Travel - If you are multilingual you can go to more places and be comfortable when you get there. By learning a second language you can expand your horizons - more or less literally.
Connections - When you are multilingual it allows you to meet and communicate with more people, and make friends from across the globe.
Fun - Speaking more than one language allows you to enjoy entertainment from across the world without some of the beauty of it being lost in translation.
What does this add up to? Experiences. Learning more than one language opens you up to far more opportunities and experiences than are open to someone who is limited to speaking and understanding only one language. Being multilingual give you the chance to live a much richer life. So take the chance while you can to learn a second, third, or forth language. It takes time and hard work, but in the end it will be worth it.
You are entirely right! I wish I knew more than one language and feel rather inadequate because of it. Being Canadian, I learned French in elementary school and grade 9 of high school, but unfortunately did not pursue it further. Most students stopped after grade 9 unless they grew up with French parents or were already more fluent in the language. Although I can still understand some and speak basic elements of French, I would definitely not consider myself fluent. It is something I would like to go back to when I get the chance.
ReplyDeleteKnowing more than one language definitely opens up more doors in life, especially as we are becoming a much more global society. If you have the opportunity to learn more languages, do it! I really hope to!