10 Reasons Why You Should Learn Another Language

"The limits of my language define the limits of my world," said Ludwig Wittgenstein, and this quote accurately reflects the modern reality.

The more languages you speak and the better you speak them, the more doors are open to you in the world.

While Wittgenstein meant more than just pragmatic reasons, few of us are interested in the philosophy of language. The majority is more concerned with the practical side of the question: whether language learning is a good investment.

My answer is yes, and here's why:

Expand your reach

The opportunity to connect with more people is rather an obvious reason why you should learn another language.

Languages unite. Your ability to speak a foreign language helps you meet people you wouldn't have met otherwise. It also allows you to connect with them on a deeper level.

I had a chance to observe this myself. The people who influenced my life the most did not speak my native language. If I didn't speak theirs, we would have never met – and I wouldn't be writing these lines.

English may be a global language, but it is not the only language in the world. Making an effort to learn another tongue always pays back, or as Nelson Mandela put it: "If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart."

Become Wanted (In a Good Sense)

In 2013, CNN Business analyzed thousands of job descriptions from Indeed.com, the largest American employment search engine, and came to the conclusion that fluency in a foreign language is the most sought-after job skill (1). Are you surprised? You shouldn't be.

Candidates themselves often feel the pressure to be "somewhat" bilingual. According to a survey conducted by Hloom, more than half of job hunters exaggerate their foreign language abilities to some extent (I did, too). And it's hard not to: you can't be concrete when it comes to linguistic self-evaluation unless you have proof of your language proficiency level.

Nevertheless, real knowledge of a foreign language does make you a more valuable candidate in a variety of fields, including government, law, medicine, business, and technology. Considering the fact that we live in the age of the global economy and that a good 80% of jobs in the United States are created as a result of foreign trade, your bilingualism can become that rare university-learned skill you actually use after graduation.

So why should you learn another language, you wonder? Just for the sake of embellishing your CV, my friend.

Get a larger paycheck

According to a 2008 research study from the University of Guelph, French-English bilinguals earn a premium of 7-16% compared to their monolingual colleagues (2).

Yes, Canada, with its two official languages, may be an exception. But yet another study (this time from the US) came to a similar conclusion. College graduates who learn to speak another language are rewarded in the job market (3).

Obviously, merely studying a language at university does not guarantee a larger salary. What matters is whether you achieve fluency or, for lack of a better term, at least working proficiency.

Just prove your language skills – and you're cruising around on the company dime.

Develop superior communication skills

Another reason why you should learn another language comes with a simple and straightforward advantage: being a better communicator.

Could you repeat it, per favore? Porque no entiendo.

Becoming bilingual overnight is not possible because language learning is quite a process. Before you can have fluent conversations in perfect French, you have to go through thousands of other, rather painful, conversations in broken French. Most of these "conversations" will resemble the game of Broken Telephone (if not Telephone Pictionary).

As a language learner, you will encounter all sorts of communication breakdowns. Nevertheless, extensive deliberate practice in reaching a mutual understanding with native speakers of your target language will help you develop everyday communication strategies.

Language learning teaches you to get your point across with just a handful of vocabulary words.

Learn to read people’s mind

If you have ever admired Patrick Jane's talent for reading people's minds, well, here's another reason why you should learn another language.

Bilinguals tend to be far more perceptive than monolinguals when it comes to communication. And there's a good reason for that.

Bilinguals are keen observers who monitor their social environment with great attention. When verbal communication breaks down (which happens during your first 101 attempts to have a constructive dialogue in a foreign language), you have no choice but to rely on non-verbal cues. With practice, you become skilled at reading facial expressions, body language, and gestures – anything that can give you a hint about the intended meaning.

What's even more interesting is that even exposure to a foreign language during childhood seems to improve children's perspective-taking, which is crucial for successful communication (4).

Enjoy geographic freedom

The English language is like a cellular network. It seems to be everywhere except where you need it the most.

There are still places where no one understands a single English word. Many of those places are beautiful sunny spots with white sand and azure tides. The irony is that we all want to go there, and with the right approach many of us can indeed live anywhere. Language shouldn't stop you.

Of course, you don't need to speak another language to travel. But hey, moving from Hilton Sukhumvit to Hilton Durban is not really traveling the world. Getting your favorite Caramel Macchiato at Starbucks on Old Arbat Street in Moscow is not experiencing Russia. You don't even know what you're missing out on if you don't speak the language of your host country.

So complete your prerequisite "language requirements," and you can live, work, and study in any place in the world.

Develop superior executive control

Bilinguals are masters of conflict management.

Your English doesn't magically shut down every time you try to speak Italian. No, it's still there, active and noisy, trying to trip you up.

Two languages, two competing linguistic systems, are indeed simultaneously "on" in a bilingual mind. Every time you want to say something in Italian, you automatically recall both Italian and English words, and then you have to choose one. So your brain has to consciously select "buongiorno" in Italian over an equally ready-to-go "good morning" in English. As a result of this daily challenge, bilingual brains develop superior executive control.

Executive function is responsible for working memory and retrieval, sustained attention and multitasking, inhibition and selection, and language learners excel in all of these areas.

So why should you learn another language? How about boosting your cognitive performance?

Age well

It is somewhat ironic, but having an internal monologue in three languages makes your brain more resilient to dementia.

Multilingual brains constantly juggle two or more languages just so their owners can navigate through life. And this mental exercise seems to have lifelong benefits. More precisely, bilingualism appears to contribute to cognitive reserve, which acts as your brain's resistance fighter, protecting it from damage associated with cognitive disorders such as Alzheimer's.

Numerous studies have shown that bilingual brains resist the onset of Alzheimer's disease for 3-4 years longer and cope with symptoms much better than monolingual counterparts. Moreover, the higher your language proficiency, the more pronounced the positive effects of bilingualism.

Building up cognitive reserve may not be your primary reason for learning another language in your 20s or 30s. However, now you can think of language learning as a long-term investment in your overall cognitive well-being. You're welcome.

Make more rational decisions

Your rationality is influenced by your morals... and the language you think in.

Speaking another language affects human behavior in many surprising ways. For example, it makes you more pragmatic, less emotional, and less susceptible to decision biases. This phenomenon is known as the foreign language effect.

A study from the University of Chicago has shown that considering moral problems in a second language prompted participants to make more rational decisions. Similarly, thinking in a second language generally helps people be more reasonable in their consideration of risk and avoid Daniel Kahneman‘s cognitive traps.

The majority of problems in our lives stem from making irrational decisions. So if you want to become immune to decision biases, why don't you improve your French (it doesn’t take long)?

Open your mind

You should learn a foreign language because it enhances your understanding of other cultures—and, more importantly, your own.

He who knows other languages feels even closer to his own language.

Kato Lomb, Polyglot: How I Learn Languages

I guess here, you can trust the opinion of a world-class polyglot.

Language learning, just like travel, is an eye-opening experience. When you speak another language, you gain perspective. It forces you to confront your own stereotypes about people and their cultures. You learn that there's not just one single way of living and begin to appreciate cultural diversity.

I like to think that language learning is an essential element of one's liberal education. It pushes you to explore other disciplines such as art, music, dance, cinema, literature, philosophy, and even cuisine. It becomes a journey of its own.

There are a hundred reasons why learning foreign languages is worth your time. And ultimately, every person finds their own personal reason that keeps them going despite numerous setbacks. Have you found yours?