Why are we doing this?

One of the main reasons why I am so passionate about language came about during a second year French class when a classmate of mine felt compelled to shout out “why are we doing this? Everyone speaks English anyway” not only is this extremely ignorant and arrogant but it is also a false statement with 1.38 billion people speaking the language. Yes, this may seem like a large number, however it is only around 20% of the world’s population of 7.8 billion people and counting. This means that four fifths of the world do not speak English as a mother tongue and the arrogant person who said that narrow-minded statement that day closed a door to a whopping 6.42 billion people! So what are the benefits of taking the time to learn a new language?

Cognitive skills

learning a language has been scientifically proven to improve planning skills, memory and even delay dementia! This means that by speaking multiple languages, you are more likely to live a well–organised life well into your senior years. On top of this, studies show that school pupils who are studying a language often perform better in scientific subjects such as biology and chemistry when compared with students who are not studying a language.

employability

studies have shown that a bilingual person can earn from 5%–20% extra pay compared to their non-bilingual colleagues. Bilingualism is very useful in business as a person who knows multiple languages can be used to communicate with the company’s overseas partners or customers. Because of this advantage, in a hiring process, when faced with a candidate who is bilingual and a candidate who is not, an employer will almost always give the job to the bilingual person rather than the person who only speaks one language. This means that by learning a language, not only are you adding a valuable point to your CV but you are also increasing your financial stability.

social

I now know first hand that you never know when you are going to need a foreign language. This time two years ago I never even imagined that in just 6 months I was going to be working with a German speaker so I just focused on my French. Although my studies were somewhat rushed at first, I am truly grateful that I did learn German rather than rely on my employee to speak English all the time. As well as the unexpected things, learning a language is also essential for the average tourist. Most English speaking tourists just expect people to learn English! This is the equivalent to hosting a dinner party but expecting your guests to bring their own plates! Just as you would provide plates for your guests at a dinner party, so too should you at least try to learn a bit of a language before you visit the country, even if you only manage to get your head around how to say “hello, do you speak English?” Most people will be honoured that you are making an effort to speak their language.

in conclusion, we English speakers should have some empathy – by expecting everyone to learn English, we are forcing people into the precise embarrassing situation that we are subconsciously avoiding, being forced to communicate in a language that is unfamiliar to us. Presently, in Scotland, learning a language is only compulsory for children from P6-S2 while most other countries start teaching foreign languages at the start of primary school and keep it mandatory well into (if not until the end of) secondary school. I believe that if we put modern languages on the same list as English and maths (compulsory from p1-s4) then the next generation might not be so arrogant when it comes to languages

special thanks to jack for both putting the fire in my belly to learn languages and inspiring this article 😀

e e m mcgrath