WHY TO STUDY A FOREING LANGUAGE?

Why Study a Foreign Language?

How many of you are already planning your future careers? Your knowledge of other languages will make you a valuable candidate for careers abroad as well as in the United States. Employers in today’s global economy look for workers who know different languages and understand other cultures.

Knowing a foreign language can many times help doctors, nurses, social workers, hotel managers, journalists, business people, pilots, flight attendants, and many other kinds of professionals do their jobs well. Second language study enhances career opportunities. The National Research Council states that knowledge of a foreign language facilitates travel, enhances career opportunities, and enables one to learn more about different peoples and cultures.

In a survey of 581 alumni of The American Graduate School of International Management the majority of the respondents stated they had gained a competitive advantage from their knowledge of foreign languages and other cultures. They said that not only was language study often a critical factor in hiring decisions and in enhancing their career paths, it also provided personal fulfillment, mental discipline, and cultural enlightenment.


Reasons to Study Foreign Languages

  • Analytical skills improve when students study a foreign language.

  • Business skills plus foreign language skills make an employee more valuable in the marketplace.

  • Creativity is increased with the study of foreign languages.

  • International travel is made easier and more pleasant through knowing a foreign language.

  • Skills like problem solving and dealing with abstract concepts are increased when you study a foreign language.

  • Foreign language study enhances one’s opportunities in government, business, medicine, law, technology, the military, industry, marketing, etc.

  • A second language improves your skills and grades in math and English and on standardized and high stakes tests such as the SAT, ACT, GRE, MCAT, LSAT, etc.

  • Four out of five new jobs in the United States are created as a result of foreign trade.

  • Foreign languages provide a competitive edge in career choices due to the fact that one is able to communicate in a second language.

  • Foreign language study enhances listening skills and memory.

  • One participates more effectively and responsibly in a multicultural world if one knows another language.

  • Your marketable skills in the global economy are improved if you master another language.

  • The study of a foreign tongue improves the knowledge of one’s own language: English vocabulary skills increase.

  • One is at a distinct advantage in the global market if one is as bilingual as possible.