Why learn foreign languages?
Why learn an artificial world-language?
Where could the whole world find common ground to communicate on equal conditions?
Have you ever thought about the fact that we all are foreigners almost everywhere?There are around 5 billion inhabitants in the world and they speak thousands of different languages. Would you be able to arrange everything you need for your daily life if you suddenly found yourself in an unfamiliar country? Would you be able to earn more money when your wallet is emptied? Would you feel welcome or alone? Or maybe you aren't planning ever to set your foot outsides the borders of your homeland?Both in the western world and in other parts of our planet it's possible to find people that already speak more than one language probably because different languages arespoken within the borders of some countries, but possibly also because people learn some internationally useful languages in school. How many people can actually speak any languagethat "highly educated western people" as ourselves speak when we go abroad?
I may very well be putting things to the edge, but my intention with this text is to try andprovoke debate, or at least open up the eyes on the readers to see what a problem it may bewhen you only can speak your own language.
Learn Languages!
To make myself perfectly clear I want to point out already at this point that I almost can't find words to express how important I find it to be to learn foreign languages. When one reflects on how fast the world is getting smaller and smaller, that people during the last decades have started to travel much more to foreign countries, how companies open branch offices on the other side of the earth, and realise that in 24 hours you can travel to almost any possible place on our globe, then I think there's already motivation enough to at least two or three globally spread languages.
This conviction becomes more obvious when you can suspect that Europe, that since centuries hasbeen regarded as playing the role of the centre of civilisation, within only one decade may have tostep aside for the constantly strengthened Asian countries what will happen if the Chineselanguage will replace the English with the more or less official role as the most accepted internationallanguage of the world? Will we then be forced to learn Chinese to be able to get certain jobs?
And besides: learning foreign languages also has the unquestionable benefit that you will learn more about your own language, your own culture and about the whole World. "He who knows no foreign language, knows nothing about his own" (see the beginning of this document).
So why wait?
The question is only what language you should start with... The ones of you that have decided to learn a new and useful language, but have not decided witch one, may very well have a look at the following list of the 20 most widely spoken languages of the World (a longer list with a lot more details can be found on the page Top 100 languages by population). Next to each language you can see an estimated figure of how many persons that had the language in question as mother tongue during 1999, and in which countries the languages are mainly (or originally) spoken. These 20 languages represent around 3/5 of the inhabitants of the Earth.
LanguageCountryPopulation
Mandarin China 885.000.000
Spanish Spain 332.000.000
English Great Britaiin 322.000.000
Bengali Bangladesh 189.000.000
Hindi India 182.000.000
Portuguese Portugal / Brasil 170.000.000
Russian Russia 170.000.000
Japanese Japan 125.000.000
German Germany 98.000.000
Chinese Wu China 77.175.000
Javanese Indonesia 75.500.800
Korean South Korea 75.000.000
French France 72.000.000
Vietnamese Vietnam 67.662.000
Telugu India 66.350.000
Yue China 66.000.000
Marathi India 64.783.000
Tamil India 63.075.000
Turkish Turkey 59.000.000
clues to a lucid old age
Study of people in their 90s without dementia alters understanding of brain
In recent years scientists have become intensely interested in what could be called a super memory club the fewer than one in 200 of us who, like Ms. Scott and Ms. Cummins, have lived past 90 without a trace of dementia. It is a group that, for the first time, is large enough to provide a glimpse into the lucid brain at the furthest reach of human life, and to help researchers tease apart what, exactly, is essential in preserving mental sharpness to the end.
These are the most successful agers on earth, and theyre only just beginning to teach us whats important, in their genes, in their routines, in their lives, said Dr. Claudia Kawas, a neurologist at the University of California, Irvine. We think, for example, that its very important to use your brain, to keep challenging your mind, but all mental activities may not be equal. Were seeing some evidence that a social component may be crucial.
Studying a second language in groups will provide both: mental challenge and a social component! Other studies shows that this is verdict
Studies on Languages
New study may revolutionize language learning
January 27th, 2009
(PhysOrg.com) -- The teaching of languages could be revolutionised following ground-breaking research by Victoria University, New Zealand, PhD graduate Paul Sulzberger. Dr Sulzberger has found that the best way to learn a language is through frequent exposure to its sound patterns--even if you haven't a clue what it all means.
Benefits of Learning a Second Language
Why is it important to learn a second language? To find out the benefits of learning a second language read on
Benefits of Learning a Second Language
We find diversity in the cultures and people make the so-called small world an enormous ocean of people; people boasting of their own cultures, traditions and languages. Their ways to express ideas were vary and so do their dialects. Benefits of learning a second language come in to picture when it comes to understanding and experiencing this diversity. Learning a second language is the acquisition of a language other than ones native language. It is a learning to express oneself in the words of other communities. It is like expressing ones ideas in the others way!
It is important to learn a second language to tickle the linguistic hemisphere of your brain. It is important to exploit brain potential to the maximum possible extent. One way to do it is learning different languages. Learning a second language develops the cognitive abilities. It is seen to be improving learning skills of a person. It increases the grasping power of a persons brain. According to an observation, people knowing many languages are likely to stay young!
Language lovers always find it interesting to explore languages other than their own. They are eager to dive into the sea of languages and master some of them. But for those who only engage in solving Math problems or delve into science inventions, it is necessary to even peep into the world of languages. Just see how enriched you feel on learning a second language.
Ask yourself the question, "Why is it important to learn a second language?" Your inner mind will respond by saying that it is always keen to learn new things, understand new cultures and be able to think and feel in different ways. Knowing just one language is not enough. Our mind yearns for new ways of expression. It is a human tendency to discover new means of communication. Second language can quench the thirst of newness. Brainpower depends on how active the brain is kept. It is proportional to the exercise given to the brain. Learning a second language is a good brain exercise. It involves comprehension of a completely new technique of expression. It includes the understanding of new words, their pronunciations and the meanings as well as the feelings they convey.
Another benefit of learning a second language is that it deepens the understanding of ones own language and culture. Knowing a language other than ones native language build confidence in him/her. It increases the scope of ones knowledge. It enables a person communicate with people speaking that language. Languages always serve as communication links between people. If one learns a second language he/she automatically becomes approachable to the community that speaks it. It earns him/her friends of other regions and religions.
Second language learning is found to manifest its benefits in school children. The strategies that children apply in learning the first language are applicable while learning a second language also. Knowing how to read and write in the first language supports the learning of a second language. Learning a second language build creativity in children and develops their literacy skills. School children who study a second language do better than their monolingual peers. Cultural and language experts believe in the benefits of learning a second language. They say that school children must be taught a second language. It widens their horizons. Some say, it is best to gain knowledge of a second language at an early age while others do not think an early age a necessity.
By not learning a second language, we limit the expanse of our knowledge. We miss the experience of the variety of people. We restrict our learning skills. Moreover, learning a second language can be fun. If this has convinced you of the benefits of learning a second language, go ahead! It is never too late!
By Manali Oak
Published: 6/9/2008
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