{"id":2970,"date":"2015-01-29T08:00:49","date_gmt":"2015-01-29T08:00:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/?p=2970"},"modified":"2015-01-29T10:15:42","modified_gmt":"2015-01-29T10:15:42","slug":"5-ways-a-second-language-can-enhance-your-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/5-ways-a-second-language-can-enhance-your-life\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Ways Learning a Second Language Can Enhance Your Life"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s no secret that learning a second language can be incredibly useful. Being bilingual grants you the opportunity to converse with people of varying backgrounds and cultures, but language learning can be enriching in more ways than one \u2013 check out these five ways learning a second (or a third, or a fourth) language can enhance your life!<\/p>\n

\"WaysLearningSecondLanguageEnhanceLife\"<\/a><\/p>\n

1. \u00a0\u00a0It grants you better job opportunities<\/h2>\n

The world is a globalizing place and being bilingual sets you apart from your competition when you\u2019re in the job market. Not only can you communicate with clients or partners from different countries and cultures, but you can make more too!<\/p>\n

In the United States,\u00a0bilinguals earn, on average, about $7000<\/a>\u00a0more than monolingual speakers. In an article in\u00a0The Globe and Mail,<\/a>\u00a0in Canada bilingual males earn about 7% more and bilingual women earn about 8% more.<\/p>\n

2. \u00a0\u00a0It provides you with more travel options<\/h2>\n

There\u2019s no doubt that travel is a stimulating and invigorating experience, but it can also be a frightening one, particularly when you\u2019ve found yourself thrown into a foreign country with no idea what anyone around you is saying.<\/p>\n

Knowing a second language can drastically increase your comfort zone, and even if you\u2019re travelling to a country that doesn\u2019t share a language with you, at least you have a second one in your repertoire to break out.<\/p>\n

3. \u00a0\u00a0It boosts your brain health<\/h2>\n

That\u2019s right! Learning a second language can actually improve the health of your brain! Studies have shown that bilingual individuals experience fewer signs of dementia and fewer cases of Alzheimer's than their monolingual counterparts.<\/p>\n

And according to a study in the journal 'Frontiers in Psychology' young bilingual adults performed better on\u00a0attention tests and had better concentration<\/a>\u00a0than their monolingual peers. Even better? The age at which the person learned the second language appeared to have no effect.<\/p>\n

4. \u00a0\u00a0It humbles you<\/h2>\n

One of the most humbling experiences is learning a second language. As you stumble your way through, awkwardly attempting to imitate proper pronunciation, you make mistakes. Perhaps you trip as you climb aboard a bus in Spain and announce to all the passengers that you\u2019re\u00a0embarazada\u00a0<\/i>(pregnant in Spanish) instead of saying\u00a0me da verg<\/i>\u00fcenza<\/i>\u00a0(which literally means \u2018I have shame\u2019), or maybe you spend three times as long trying to describe your new\u00a0c\u00e3o\u00a0<\/i>(dog in Portuguese) to a friend. Either way, you\u2019ll grow more humble. You\u2019ll be more sympathetic to those that struggle in your first language, and perhaps you\u2019ll even share a few friendly words of\u00a0Beratung<\/i>\u00a0(advice in German).<\/p>\n

Check out our\u00a0Spanish<\/a>,\u00a0Portuguese<\/a>, and\u00a0German<\/a>\u00a0language tests, or\u00a0contact us<\/a>\u00a0for more info regarding classes!<\/h4>\n

5. \u00a0\u00a0It lets you understand others better<\/h2>\n

And lastly, in a world as diverse and eccentric as ours, learning a second language allows us to understand one another better. It allows us to connect in a way that we might not otherwise be able to.<\/p>\n

Nelson Mandela once said, \u201cIf 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.\u201d It\u2019s about time we started speaking to each other in a language that goes to the heart.<\/p>\n

***<\/strong><\/p>\n

As hard as it may be, and as much effort as it might require, learning a second language can have immeasurably enriching rewards. Interested in getting\u00a0started?\u00a0Contact us\u00a0<\/a>to find a tutor near you!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s no secret that learning a second language can be incredibly useful. Being bilingual grants you the opportunity to converse with people of varying backgrounds and cultures, but language learning can be enriching in more ways than one \u2013 check out these five ways learning a second (or a third, or a fourth) language can(\u2026)<\/p>\n

\n
\n\t \t\t\t\tCONTINUE READING »<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":2971,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[30,46,33],"class_list":["post-2970","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-language-learning-2","tag-languages","tag-second-language"],"yoast_head":"\n5 Ways Learning a Second Language Can Enhance Your Life<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"It\u2019s no secret that learning a second language can be incredibly useful \u2013 check out these five ways learning a second language can enhance your life!\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/5-ways-a-second-language-can-enhance-your-life\/\" 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