingual and how
it boosts confidence. You can do more which is exciting in itself. That same
confidence also happens in the dating world. Even your date is bound to find
the fact you speak a second language more attractive.
There’s Power in Language
You can even out the playing field better when you learn a
second language. Being able to do and understand something you previously
couldn’t is invigorating. It makes you feel powerful.
There are also lesser “cool” reasons we really want to learn
a language.
For one, you’ll have fewer people able to talk behind your
back.
Maybe you want to learn how to insult someone in another
language just because. Isn’t that everybody?
Or maybe you just want to ask for directions when you’re
lost and be able to find the restroom in a foreign country. That’s victory at
its finest.
The world’s your oyster. What are you waiting for? If you
don’t understand the benefits of being bilingual by now, you never will!
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