Speaking more than one language is a great advantage
Introduction
Speaking more than one language is important since it comes with a number of advantages. Children are in a position to learn the languages faster compared to adults and thus parents should ensure their children learn many languages. The number of bilingual speakers is said to be on the rise since many people are not comfortable with only one language. Many opportunities come to those bilingual speakers since they are able to communicate with quite large masses of people in an easy way. Nations are accessible to each other and thus understanding different languages will enhance integration and strengthen relationships between nations. Therefore this paper will focus on discussing two advantages of speaking more than one language and supporting the reasons with examples.
One of the major advantages of speaking more than one language is that it helps to communicate with people in different regions. Most bilingual speakers are sent abroad since they can communicate well with most of the people (Plante, 2013). Thus such people get opportunities to travel to different destinations, make friends and learn cultures of different countries. Nations are getting access to each other and thus learning most languages strengthens the relationship among different nations. Bilingual speakers therefore have many opportunities in life unlike those speakers who speak one language only. They are comfortable while abroad and can communicate easily with most people and even develop long lasting relationships with many people (Braun & Cline, 2014). Thus learning more than one language is advantageous since one remains confident and can pass across a point with much ease. Understanding more than one language makes one social where one can socialize with different people of different cultures easily.
Bilingual speakers are sharp people and able to learn and understand different languages. Thus speaking more than one language enables people remain sharp in life. It also ensures people remain focused in life since they got many opportunities and responsibilities in life (Plante, 2013). For example bilingual speakers do not get dementia problems when they grow old since they are active people. The speakers are able to understand different environments and which language to use at a given specific place and time and thus are always active and fast thinkers. Another example is that the speakers are able to visit different countries, visit different restaurants and are able to order things easily with much confidence. They are able to ask for direction when they get lost with much ease and are able to learn the culture of the people easily. The speakers are able to ask questions in case they need clarification since they understand whatever others are discussing.
The second advantage of speaking more than one language is the easiness to socialize and get more job opportunities. Bilingual speakers are able to connect easily with other people in their own countries as well as those abroad (Grosjean, 2010). It becomes easy to communicate to different people in a language they can understand best. One is also able to initiate a conversation if you learn someone understands your language. One will be interested to know more about the person understanding different languages and thus socializing takes place. As a result of this, relationships maybe formed which will last long and maybe of great help. For example one can stay connected to friends in different nations and even communicate via social media easily. Without understanding the language of the other party communication cannot take place and thus bilingual speakers are advantaged and have many friends all over the world.
Most bilingual speakers get job opportunities abroad compared to those people who only speak one language (Grosjean, 2010). Most opportunities require people who speak more than one language. International students too must learn to speak different languages so that they can communicate well with the local people. Speaking more than one language helps people remain connected to their relatives and families. Grandparents do not understand most languages and thus learning their native languages ensures that children are connected with the grandparents and can communicate well via social media inclusive of phones and emails. Without speaking the language of family members families cannot stay connected. Thus speaking more than one language not only helps in connecting friends but bringing families together and thus strengthening the bond among many families (Braun & Cline, 2014). Thus children should learn different languages so that they can learn how to communicate the native languages of friends and families so that they can visit their grandparents and communicate with them easily.
Conclusion
From the above discussion we can clearly observe that speaking more than one language is the best thing that ensures people are well connected to friends, relatives and other people in different places of work. Thus bilingual speakers are more advantaged since they are able to communicate well with people in different regions as well as families and other local people. The speakers are sharp people who remain active and thus learn cultures of different people and get job opportunities all over the world.
References
Plante, T. G. (2013). Contemporary clinical psychology. Hoboken, N.J: Wiley.
Grosjean, F. (2010). Bilingual: Life and reality. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press
Braun, A., & Cline, T. (2014). Language strategies for trilingual families: Parents' perspectives.
