We stay in a fast-paced, hyper-connected world, and things are not going to change anytime soon. So, you need to be different or have some special skills to survive. In this competitive and continuously connected world, learning a foreign language may help you stand out in the crowd.
The way companies are operating today across the globe, spreading their business in different countries, the speed at which global expansion is happening is faster than ever before. In such situation, learning a second language will be really important – no, mandatory for people to add an edge to their resume and have a competitive advantage during their job search.
No doubt, most of the businesses are conducted in English, but with changing landscape, the career benefits of learning a foreign language are really extensive. It not only allows you to communicate with different people, it will also make you aware of different cultures.
Here are some career benefits of learning a foreign language:
New Job Opportunities
Being bilingual or multilingual directly implies that you will have more job opportunities in different fields as compared to your monolingual counterparts. As stated by American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages, such jobs can be in the field of marketing, sales, retail, administration, tourism, banking, transportation, law, teaching, banking, public relations, as well as government. All these jobs will allow the person to work using their foreign language.
Also, the U.S. Department of Labor estimated that there will be an increase of 42% in the jobs for interpreters and translators in next 10 years, so if you can communicate fluently in two different languages, you are qualified to be a translator or interpreter.
Improved Decision-Making
Bilingualism can improve decision-making by eliminating some biases that otherwise bewilder our choices. The most common and interesting bias that monolingual people face when making a decision is the consideration for potential losses that can cause them to ignore great opportunities due to the presence of any risk of loss. Our rational mind takes the decision when we think in a language that isn’t our native one.
It improves memory and helps in self-discovery
Learning a new language not only improves your memory but also improves your attention span. Trying to learn a foreign language will also give you major insights about the heritage of that particular country or region. It will lead to self-discovery as you will realize how you look at the world and thus have more appreciation for yourself.