7 Reasons Why Learning A New Foreign Language Might Help You | The Odyssey Online
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Politics and Activism

7 Reasons Why Learning A New Foreign Language Might Help You

Bilingual sounds better than monolingual, right?

Sarah Hong
Jul 26, 2016
UCLA
13
7 Reasons Why Learning A New Foreign Language Might Help You
Huffington Post

1. You can gain respect.

I know an Asian owner of a taco stand who speaks Spanish and resides in a mainly Hispanic community. His is well known in the community and is highly respected by both his employees and his customers. Who knows what kind of respect you might gain from learning a new language?


2. People will be surprised that you can speak the language.

How cool would it be to see a Vietnamese dude speaking Russian? That’s awesome!


3. It’s great on a resume!

“Bilingual. Fluent in both Chinese and English.” Cool, right?


4. Translators are needed around the world. It might land you on a job.

You might just be standing in line to pay for your groceries when the person ahead of you has trouble communicating with the cashier. Here’s your chance to step in and help! Surprisingly, the cashier recommends you a job because of your ability to speak both languages. You just got an offer!


5. You can learn about different types of culture.

You’ll be amazed by the culture in the world. It’s so diverse and amazing – you might one day even want to move to live in another continent!


6. It can give you an excuse to travel so that you can practice your foreign language.

Who doesn’t love to travel? You’ll be able to get around the place because you know how to communicate. Traveling gives you a real life experience with communication.


7. You will know when someone is badmouthing you.

“^%@$&!” becomes something that you can understand – but you pretend that you don’t understand because you’re too nice to say something back!


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