Better
ability to see the perspectives of others.
Studies have found that
multilingual children have some advantages when it comes to social
situations. One study showed
that bilingual children could better interpret an adult’s intended meaning than
monolingual children. It’s thought that because bilingual children need to
select which language to use in each context, they may be better at considering
the perspectives of others.
While it’s unclear if these skills carry over to adulthood, one
can hope that the added perspective of knowing another language and the ability
to interpret context does have some effect.
And if so, this could put language learners at a distinct
advantage when it comes to needing to interpret information that might otherwise
seem unclear. For instance, if your boss tells you he needs the report ASAP but
you’re unsure of which report he means, your increased ability to see things
from his perspective might help you deduce that the report he needs is the one
related to his upcoming meeting.
Clearer
communication.
The ability to clarify what you mean in another language is
tremendously helpful in plenty of social situations. Not everyone speaks your
native language, and speaking an additional language can give you a valuable
way to clarify what you mean when someone who speaks that language doesn’t
understand you. Even if you’re not fully proficient in a second language, you
and your conversation partner may each know enough of the other’s language to
piece together what you need to communicate.
For instance, if you travel abroad and need to know where the
bathroom is, it’s easiest to ask in the local language. If you don’t know the
language very well, you might not fully understand the response, but at the
very least, the person you’re talking to can understand your meaning well
enough to point you in the right direction.
Making the effort to communicate with whatever language skills
you do have could also make you a more resourceful communicator in general.
Deeper
personal connections with native speakers.
Nelson
Mandela put it best: “If you talk to a man
in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his
language, that goes to his heart.”
And it’s true: Communicating in someone’s native language is a
great way to not only show respect, but also connect with them on a deeper
level.
For instance, if you have a friend whose native language is
Russian and they speak English with you, you may feel a deeper connection with
them than if you had to communicate exclusively in Russian. And speaking
Russian with them can in turn put them at ease and better cement your bond.
Improved
language abilities with your first language.
Studying
any language can improve your understanding of your native language. Since most
people learn their first language naturally through observation, they may not
know the
underlying rules and logic of how it works.
Instead, they simply know how the language works from experience.
When you learn a second language, though, you learn the rules.
Oftentimes, these rules correlate with rules in your native language, thereby
helping you better understand how your own language works.
For
instance, native English speakers might struggle with the subjunctive. Would
you say “if I was rich,” or “if I were rich” when discussing a potential
lottery win? However, someone who had more awareness of the subjunctive
from rules learned from Spanish might
understand that while English speakers might be as likely to say one as the
other, it’s “if I were rich” that
technically specifies a theoretical scenario.
Knowing and understanding grammar rules can build your confidence and ensure you’re communicating
clearly in your native tongue, and that you’re aware of the mechanisms of your
language, even if these mechanisms are used inconsistently or loosely in real
conversation, as with the above example. If nothing else, you might be able to
skillfully avoid the embarrassment of having your grammar corrected on your social
media accounts.
Increased
cultural awareness and understanding.
Since
embracing culture differences is usually encouraged in language study, language students frequently have better cultural awareness
than people who speak only one language.
In an
increasingly global community, this is invaluable and may come in handy
throughout your life. For instance, if you’ve studied Japanese, chances are
that you’re much more aware than you otherwise would be of how communication
works in Japan, such as how
various gestures there might differ from those in other countries.
So if you’re interacting with someone in or from Japan, knowing
this information can help you conduct yourself in an appropriately respectful
manner and to understand the other person’s meanings and intentions.
Improved
confidence and self-awareness.
There’s no doubt that learning another language changes you. As
you learn and get better at the language, you’re likely to find you have
increased confidence and self-awareness.
Some of this may come from learning a valuable new skill that
you enjoy using, but language instruction also relies heavily on social
interaction, so the practice alone can be a confidence builder.
Many language classes have you practice holding conversations in
your target language. Not only can this increase your social confidence, it can
also improve your awareness of yourself and who you are, since you’ll
frequently end up discussing subjects related to yourself and your life.
