When we travel people often say to us ‘I’m sorry my English isn’t very good’. Our standard response is always ‘it’s better than our French/Spanish/German etc.’ followed by an embarrassed look. There are lots of reasons to learn a new language. Therefore it’s always shocked me that children in the UK only start to learn other languages at 11. Kids are sponges when it comes to learning. So surely if they were taught throughout their school life from an early age we’d have future generations of dual/multi-language speakers. However, until that time and for the rest of us that have never really had the opportunity but have always wanted to learn to speak another language, luckily there are companies like Language Trainers. They offer a range of courses depending on your needs in a number of languages.
With that in mind here are 5 key reasons to learn a new language.
Assist You When Travelling
As travellers, this is the main one for us. Just imagine how much easier some situations would be if you could speak the local language. Especially if travelling to places off the beaten tourist track? Obviously, you can’t learn the language of every place you visit. With 195 countries in the world and an estimated 6900 languages spoken, it would be a tough and time-consuming task indeed. However, if you regularly visit a particular country or have an upcoming trip planned, surely that’s a good start? Some people find it easier than others to learn a new language. It’s even been proven that if you have a head for it, there’s no limit regarding the number of languages you can learn. Even if you can only master some of the key phrases you need when travelling, surely that’s better than nothing?
To Build Your Confidence
If like us you had French lessons once a week for a couple of years when you were a teenager, you may have a slight understanding of the basics i.e. how to say your name, age and that you have a cat. But was that enough to instil the confidence in you to have a conversation with a French person? It certainly wasn’t for us. Reading and writing another language is one thing but speaking it is a complete other. People often say ‘at least give it a go’ but personal insecurities and fear of embarrassment are enough to put people off. Therefore one to one coaching or an intense learning programme is likely to make more people feel confident enough. It definitely would for us. By having that time with your tutor, it allows you to practice and get mistakes out of the way in a private setting first.
To Help You Communicate When Working Abroad
Without doing official research its unknown how many people never take the plunge to move and work abroad because of a language barrier. However, we can speak from experience that it’s been a factor in our decision not to move abroad before. The thought of not being able to understand our boss, colleagues or customers is a frightening and potentially isolating thought. Therefore, if you think a great way of combing travel and work or want to start a new life abroad or have already been offered a job or even promotion elsewhere, learning a new language is vital. If you don’t have a specific language in mind the top 5 most widely spoken languages across the world (excluding English) are Mandarin, Spanish, Hindi, Arabic and Portuguese. Therefore one of these could be a good start?
For Fun
Maybe you just fancy a new hobby? Learning a different language is a great use of your time, even if you never get the opportunity to put what you have learnt into practice. People have different pastimes – from playing a sport to binge-watching Netflix. Many also enjoy lifelong learning. When Vicky was at university, there was a guy in her lectures who was in his 70s. He wanted to keep the grey matter ticking over and prove you can teach an old dog new tricks. Maybe you have already learnt a new language and fancy learning another because you enjoyed learning the first one so much? If you like the idea of learning a new language but do not want to commit to a full course, there are a number of providers who offer a free introductory session to see if it’s right (and fun) for you.
Help You Make New Friends
If you travel a lot, especially on group tours, then you are likely to come into contact with people from all over the world, often for a prolonged period of time. There is also the likelihood that they can all speak English. Therefore, we let them. How very lazy of us! Just think how nice it would be to have a conversation with someone in their native tongue instead of assuming they will have a conversation with us in ours? It would also be a great opportunity to put into practice and develop further what you have learnt either online or in the classroom through your language lessons. Also, if you’ve moved abroad for work as mentioned above, learning the local language will help you to make friends and enable you to socialise outside of your workplace and in the local community too (if you want to of course).
- Collaborative Post
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