To many, language connects the world. A common language allows for us to communicate with our neighbors, with our friends, with our teachers, and with our family. An additional language allows us to connect and relate to people across the globe, it also helps us form strong relationships and bonds with people we would typically be unable to speak to.

For instance, families that don’t all live in the same country and speak the same language in their country are able to express their feelings, share their experiences, and provide life updates using a common language.  “Learning a second language develops discipline, creativity, problem solving and a global perspective. In addition, it is always fun to surprise people who would never expect you to know another language,” shares Mrs. Gigliotti (Staff).

While English is one of the world’s most universal languages, knowing a second language helps appreciate cultures and understand the lives of people living in different countries, across the seas. Imagine you travel to a Latin American country where English is spoken, but not preferred. It is much easier to connect with the people and easier to learn to love the culture when speaking the same, native language. 

In addition, another language helps boost brain power tremendously. By pushing the brain to learn new grammar concepts and rules, new vocabulary, and new sentence structures from a foreign language, the native language spoken also benefits greatly. It has been proven that people who speak a foreign language are in turn more intelligent than those who do not. 

However, learning a second or third language is much easier said than done. As time goes on, it becomes much more difficult for people, specifically adults, to learn another language. Fully understanding a new language can be incredibly time consuming and laborious, but the end result is worth doing it again and again. “I would definitely learn Spanish again, it is such an asset to have,” continues Mrs. Gigliotti (Staff).

Aside from appreciating a separate culture, being able to understand another language can promote opportunities across any and all job types: it causes a person to be more valued in the work space. “I think one of the biggest benefits of speaking another language is that I can communicate more effectively with people from my family and be more prepared to talk with a range of people in my future career,” says Alexis Payan (11).