Have you ever dreamed of living overseas? Maybe becoming a chef in southern France or an engineer in Germany? Perhaps you’d like to become a PR executive to the top Japanese stars or an entrepreneur in the ever-expanding Chinese business markets. You may even be planning a holiday or retirement in Europe
Well, you can. But, you’ll need to learn the language. And we can hear you moaning now – the last thing you want are more classes.
Here’s the truth though: foreign languages can change your life. Here are 6 reasons why:
Open up New Opportunities/Boost your Career Prospects
The world is becoming borderless and more companies are doing business in different countries around the globe. If you can speak multiple languages, it’s way more likely that they’ll hire you.
Let’s say that Google wants to hire someone to handle their business in the Asia-Pacific region. Instead of hiring four people who each only speak English, Japanese, Korean, and Mandarin, wouldn’t they prefer to hire one person who speaks all four?
And wouldn’t they pay that person more?
Money, Money, Money
Speaking of which, studies have shown that learning another language can actually make you richer. The Economist reports that in the US, learning another language can give you a 2% salary boost. That could be a cool $67,000 (nearly RM 280,000).
Similarly, Business.com states that employees can earn 5 to 20 per cent more than the position’s base rate if they can speak an additional language.
It also depends on the countries and their economic standing. China recently became Germany’s biggest trade partner, and the same article reports that there’s a huge 3.8 % premium to learn German.
So, imagine how valuable you could be if you spoke English, Mandarin AND German! The world would be your oyster.
There’s No Better Time to Learn
If you have friends who have full-time jobs, it’s likely that you’ve heard them complaining about how little time they have and how lucky you are to be still studying.
We know, you’re busy with assignments, FYPs and exams. We understand. But honestly, you’ll have even less time when you’re working. This is the best time because you’re already going to classes. Once you’ve started working, you’ll have to juggle work, food, traffic, overtime, house-hunting, wedding preparations, cooking, cleaning…the list is endless.
And once you’ve already got a job, it may be tougher to look for bigger jobs that could put your new-found language skills to good use.
You never know, the classes you take today could help you retire in Korea, Japan, or Europe one day. Small things you do now could change your life forever.
Stand Out Socially
If you’ve made the effort to learn another language, then you’re truly a unique brand. People will be drawn to you. They will want to speak with you. They’ll want to know what spurred you on to learn another language.
And suddenly, you become an asset. If you speak Korean, you suddenly seem more like a K-pop star than your loser friends. If you speak French, you sound more romantic.
Give Your Brain a Boost
Using a foreign language each day is similar to an apple a day keeps the doctor away!
Memory improvement, prolonged attention span, and a curtailing of age-related cognitive decline are just a few of the known positive effects of speaking two or more languages.
It Keeps Getting Easier
Each time we learn a new language, we find it easier than the previous time. The reasoning is simple: with each new language we study, we figure out ways to learn more efficiently.
As you spend time learning a foreign language, you will identify your own weaknesses and fix them. This will give you a head start in the next language class.
Did you know that QIU’s Language Centre is offering SIX language classes? They include:
- Mandarin
- Tamil
- French
- German
- Japanese
- Korean
We also offer Bahasa Melayu classes and a variety of English preparatory courses – Cambridge English, IELTS and TOEFL as well as short courses.
Click to sign up today!
