Is Learning a Second Language Necessary?

Being proficient in another language is a vital skill, both in the business world and in daily life. As the world becomes ever-more connected, being able to communicate with people in other cultures is becoming a vital skill. Learning languages unlocks your career potential, strengthens your cognitive abilities, and gives you a different perspective on other cultures.

If you have ever wondered “is learning a second language necessary?” Here are six ways going beyond your native tongue to learn new languages can improve your cognitive skills and job opportunities:

Why Learning a Second Language is Beneficial 

Learning a language is not only a great way to improve your communication skills, but it can also open up new opportunities professionally and personally. Being bilingual or multilingual can give you a competitive edge in the job market, as many employers are looking for candidates who have language skills. 

Being able to communicate in another language can be incredibly helpful if you travel frequently. It can also simply be a fun and rewarding way to challenge yourself and learn about other cultures. No matter what your reasons for learning a language, there are many benefits to doing so.

Speaking Two or More Languages Creates More Opportunities

Learning foreign languages shows that you embrace diversity and may be a better job candidate for employers seeking more diverse candidates or wishing to break into foreign markets. Just about every business sector in Canada and the U.S. has a high demand for people who know two or three languages – in 2010, the number of job postings that listed proficiency in other languages as a desirable or mandatory skill was nearly a quarter of a million; in five years, that number doubled.

Change Your Cognitive Abilities

Your brain grows and reshapes itself over the course of your life, and you are never too old to learn something new. Learning multiple languages changes the neural pathways in your brain, improving your cognitive abilities and capacity to make connections between disparate concepts. 

Learning a foreign language allows us to grow and change, keeping our brains working in novel new ways and producing other benefits like:

• Better able to learn new things
• Strengthen existing cognitive skills
• Improved memory
• More accurate recall

You could even see stress reduction in learning a second language.

Improve Your Ability To Multitask

Bilingual people may have better executive function for non-linguistic cognitive control in their brains, such as having better reaction time during a multitasking experiment. Foreign language skills could increase your ability to perform two tasks simultaneously, helping you in your job and everyday life.

Enhance Your Worldview

Learning a new language allows you to immerse yourself in a new culture. Learning a local language can change your worldview, travel to new places, or meet new people. Different languages reflect different cultures, and learning about others can make you more compassionate, more tolerant, and better able to get along with others who are different.

Gain a Better Understanding of Your Native Language

When you learn a second language, it forces you to understand your own language better. Determining how to speak in a different language in past, present, and future tense can help you better express yourself in the first language you learned. You may find that your oral and written communication skills are better,r which can help you in the business world.

Speaking more than one language isn’t just about comfortably expressing yourself using different words. It’s also about the ways learning a second language can help you deepen your connection with your own as you strive to express yourself with more precision.

Improve Your Nonverbal Communication

Non-verbal language is also called “reading the room,” a valuable skill that picks up on what people communicate without saying. Nonverbal communication can be bodily language, facial expressions, and gestures.

If you cannot fluently speak another language, you learn to pick up on other cues to express yourself and understand others. Over time, as you learn these second or third languages, you start to study others who speak the language and learn more about how people communicate without words. This helps you in both personal and professional settings because you can pick up on cues from other people that could help you better know what to say – or what to avoid talking about!

Unlock Your Potential With LDRG

LDRG helps people learn English as a Second Language (ESL) and French as a Second Language (FSL) through online training that focuses on individual needs and challenges.

We also offer preparation for the Public Service Commission’s Second Language Evaluation (SLE). If you are ready to open up a whole new world, book a call today!.