Recently, my Dad brought me a “how to learn Italian” disk because he heard of my plans to visit Italy next year. After my initial excitement at the prospect of learning a new language I became disheartened. It seemed such a hard skill to learn and I was wondering if it was even worth trying. That’s when I looked up the benefits of learning a new language. Knowing of these effects has given me the motivation to persevere and hopefully they  will help you decide to pick up a new language or give you the motivation to keep going:

1) More job opportunities and better pay

People who have a qualification in a foreign language are valued by employers. This means that people who are bilingual can often earn an extra £3000 a year. This equals  a massive £145,000 extra in a lifetime.

2) More attractive

People who can speak two or more languages are often perceived as being sexier and more intelligent than those that can only speak 1.  This means that they often find it easier to find a partner.

3) More friends

Through learning a foreign language it allows people to associate with people they never could have before. This leads to an expanded circle of business and social contacts.

4) Better holidays

Image via Wikipedia

When traveling abroad if you know the native language it is a great bonus. It means you can interact with the local people to find all the best places that most tourists will never find. It also means that you can understand  staff in restaurants, hotels and shops. This means that all of the stress and worrying about not being understood and getting the wrong service just disappears.

5) A new skill

A foreign language gives you a new interest and hobby. People who have lots of hobbies are the people that are the happiest and the people that others find most interesting.

6) Help the brain

Studies into bilingual education has suggested that studying a foreign language speeds up the brains cognitive development. It has been speculated that being bilingual gives better mental flexibility.

 These benefits have persuaded me to stick at Italian. I hope they help you in someway too.