By Paola Quesada Fonseca - Education Career student
Learning a language is such an essential part of life that many people perceive it just as “one of the basic things babies acquire”. Nevertheless, learning to master it involves a whole deep brain process not everyone may be aware of. As a matter of fact, learning a second language has several benefits for the student, such as cognitive and social fields.
According to the Eaton Institute (2020), learning a new language is key for developing abilities such as cognitive thinking, problem-solving, multi-tasking, decision-making, and memory. It even improves performance on other areas of life, and helps to sharpen the mind. It is important to stand out that each language has its own “golden” benefits, many of which are social and cultural. French is spoken by over 200 million people around the globe, meanwhile Chinese mandarin’s home has a rising economy and commercial relations growth (Universidad de Congreso, 2014). And what about English, the language that, if not spoken, is recognized by a majority of people around the world?
English is the most studied language, it is spoken in all the continents, and is the mother language of four powerful countries (United Kingdom, Australia, Canada and United States) (Universidad de Congreso, 2014). It has become a standardized language to communicate, so it definitely extends the boundaries for communication within people from different countries. While living in a globalized world, speaking English behaves as one essential skill to own.
From a professional perspective it provides a path for job opportunities, since now many companies have it as one of its requisites. Globalization has brought companies to partner internationally or even settle in foreign countries, so is the case of Amazon’s call centers in Costa Rica. Career paths become more versatile, and the restrictions for finding a scholarship abroad or internships can be reduced to almost zero. There are even universities, such as The Metropolitan University of Budapest, that offer complete BAs and MAs in English, even though Budapest’s language is Hungarian.
On the other hand, there are volunteer programs and humanitarian help. Speaking English can be the needed piece to throw yourself into the volunteer experiences abroad. There are companies, such as World Packers, that serve as mediators between NGOs and people looking to help. Most of the programs require English as the base language, no matter if the home country of the NGO is located in Asia or Europe. English teaching is one of the areas where volunteers can go.
Communication is essential for human interaction, adding up tools that expand your communication is amazingly useful. Not only from the professional point of view, but also from the social conscious side. English has become the international language, and that is why it is key in a globalized world.
