Why Learn a Foreign Language?

Hello everyone and welcome to Your Educational Podcasts.  I am your host, Dr. Anthony and today's podcast is called "Why learn a foreign language?" I used to ask myself this question many times when I was growing up.  It was during that time that I felt I was being forced to learn a new language.  When I was about thirteen years old, my family moved to Puerto Rico.  Puerto Rico is a commonwealth of the United States and their first language was Spanish.  So I found myself in a totally new educational system unable to understand the language.  After spending an exhausting and confusing day at my new school, I would spend two hours with my private Spanish tutor.   By the time I was eighteen years old, I could speak, write, and read Spanish fluently. In retrospect, I am glad that my parents encouraged me to learn a second language.  Knowing a foreign-language can broaden your personal and professional experiences. Many of us will not argue that English is an important global language to master.  There are also other languages that have equal importance in knowing.    Spanish has become an important language In the United States.  It is estimated, that approximately ten percent of the United States population consists of Hispanics, whose first language is Spanish. This statistical revelation has g a motivated many Americans to consider becoming bilingual. Another language to consider is Chinese. Despite how the world economies have been performing these days, China is a country with over 1.2 billion citizens that are very serious about learning English as a second language. Students should consider adding Chinese to their studies.  Many universities are encouraging her students to take part in the exchange programs and studying abroad. The new opportunities to further our education have put an overwhelming burden on us to succeed.  You will find that once you have mastered your foreign-language skills, it will open up doors to many possibilities. You can use your foreign language skills in many areas, for example, the health field, banking, government service, teaching, flight attendant, hotel management and the list goes on and on.   Proficiency in a language puts you at a higher bracket to be hired by a potential employer.  Business companies want their employees to be able to cross cultural barriers. This means higher profits for the company and yourself. With your foreign language skills, you will be able to increase your business contacts, and at the same time, make friends along the way.  Your new friends will admire your ability to speak in another language, and respect you for being a highly intelligent individual.  Speaking of intelligence, many researchers believe that being bilingual increases your IQ. Knowing another language helps stimulate different areas of your brain.  Let's not forget that knowing a second language enables you to relocate to a new country and establish a new residence. You will be able to acclimate yourself easier, you also be able to read foreign newspapers, magazines, books and navigate the Internet with your newly acquired language. Learning a language is challenging, difficult, and very frustrating, but the rewards outweighed all of the hardships that you will encounter. Remember that it is never too late to start learning a new foreign-language. I like to think my students around the world for listening to Your Educational Podcast and I look forward to reading your comments.  This is Dr. Anthony, signing off......