Cause-effect Essay
Reasons to Learn a Foreign Language
Have you ever thought about why learning a foreign language is a universal thing in this day and age? In a globalized society, a second language seems to be a requirement. Let’s take English as an example of a second language. In Taiwan, English has taken a substantial part among all the subjects in recent years. Therefore, an amount of cram school has popped up to meet the need of students’ learning and even the adults’ employment demand. Apart from Taiwan, many countries have declared English as one of the official languages even though it is not their mother tongue. Why is learning another language so important? Behind the phenomenon are three main reasons.
First of all, learning different languages boosts the brain’s function. Roitman, D. (2013) notes that our brain speedily performs a series of events at the moment the sound waves go into the ears and later become neural impulses. When a trilingual person hears a word, the brain needs to recognize it and figure out the corresponding word in another language instantly. The procedure of shifting between languages helps stimulate the four main regions of the brain, sharpen the brain, and develop the mind. Moreover, it makes people be better at multitasking, they can switch from various tasks rapidly as same as shifting among the languages. Thus, those who acquire a different language can have better cognitive development and working performance than monolingual ones.
Secondly, thinking in a broad-minded way is another reason to learn foreign languages. Language is part of the culture, just as Petersen, J. (n.d.) states, “Language is a foundation of cultural identity and development.” Language is also a key to the outside world. By communicating with people from other countries, we understand there are diverse cultures, people, thoughts, and life philosophies all over the world. Nothing is right or wrong, nor superior or inferior. Learning different languages has broadened our viewpoints and broken prejudice as well as discrimination. Put it another way, it makes us become more unbiased.
Finally, learning different languages creates more employment and learning opportunities. In an era in which cross-country business prevails, a talented trilingual is the most compatible candidate because a company needs some employees who can communicate fluently with foreign clients. If you are proficient in several languages, the job opportunities will not be limited to domestic, but overseas as well. Apart from the careers, receiving foreign education is now a common thing. A language is like a tool that enables you to explore more domains. Take studying abroad to earn a master’s degree as an example, many elite universities and professional experts are out of the country. As a result, acquiring their mother language or English can be a prerequisite for advanced study. Learning languages makes studying and working abroad more available, which is the last reason.
In conclusion, there are three main reasons for learning a foreign language: benefiting our brain’s functions, improving unbiased thinking, and creating more chances to study and work abroad. Languages play an essential role in our daily lives while we may never think of the significant functions behind them. We have naturally learned English since elementary school. Even now, we still often use it, no matter it is on the original textbooks, in the lyrics, in social media, or on the news reports. Some people may complain about why they need to learn a foreign language, perhaps they have never considered the reasons behind it. Believe it or not, foreign languages do benefit us in various aspects, only if we try to make good use of them.
Sources
References
Roitman, D. (2013). Your mind on language: how bilingualism boosts your brain. HUFFPOST.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/your-mind-on-language-how_b_3902184
Petersen, J. (n.d.). How language learning helps you become a broad-minded person. OMNIGLOT.
https://omniglot.com/language/articles/languagebroadensyourmind.htm
