Research. If you are an academic or scientist, you need to stay abreast of the latest developments in your field of expertise. Breakthroughs in science and technology don't always happen in English speaking countries and neither are they always translated into English. Not being a fluent reader in other languages will slow down your research efforts. Fluency also frees up the brain so that you can formulate ideas more quickly rather than getting bogged down with translation.
Vacation and travel. Knowing the language of a country you intend to visit will vastly improve the quality of your experience. Getting to know a country and its culture means you have to venture away from the popular tourist traps where many of the people and employees speak English. That is a more difficult thing to do if you can't speak the language. Getting around, reading signs, checking into hotels, ordering food, and asking for directions would also be very difficult. Finally, it is harder to speak to and get to know the people you encounter.
Internet business opportunities. The competition among English web sites is very fierce. A multilingual person has the option to create sites in the non English parts of the Internet where the competition is far less intense. Techniques that used to work years ago with English web sites still work today elsewhere. You will simply have a much easier time of it to rank high in the search engines, get traffic, and therefore generate a profit.
More attractive to the opposite sex. Being able to whisper sweet nothings into the ear of your lover in a foreign language is very romantic. Saying "I love you" too often to a person can become stale. But mixing things up by saying romantic things in another language never gets old. If you are having an argument with your boyfriend, girlfriend, or spouse, expressing your frustration in a language that he or she doesn't understand won't inflame the conflict as much as expressing it in English.
Career opportunities. While most of the world is still recovering from the effects of the recent recession, china's economy is growing in leaps and bounds. They have a huge demand for expertise in their country that cannot be met. This can be a great opportunity for you especially if you know the language. They also have a big demand for English instructors. Again, knowing their language is an asset that increases your chances at landing a teaching position there.
The Internet. Forty three percent of the web sites on the Internet are non English. Visiting these sites and reading the blogs and comments will give you great insight into the culture of these people. If you want to truly understand the rest of the world, you will have to break free of the journalistic biases and filters of your usual news sources and read what the rest of the world thinks in their own words. This is not possible if you are limited to English.
Vacation and travel. Knowing the language of a country you intend to visit will vastly improve the quality of your experience. Getting to know a country and its culture means you have to venture away from the popular tourist traps where many of the people and employees speak English. That is a more difficult thing to do if you can't speak the language. Getting around, reading signs, checking into hotels, ordering food, and asking for directions would also be very difficult. Finally, it is harder to speak to and get to know the people you encounter.
Internet business opportunities. The competition among English web sites is very fierce. A multilingual person has the option to create sites in the non English parts of the Internet where the competition is far less intense. Techniques that used to work years ago with English web sites still work today elsewhere. You will simply have a much easier time of it to rank high in the search engines, get traffic, and therefore generate a profit.
More attractive to the opposite sex. Being able to whisper sweet nothings into the ear of your lover in a foreign language is very romantic. Saying "I love you" too often to a person can become stale. But mixing things up by saying romantic things in another language never gets old. If you are having an argument with your boyfriend, girlfriend, or spouse, expressing your frustration in a language that he or she doesn't understand won't inflame the conflict as much as expressing it in English.
Career opportunities. While most of the world is still recovering from the effects of the recent recession, china's economy is growing in leaps and bounds. They have a huge demand for expertise in their country that cannot be met. This can be a great opportunity for you especially if you know the language. They also have a big demand for English instructors. Again, knowing their language is an asset that increases your chances at landing a teaching position there.
The Internet. Forty three percent of the web sites on the Internet are non English. Visiting these sites and reading the blogs and comments will give you great insight into the culture of these people. If you want to truly understand the rest of the world, you will have to break free of the journalistic biases and filters of your usual news sources and read what the rest of the world thinks in their own words. This is not possible if you are limited to English.
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There are a number of options available to you for learning a new language. This site shows you how language learning software works and whether it is right for you.
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