In the 21st century, being able to speak more than one language is not only helpful but also necessary for success. The economy continues to become more global, and different cultures and communities meet each other more often. The distance used to keep people from getting to know each other, but now it’s easier than ever to travel around the world and use the internet. From the marketplace to the individual consumer, from pre-schools to universities, from people on vacation at the beach to people who travel the world on private jets, the world has become more connected and interdependent. Colleges and universities are looking closely at applicants to find the people who will lead the world in the future. Employers and businesses are looking for people who can work in today’s global economy. Students can get better at both of these things by learning another language. There are also many other benefits to learning another language, like doing better in school, getting more intelligent, and being more accepting of different languages and cultures. Students need to know languages to do well in the modern global marketplace.
Language learning has been shown to help students do much better in all subjects and meet future students’ needs. Language learning improves a student’s cognitive skills, including, but not limited to:
- Enhanced Problem-Solving Skills
- Verbal and spatial skills got better.
- Better ability to remember (long & short-term)
- Better ability to think creatively
- Better Memory
- Think more freely and creatively
- Better attitude toward the language and culture of the target country
SMART Goals
Set a SMART goal:
Specific
“I want to tell my grandmother about my day in German,” or “I want to order food and ask for directions on my upcoming trip without feeling awkward.”
Measurable
What does it look like for you to have made real progress?
Achievable
It has to be something you can get, not just a vague idea of perfection.
Realistic
Is this something you think you could do with your schedule, lifestyle, and responsibilities?
Time-bound
Setting a deadline will help keep you on track and keep your mind on the task.
Then, break that goal into even smaller pieces. That might mean learning words for food or getting good at the past tense.
Five Languages to Learn
English
Around the world, 400 million people speak English as their first language. Moreover, more than a quarter of the countries in the world list English as one of their official languages. You can talk to many new people by getting better at one language. It is the language that is spoken the most around the world. Also, English is the “second language” of the rest of the world. Even though more people speak Chinese Mandarin and Spanish as their first language, most people worldwide choose to learn English after they learn their first language. One out of every five people on the planet can speak or understand English at least a little bit.
English is one of the top valuable languages you can learn because of this. Even though you can’t understand all 6,500 languages in the world, you will be able to talk to people worldwide if you know English.
German
German is the second most common language spoken on the European continent. But when it comes to people who speak it as their first language, German is the best.
For hundreds of years, the language was used as a lingua franca (a common language that brings people together) in large parts of Europe. It is still an essential second language in central and Eastern Europe. German is also the third most taught in places where English is the primary language. Also, it is the tenth most important language in the world. That’s not bad for a country that’s not very big.
French
Over 300 million people worldwide speak French. The OIF is an international group of French-speaking countries with 88 member governments and States. French, after English, is the second most common foreign language that people learn. It is also the fifth most common language people speak worldwide. Along with English, French is the only language taught in every country. France runs the largest network of cultural centers around the world. Nearly a million people choose French for their language classes.
France is the most popular place to visit globally, with more than 87 million people visiting annually. If you can learn a little French, it makes going to Paris and other parts of France much more fun and gives you a better idea of the culture and way of life there. French is also useful when traveling to places where people speak French.
Hindi
Most people want to learn a language because they want to be able to talk to more people around the world. Hindi is a language spoken by over 500 million people around the world, making it the second most-spoken language on Earth. It is also a regional language of India, making it one of the official languages that everyone should learn if they want to live in, travel to, or do business in India.
Hindi is the official-spoken language in India and is the world’s second-largest country. This makes it a good choice for people who want to learn another language. As a second language, up to 200 million people speak Hindi. If you learn a language well, you’ll be part of a large and diverse group of people. Since so many people are learning, finding someone online to practice with won’t be hard.
Additionally, If you learn Hindi, you can watch movies that you might not have been able to see otherwise. Even though you can watch foreign films with subtitles, you’ll enjoy them more if you can understand what’s being said. On the other hand, watching Bollywood movies is a great way to learn the language while still learning it.
A lot of chants used for meditation are in Hindi. Taking a language class could be a good start if you want to meditate. There are many spiritual texts written in Hindi, as well as many stories, collections of poetry, and other kinds of writing. Hindi is one of the languages you could learn that could help you see a very different world.
Arabic
Languages like Spanish and French let you work and travel in many places around the world, and many of your peers also speak them. Other languages, like Chinese, are in high demand, but to learn them, you must focus on one or two countries for your whole life.
Arabic is beneficial in more than 20 countries and is spoken by about 300 million people born and raised there. You will learn how to live, work, and interact with people from various countries. This will let you change your focus as you move up in your career.
By taking an Arabic language class and learning about the culture, you will get a deeper and more nuanced view of the Arabic-speaking world than you would from the usual themes in US mass media. As you share a more balanced stance with your family, friends, and peers, you will help them learn more about Arab culture in US society and be more accepting of Arab Americans and Arabs who live in the US.
Enrolling in a language class helps you start looking at yourself as a global citizen. Once you think of yourself as a global citizen, you start to see that people are people no matter their country of origin. And once you’ve seen the humanity in people who are different from you, it’s hard not to care about the problems that affect their lives, even if they don’t affect yours directly.
Which language class do you want to start at PursueIt? Sign up today!
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