At school, we can choose from a wide range of subjects to study. No matter what classes you take, you have to take at least one foreign language, and your dean will tell you that you have to learn it. So you're sitting there with a bunch of dictionaries and workbooks in your hands, wondering, "What for?"
There are many reasons why you might want to learn a foreign language. First of all, everyone knows that when we learn a new foreign language, we learn about a new culture. So this is a way to get smarter and learn more interesting things about other places and ways of life. This may be a problem if you don't want to learn about other cultures, but if you look at the problem more closely, you may find more reasons to do it. For example, let's say you go to Paris to have a nice vacation but don't know a single word of French. You can't expect every French person to speak English. You're bound to meet someone who doesn't know it. Then, just think about how your career could grow if you know how to use a foreign language on your own. Some people make a pretty good living by translating books, essays, and articles from English into their own language. If your company is involved in international business, you should know at least the basics of a partner's language so you can communicate with people from other countries. There is no doubt that English is a world language. People who speak English as their first language don't have to worry about being misunderstood at the airport, but what do you do if your first language is, say, Chinese or Arabic? But they go against their culture by learning English and going to places where English is spoken so they can do well in business. Now that learning a foreign language is a required part of school, we can see some amazing results. The English essay of a child who goes to school in another country may be better written and more organised than that of a native speaker.
As we've seen, learning a foreign language has a lot of benefits. But don't start learning it just because you need to. That won't get you anywhere and will make you angry quickly. Think carefully about your plan and the materials you will use. You might also want to choose the best and most qualified teacher for the job. Talking to a native speaker may be helpful, and going to a foreign country will not only give you practise, but also bring you joy and pleasure. But before you do any of that, you should think about what language you want to learn. What's the point of learning Icelandic if you can't use it? Even a simple question can be hard to answer, so good luck with your studies!
