Living in a time which demands so much inter-culture and inter-border exchange in our work and day-to-day life as well, it is safe to say that our language plays the most important role in how we connect with people. While as kids we took pride in having hold on our mother tongue, growing up learning other languages at school came handy only to know that we required to master the other languages, especially English when it has almost became a second national language of the country.
However, now, with a lot of international exposure to most individuals, it has become paramount to know several international languages apart from the mother tongue. This International Mother Tongue Day, we bring to you five reasons to learn a new language while you hold you mother tongue close. Here’s how learning a new language can help you boost your productivity apart from adding a new skill.
Career advancement: As cross border collaborations have become a norm at work, knowing multiple languages makes it easy to connect with colleagues and clients from different countries. Speaking and understanding your colleague or client’s native language helps in effective business communication and hence having multi linguistic skills can make you the go-to person from your organisation for global operations. As the world continues to advance, the demand for professionals who can speak multiple foreign languages is on the rise. Hence why not use your time productively and learn a new language that gives you a competitive edge over others?
Enhanced cognitive abilities: Did you know learning a new language can help improve mental alertness and attention? Learning a new language helps improve cognitive abilities, such as memory, problem-solving and decision-making skills. It also enhances other cognitive abilities like higher creativity and problem-solving, ability to perceive situations in different ways, being better at observing their environment and spotting misleading information and many more. Talking about bolstering productivity, isn’t this a win-win?
Brain stimulation: Speaking multiple languages stimulates the brain as it requires the effort to switch between languages. Hence learning a new language is one of the best ways to regularly exercise our brain. Another benefit of exercising the brain from constantly switching between multiple languages is less cognitive deterioration in old age. Many researchers have claimed that bilingualism or multilingualism delays the onset symptoms of Alzeihmer’s in patients by approximately 4–5 years as compared with monolingual patients through cognitive reserve.
Improved Communication: Learning a new language allows you to communicate effectively with native speakers of that language and express yourself more clearly. Additionally, it can aid in bridging the communication gap between individuals from various cultural backgrounds, enabling more efficient and polite cross-cultural dialogue. Furthermore, practicing speaking a new language and listening to it might help you become more adept at listening in general, especially understanding accents and dialects.
Increased cultural understanding: Language is the best gateway to a new culture as they are interlinked. One cannot learn a new language without having a clear understanding of the culture and vice versa. Bilinguals or multilinguals capture nuances conveyed in different languages effectively thus enabling them to have a more personal and richer experience. Knowing multiple languages also makes it seamless for them to become part of different cultures.
Apps like Duolingo can help learn a new language for beginners as well as advanced level learners.
