Learning a New Language

Deciding to learn a new language is an exciting and at the same time daunting decision. For many, learning a second language is the norm and part of their education system from an early age. However, for others such as myself (a native English speaker), deciding to take on tackling another language is more of a personal decision and usually for a specific reason. In this case, one may have to look outside their typical education structure to learn.

Let’s take a look at some benefits of learning another language. You may be surprised by some of them listed below.

Sure, travelling to another country for a holiday is a great way to experience another culture but, have you ever wondered what that locals were talking about or wished you could talk with them on the street to casually strike up a conversation, to learn what their daily struggles and victories were? Learning their language is, of course, the best way to get on the locals level and really discover what drives them. You might even be let in on some secret place or event that will really create a memorable holiday.

You might be asking, how would learning another language help me in my career. Well, in today’s globalised world, companies are expanding their reach and obtaining footholds in other countries all to increase their bottom line. Being an employee who knows the target countries language could prove invaluable in ensuring relations and meetings run smoothly.

Being bilingual or multilingual expands your brain’s ability by understanding a whole new set of structures, rules and lexicon. This not only improves your problem and puzzle-solving abilities but, a recent study has also found that it can even protect against dementia in old age. Powerful stuff!

Listening to and understanding a new language forces our brain to work overtime while it jumps to-and-fro translating the words from and into our mother tongue. According to research, this mental workout benefits us in other areas of life where multi-tasking is required by improving our ability to more rapidly switch between different tasks, and lets be honest, today’s fast-paced world is a multi-tasking world.

Learning a new language teaches you to interpret and express yourself in an entirely different structure and set of rules. This, in turn, forces you to think outside the box and in a non-linear way. Using this to your advantage when getting creative with music, painting or any art form can be beneficial by allowing you to more easily come up with new ideas and pathways that may have otherwise of been difficult to see.

Now, for those of us who choose to learn a new language outside our typical education system you may be asking “where on earth do I begin to learn a new language?”. If you guessed “somewhere on the internet” you would be right.

When I met my wife, a native Thai, while on holiday in Thailand, I knew that learning her native language would benefit me immensely by being able to communicate with her family and to really experience her culture on a deeper level. After all, I would end up spending quite a lot of time there.

The training system I used is from a website called ThaiPod101.com, although their parent company, InnovativeLanguage.com has training for a whole suite of languages. They provide video training and modules to work through, worksheets, flashcards and even one-on-one coaching if you feel you need the extra support.

As someone who has learned a second language, I can say that it really opens you up to a whole new world of opportunity and experience that would simply not otherwise get and I encourage you to take the plunge if you are considering doing the same!