. Why learn a new language?

Walk up to the average Nigerian and share you new language experience with him, and he will probably tell you how much you are wasting your time. People in general find it weird and burdening, learning to speak a language that is neither English nor their native language. I have being the receiver of stunned stares whenever I open my Korean or French phrase book – to briefly memorize something- in a bus or taxi. They get so curious about what exactly goes on in my head and keep bombarding me with questions.  So with the rest of them, I ask; why learn a new language?

Learning a foreign language takes time and dedication, therefore, it is important to have a clear idea of why you're learning a language, as it can help to motivate you in your studies.  The reasons below may help to convince you to take the plunge, if such persuasion is needed. Some reasons are practical, some inspirational, some intellectual and others sentimental. They were all generated from people who are already on the journey of new languages.

1.     Love of languages: According to Cody Warren, Learning languages to is much more than making oneself able to communicate with others. To her, it's like getting some nice new surprise and a whole new level of understanding.  The love for languages can drive anyone to pursue a new language..

2.     A sign of respect: if you visit a country, and speak their language out of the blues, how do you think people would react. They will appreciate your attempt. I believe that when somebody at least tries to learn the language of the country they are visiting it shows a lot of respect

3.     Family and friends: If your partner, in-laws, relatives or friends speak a different language, learning that language will help you to communicate with them. It can also give you a better understanding of their culture and way of thinking. 

4.      Work:  If your work involves regular contact with speakers of foreign languages, being able to talk to them in their own languages will help you to communicate with them. It may also help you to make sales and to negotiate and secure contracts. Knowledge of foreign languages may also increase your chances of finding a new job, getting a promotion or a transfer overseas, or of going on foreign business trips.

5.     To better understand the culture: Vagish Vela learns languages so as to better understand the culture and mannerisms of countries that he plans to visit or reside in. It is a completely different cultural experience when you can speak the language when you visit another country for the first time.

6.      Understand people: Adam Briceland believes that a great reason to learn a foreign language such as Pacific island languages is so that you can understand what the native speakers are saying to each other when they are speaking their own language to each other. So you can sit there and not talk to them but completely understand what they're saying in public.

7.      Study or research: Learning other languages gives you access to a greater range of information about your subject and enables you to communicate with students and researchers from other countries. If much of the information and research about a subject that interests you is in other languages, learning those languages will be very useful. For example, if you're interested in minority languages of Brazil, you will probably find most information about them is in Portuguese.

8.     Friendship: I totally agree with Bill Con well, who learns languages inorder to enhance his friendships.  According to him, his best friend is French and speaks English, Spanish and some German as well, so he is trying to learn French to enhance their communication, though his friend doesn't demand or expect it.

9.      Travel: Many English speakers seem to believe that wherever you go on holiday you can get by speaking English, so there's no point in learning any other languages. If people don't understand you all you have to do is speak slowly and turn up the volume. You can more or less get away with this, as long as you stick to popular tourist resorts and hotels where you can usually find someone who speaks English. However, if you want to venture beyond such places, to get to know the locals, to read signs, menus, etc, knowing the local language is very useful.

10.                        To learn songs in foreign languages: Michelle Kelleher has been learning Irish and Scottish Gaelic because she likes to sing and has founded an a cappella group that sings in Celtic languages. They sing old work songs, lullabies, etc. This hobby combines her interests in languages, history and storytelling.

11.                        To talk to friends without others understanding:  If you and some of your friends learn a foreign language, you'll be able to talk to each other without other people having a clue what you're saying. This works best if you choose a language few people study, such as Japanese, Chinese or Korean.

12.                        To keep your mind healthy: According to Harvey Schmidt, learning a second language has been proven to delay the onset of dementia. Dementia is the usually progressive deterioration of intellectual functions such as memory that can occur while other brain functions such as those controlling movement and the senses are retained.

13.                        To understand your own language and culture better:

 Wer fremde Sprachen nicht kennt, weiß nichts von seiner eigenen
Those who know no foreign language knows nothing of their mother tongue. (Johann Wolfgang von Goethe)

Sometimes learning a foreign language helps you understand your own language and culture better through comparison, or through the relationship between the foreign language and your mother tongue.

14.                        One language is not enough: If 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.
(Nelson Mandela)

15.                         A Challenge to yourself:  Perhaps you enjoy the challenge of learning foreign languages or of learning a particularly difficult language.

16.                         Food:  Maybe you enjoy the food and/or drink of a particular country or region and make regular trips there, or the recipe books you want to use are only available in a foreign language

17.                         Religion: Missionaries and other religious types learn languages in order to spread their message. In fact, missionairies have played a major role in documenting languages and devising writing systems for many of them. Others learn the language(s) in which the holy books of their religion were originally written to gain a better understanding of them. For example, Christians might learn Hebrew, Aramaic and Biblical Greek; Muslims might learn Classical Arabic, and Buddhists might learn Sanskrit.

18.                         Studying abroad: If you plan to study at a foreign university, college or school, you'll need a good knowledge of the local language, unless the course you want to study is taught through the medium of your L1. Your institution will probably provide preparatory courses to improve your language skills and continuing support throughout your main course.

19.                         Emigration: When you move to a different country or region, learning the local language will help you to communicate and integrate with the local community. Even if many of the locals speak your language, for example if your L1 is English and you move to the Netherlands, it's still worth your while learning the local language. Doing so will demonstrate your interest in and commitment to the new country.

20.                         To find your future husband/wife : According to Rico Suave, learning a new language and culture increases the size of your selection pool.

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