Positive Benefits of Learning a Second Language

Regardless of whether employees using a second language are HR Directors, lawyers, consultants, salespersons, managers or accountants, being able to develop a personal relationship is the only way to maximize business success and only through effective communication can relationships be developed.   Whether an employee is interacting with a colleague, vendor or client, working together at work is always easier, more effective and more enjoyable if people like each other because of a personal relationship.

Only literal use of a language will never maximize the opportunity to build personal relationships.  People need to communicate in a way that utilizes everyday idiomatic expressions in order to laugh, smile and develop positive feelings towards another person.  It is why at BLT we focus on building a student’s idiomatic expression knowledge.

We also are focused on increasing the student’s percentage of time thinking in the language being learned.  Think about a recent conversation you had with someone who only has literal speaking skills in your native language. Although you may not have been consciously aware, there was probably no facial reaction to something you said, or the reaction may have been delayed.  For example, you may have said something funny, but there was a 5 second delay in a smile appearing on the face of the person with whom you were speaking.  If that is the case, there are going to be continually longer delays which means that the person’s facial expressions are seen much later than while they are listening to new words from you. As the conversation continues, facial expressions will be more and more tardy making the personal interaction more and more difficult.  We have developed 8 different exercises to increase the percentage of time during a conversation when our students are thinking in the language being spoken in order for those conversations to be more spontaneous.

Other Benefits of Language Learning

There are tremendous personal benefits to a second language learner that not only greatly improve job performance, but they also enormously improve the personal lives of the language learner. The most important benefits of learning a new language are:

1. Improving your memory. The more the brain is used, the better the brain’s functions work.  Learning a new language requires knowledge of vocabulary and grammar rules, but it also requires that you are able to apply the new knowledge.  Think of language learning as a gym inside your brain where continual exercise improves the way you think and feel.
2. Becoming a better listener. Learning a new language will make you a better listener because you are required to closely pay attention to the words you are hearing in the new language.  Naturally, this skill improvement transfers to listening in your first language.
3. Increases ability to multi-task. People who are multilingual and proficient at transferring from one language system to another have developed the ability to think in different languages which improves the ability to multi-task in general.
4. Sharpens the mind. Numerous studies have proven that multilingual people are generally more observant. In particular, multilingual people are better able to spot anything that is irrelevant, deceptive or out of context.  Naturally, these traits make multilingual speakers more aware and makes these employees better equipped to perform their job responsibilities.
5. The first language is improved. Learning a new language makes the learner more conscious of the his or her first language.  Most first language learning is gathered through absorption intuitively so that learning a second language has the natural consequence of the learner reexamining and improving his or her first language.
6. Improvement in other academic areas. Higher cognitive skills are developed by learning a new language and those cognitive skills involving problem solving transfer to higher level accomplishments in other academic areas such as mathematics, economics and other academic areas that require problem solving skills.