“Learning to speak another’s language means taking one’s place in the human community. It means reaching out to others across cultural and linguistic boundaries. Language is far more than a system to be explained. It is our most important link to the world around us. Language is culture in motion. It is people interacting with people.”
Sandra Savignon Communicative Competence: Theory and Classroom Practice.
Have you ever been on holiday and ordered something completely different to what you expected? Ever been in a business meeting abroad and experienced confusion, stress or boredom due to not being able to speak the language? Perhaps you have been intrigued by a conversation that you couldn’t understand and wished you could have participated in what may have been an interesting debate? Being able to speak a second language may have been beneficial in each of these situations, firstly for practical reasons and secondly for the enjoyment of learning something new.
There are many other
motivations
which lead people to learn a second language; personal development, improving job prospects, dating someone who speaks another language, wanting to watch films, use the internet, moving to another country. The benefits that can be derived from these are easy to see. For example, learning another language can be an interesting hobby where you can meet new people and develop meaningful relationships with people from other countries. When travelling for business or pleasure being able to communicate with someone beyond introductions and basic vocabulary in their language could prove an enjoyable and productive experience. Music, theatre, celebrations and other cultural activities become significantly more interesting and memorable if you can understand the lyrics of a song or the commentary of a ceremony. As many education systems around the world insist on students being proficient in a second language, those who do not have one may be left behind in employers’ desire for a multi-lingual workforce.
These benefits are easy to see, especially when you have the opportunity to use your new linguistic skills in a practical and situational context, but what other benefits come from learning another language? Research has shown that learning another language improves knowledge of your own language. Indeed Goethe was not the only one to realise this with his comment on mono-lingual speakers,
“Those who know no foreign language know nothing of their mother tongue.”
Goethe
This improved knowledge of your own language can help in many ways, it can help you to become a more effective communicator, express yourself more fluently and accurately and improve relationships with those you live and work with. It has also been shown that learning and speaking a second language improves cognitive development. Students show improved problem solving skills, memory skills and higher scores in standardised testing. It is not only students in full time education who can benefit from learning a language. It is never too late to start as research has shown that there is a correlation between bilingualism and the offset of age-related cognitive losses.
The physical boundaries that separated communities and facilitated linguistic diversity are slowly being eroded by globalisation. International media, increased tourism and the internet has created a society where understanding and speaking another language is not only desirable but essential for many. Learning another language can also help you to develop a more positive attitude to the target language and that cultural group, this benefit of language acquisition is multi-faceted and can result in more positive multi-lingual communities and a general feeling of goodwill between different cultural groups.
So whether you are learning a language for necessity or pleasure the benefits are long lasting and can be seen in a work, travel or social context. The more connected the world becomes the greater need for understanding and learning a second language is definitely a good way to start.