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We’ve all considered learning a new language once in our lives, but the question of how beneficial it actually will be is something that often puts a cork in your plans.
But what many people don’t know is that learning a language has a treasure trove of benefits and pros, things that you may not even have thought of or considered.
In this article, we’re listing down some of the major pros of learning a new language, which includes career and social benefits
1. Opens Up New Career Paths
One of the biggest benefits of learning a new language is that it opens up a variety of new career paths, which otherwise wouldn’t have been possible. The most common is the position of translators, who are required in almost all international organizations. If you wish to take up a job based on translation, look up which languages are highly paid and you can base your specialization on the same. For instance, Russian translation services are well-paid, and so are Mandarin translators. You can also go into content writing and work as a freelancer, writing and creating content in that language. This has become even easier due to the widespread presence of the internet.
2. Makes Traveling Easier
If you’ve ever made plans for international travel, or you know someone who has gone traveling, then you’ll know that the language barrier is one of the main hindrances that people have to face. Learning a new language, especially one that is widely used, can make traveling much easier. For instance, if you learn Arabic, you will be able to visit 22 Arab-speaking countries in the Middle East. It also helps you find out more about the culture of the country you are visiting, and interact with the locals, which wouldn’t have been possible had you not spoken their language. Of course, it also helps you save up on the costs of hiring a translator and lets you experience things much better.
hiring a translator as well.
3. Your Brain Becomes Sharper
Several studies have proved that upon learning a new language, your brain becomes sharper. Research shows that bilingual or polylingual people have a sharper and more long-lasting memory, with diseases like Alzheimer’s affecting bilinguals 4.5 years later than monolingual people. Newer studies have also shown that knowing more language increases the number of neural pathways in the brain, allowing you to process information faster, and improves attention span as well as executive functioning. Bilingual people also tend to perform better on standardized tests, and are shown to exhibit better decision-making skills,
4. Improves Creativity
Other than improving and boosting cognitive function, learning a new language can also greatly improve your creativity. Especially when you learn a language that is entirely different from yours. This is because your brain develops the ability to switch and alternate between different languages and juggle completely different words, sentences, phrases, and more, which pushes your brain to think out of the box. It broadens your way of thinking and enhances your ability to find several creative solutions to the same problem.
5. Adds Immense Value To Your CV
We mentioned above that learning a language will open up several new career paths and jobs, which wouldn’t have been possible otherwise. However, that’s not the only benefit. If you learn an additional language, it will add immense value and weight to your CV and give you a serious edge amongst other applicants. The demand for polylingual people is increasing with each passing day, as companies become more and more global and expand their operations and activities to appeal to, and reach out to people in as many countries and cultures as possible. So they are constantly looking for people that fit their desires for international expansion.
6. Improves Your Ability To Communicate
Last but not least, your communication skills improve immensely as well. Learning a new language makes you a better listener and enhances how well you can express and communicate yourself. You can also accommodate what you’ve learned from your second or third language, into your main language, thus creating a system where each language reinforces the other. Many people have expressed that the grammar rules that they learn in their second language have improved how they speak their first language or mother tongue.
