Let's take a little survey: Which country is bilingual?
Answer: All of them, except one. (Well, maybe more, but those are remote villages in places like Africa.)
Now answer me this: Which one is it?
Bingo, you got it: America.
Yup, American kids aren't required to be taught a second language. I had a German exchange student friend in high school, and she informed me that in primary school, she had to learn English. So when she came to America in high school, she was already fluent in both German and English.
But what's the point of all of this knowledge? The point is that it isn't too late to learn a new language. Yeah, it is easier for kids (because kids might as well have sponges for brains), but it isn't too late! Here are 10 reasons why every person, myself included, should learn a second language:
1. Learning a new language connects you to the rest of the world.
We are one world; one people. Let's not be in our own bubble. The best way to connect with other cultures is by learning a new language.
2. It's a doorway to communication with speakers around the world.
Think about it: you walk into a room full of native speakers of, say, Spanish, and you don't know their language. How will you communicate? You can't always have a translator. How nice would it be if you just knew it?!
3. You gain respect for other cultures.
So many people disrespect or make fun of other cultures. Learning another language is the perfect way to gain this respect. You get an insight into who these people are.
4. It helps with travel.
All languages are in language families. German and English are in the same family; Spanish and Italian are in the same family. My brother and his fiancee went to Europe for three months last year; she is a native Spanish speaker so she was able to communicate with Italians because of how similar their languages are. How cool is that!
5. It opens up a lot of job opportunities.
If you are bilingual, your chances of landing the job over someone else who is not goes way up. You literally have a one-up on any other applicant.
6. You understand that one language is not better than another.
Every language is the best language on the planet. It doesn't matter how complex or simple the language structure is; they are all awesome. Learning a second language helps you understand just how great every culture is.
7. You get an outsider's perspective on your own language.
When you learn another language, it helps you see just how complicated and difficult it is to learn your language. Think about it: English is one of the most complicated languages there is. It is extremely difficult to learn. You don't truly realize it, or appreciate it, until you learn a new one.
8. You can conquer your fear of looking stupid.
Remember high school foreign language classes? I do. If you walked into the classroom and just listened to students repeat the sounds of a second language, it sounds pretty silly. As an adult, to choose to look silly and repeat all those sounds is a beautiful thing. For your good, it is great to get over that fear and just do it. The outcome is pretty great.
9. You get to enjoy literary gems in their original language.
I wish I knew Hebrew so I could read the Bible in its original language. I believe that I could learn so much from different books in their original forms -- art is so beautiful that way. The translation takes away some of the magic of the experience, and to be able to go back and see what you've been missing would be amazing.
10. You become a better learner.
College increases your learning ability, but so does learning other languages. I have a friend who knows multiple languages, and she has told me that with every language she learns, she finds new, more efficient ways to learn. It become easier.
So, hopefully, you now see why we all should learn new languages. This summer, my goal is to learn German -- I even checked "Harry Potter" in German out today to help me learn. It's a lot easier than you think to learn a new language thanks to the Internet and all the cool language apps out there. So get to it!
