Learning a foreign language here in the United States should be mandatory. When I toured France and Germany a couple of years back, it was amazing to see everyone from the flight attendant, the cashier at Burger King, the sales clerk at the flea market, the street cleaner, and even the Chinese in Chinatown in the southern part of Paris speak in at least two, if not three languages.
Here in the United States, until recent times, the people spoke English and now with prevalence, Spanish.
Many argue that the necessity of learning several languages in Europe is because each country geographically only covers so much land, and since commerce transcends borders, much like inter state commerce here in the United States, in Europe it is necessary to know in the least the languages of the bordering countries, much unlike the United States where everyone speaks English (and now Spanish). As such, unless an extended visit to a foreign country is planned, the necessity of learning a foreign language in the United States was never a necessity, until more recent times.
Thankfully, due in large part to globalization, learning a foreign language even for Americans is now a necessity. Also, many college preparatory schools require their students take foreign language instruction as it is a prerequisite to attend many American universities. Hence, the benefit of learning a foreign language is admission into a university, and thereafter, increased marketability and job opportunities. With many business transactions occurring outside the continental United States as national businesses become international and corporate offices opening abroad, being fluent in another language is advantageous to any employee of any company.
Another benefit of learning a foreign language is that of education and empowering the mind. Upon learning a foreign language fluently, as our thoughts are language based and so is that of critical thinking, such knowledge truly helps to analyze things from a different perspective as one begins to think in that language. Additionally, learning a foreign language helps one understand his/her own language and provides them with better listening capabilities.
Finally, the socio cultural benefit of learning a foreign language derives from the widening number of people one can speak with and relate to. As the nuances are developed for the foreign language and its use, a deep cultural understanding is developed of its native speakers. It also has a positive impact on one s own intellectual growth.
For the traveler, learning a foreign language allows you to interact with the natives on a deeper level, both fostering relationships and enhancing the ability to understand important basic information such as directions. It doesn t help you to ask for directions if you don t know the words for left and right. It makes it difficult to travel by train if you don t understand the ticket seller when she asks how many tickets you need, and how many are for adults and children.
Learning a foreign language can also help you to understand another culture. Understanding how a culture greets each other, the grammar they use, and the compliments they give can create new understandings. For example, in Chinese one does not brag about one s children. Doing so is believed to cause bad luck. It is more appropriate to speak of my disobedient child. In Vietnam if someone asks a person his age and responds with oh you are very old this is a compliment.
Confusing hambre and hombre in a Mexican restaurant is the difference between ordering a hamburger and ordering a hot guy. (I ll leave it to you to decide which one you d rather have. Personally if I am hungry I would much prefer the burger.) In Chinese the tone you use when pronouncing the letters mama is the difference in speaking of your mother and speaking of a cow. Calling your mother a cow shows a tremendous disrespect for your mother in a society that values its elders.
Foreign languages expand the capabilities of the human mind. This is particularly true for early second language learners. Learning a second language helps develop the language centers of the brain. Thus, learning a second language makes it easier to learn a third and fourth one.
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