Before you start reading about the 10 awesome benefits of becoming bilingual that you’ll love, I’d just like to point out that you don’t have to be a child to become bilingual and good at a language. I started learning French when I was 20 and 5 years later I’m already fluent (not bragging – just want to make my point clear). I don’t consider it extraordinary and I KNOW everyone can do it if they try.
Don’t let anything stop you and don’t let it get to you if people get surprised that you’re learning a new language at 20/30/40/50 etc. It’s just their way of admiring you, believe me. You are awesome! And so are the benefits of being bilingual, so let’s check them out:
1) You can communicate with more people and make friends all over the globe
The more languages you speak, the easier it will be to communicate with others! I have to admit that I’m mostly fine with just English, though. However, people REALLY appreciate it if you speak their language. You can literally see their faces light up. It builds rapport instantly. I always try to make an effort and speak in Spanish with my Spanish students at least for a little while, and it makes such a difference.
Also, there are some places where nobody cares about English being lingua franca. When I was in Sicily (Italy), this was the case. You’re better off speaking French than English over there! I was in shock. Not so sure about France, either (since I always talk in French when I’m there), but I know they’re famous for being reluctant to speak English too.
2) You have more job opportunities
I’m gonna be honest with you and say that I’ve only come so far in my career because I speak both English and Spanish! My Spanish students have also been able to keep their jobs because they learned English and can now work in bilingual schools.
Even if you’re just looking to expand your business, you’ll be able to reach more people if you speak more than one language.
By the way, if you’re also learning Spanish, make sure to take a look at my list of most common expressions.
3) There’s more information to choose from
What do I mean by this? Well, I mean that if you speak another language you’ll have a variety of sources to get your information from. Not everything is true, but sometimes we don’t know it if we’re just listening to what our country/government wants us to listen to. There’s a lot of propaganda out there so if there’s something happening in the world and you speak more than one language, you’ll be able to compare different pieces of information and think critically.
Aside from politics (but I feel like this is so important, especially now), having a variety of information in a lot of languages really helped me when writing academic papers, for example.
4) You can watch movies and read books in their original language
This is my personal favorite!!!!!! I cannot STAND anything that’s dubbed or translated.
There’s nothing better than hearing George Clooney’s real voice instead of hearing the dubbed French version. I apologize to the voice actor but I don’t see how you can be into that kind of stuff. It is NOT the same – it just really sounds unnatural to me, and…funny.
As far as books are concerned, I just don’t trust those translators. Do you? There’s always something that’s ”lost in translation” and I WANNA KNOW EVERYTHING. What if there’s something really funny but cannot be translated so that it’s funny in the language it’s translated into so they just skip it or it sounds weird? I’m literally having a panic attack just thinking about it.
I mean, there are some really good translators but I believe it’s never the same, no matter what. And on the other hand, if something’s not translated well, like, if it’s obviously wrong, I just wanna rip my eyelashes out.
*takes a deep breath*
5) It makes travel easier and more fun
Just imagine being in a foreign city inside a foreign country surrounded by foreign people speaking a foreign language you don’t understand.
A n x i e t y m o d e O N
Now imagine all that but being able to understand everything and everyone! I know they say ignorance is bliss but in this case you’ll feel much more comfortable just being able to understand everything. Imagine you’re hungry but you can’t figure out what you’re eating because you can’t read the menu. Yeah, not the kind of ignorance I like anyway.
Another thing, I know I’ve mentioned I’m mostly fine with English everywhere I go, that’s true for airports and most ”famous” European destinations. However, don’t expect locals in a remote French village in Auvergne to speak English for you. You’ll be better off using your body language and speaking very loudly…because, you know, shouting makes someone more likely to understand you. Just joking, of course, please avoid shouting because it’s annoying as hell and doesn’t make sense.
6) You can learn new things
Sometimes, information about something you’re trying to learn is only available in one language. Even if there’s something about it in your native language as well, it’s always great to check out different approaches.
There are a lot of talented people who like to share what they do and teach you how to do it, and they do so through tutorials. So, if you’re trying to learn how to play the guitar, for example, you’ll be able to pick up some tricks you didn’t know of from a Portuguese guitar player if you speak Portuguese.
7) It’s good for the brain
Science backs me up on this one but I won’t get too technical, I just want to emphasize that you’re far less likely to get dementia if you learn a second language! It’ll also make your brain more creative, you’ll be able to get organized better, concentrate well, have better memory etc. Your brain loves learning new stuff and learning a new language will be such a treat to our dear organ of soft nervous tissue. Yikes! Sorry, brain, still love you though.
8) You’re more likely to learn a third language
The benefit of knowing two languages is that you can learn a third one – yes, you read that correctly! Because, why should it ever stop? Keep’em coming! But yeah, jokes aside, if you already speak Spanish, it makes it a lot easier for you to learn French, since they belong to the same group of languages -Romance. The major languages in this group are also Italian, Portuguese, and Romanian.
9) It can reveal new aspects of your personality
Have you ever heard about how your personality changes when you speak a different language? There have been many studies about it and the results have shown that your personality truly does differ when switching from one language to another! How amazing is that?! Of course, you’re still the same person, but being bilingual can definitely reveal new sides of your personality. Perhaps what happens is that while learning a language, you pick up its culture as well! I can definitely see how that makes sense. For example, it’s generally considered that people in the south are more open and just generally friendlier. So, if somebody from the south teaches you a language or you acquire it while living there, you’re more likely to come across as friendly, too.
10) You can teach your kids (and others) a new language
…and your dog, for that matter! No, seriously, my dog could understand commands in all four languages that I speak. I wrote a cool article on how to teach a language here.
I obviously love teaching but it doesn’t have to be just a job. How about giving your children a head start and teaching them another language from day 1? Bilingual children do so much better at school and generally in life. It is a MYTH that children will be confused if you teach them more than one language. Yes, they will mix up grammar rules from time to time but usually by age 4 they’ll learn how to separate the languages. Our brains are smarter than we think!
Share the knowledge because sharing is caring, guys.
That is IT for this blog post! If you’re not bilingual already, what are you waiting for?! 😁
