It is true that every smart and educated person should know at least one foreign language and be able to speak it fluently. It shows the level of personal development as well. Almost all famous philosophers, writers, politicians are good at several languages, but not only at their native tongue. If you want to get a well-paid and prestigious job after graduation from college, you should definitely learn them too. Maybe, you will not reach any fame as a polyglot, but it will give you a lot of benefits anyway. Fortunately, most of the colleges and universities offer students an opportunity to attend courses on different foreign languages and even choose one of them as their major subject. This is a pretty good chance to become a smarter person and develop your worldview because you will have to get in touch with a certain culture as well.
Which Benefits Will You Get?
Sure, first of all, you have to be aware of the exact benefits of learning a certain language. As a rule, it depends on the country where it is mostly used. Nevertheless, there are some general advantages of speaking several foreign languages, which are good for every person both students and adults. Pay attention to them and you will encourage yourself for being diligent and productive while studying.
Better Job Opportunities
It is true that the major part of employers searches for workers, who know at least one foreign language well. It may become a good reason to get an increment or even promotion. It is essential for big international companies, which have many partners in other countries. As a result, there are many documents and meetings with the usage of a foreign tongue. So, do not forget that such skills give you a great advantage comparing to other candidates in any industry of employment.
Developed Personality
Without any exaggeration, knowing a foreign language develops your personality greatly. Except being able to speak with people from abroad and read something in original, you will improve your memory and change a worldview. It is essential not only to learn words from a dictionary and memorize grammar rules but be aware of some local traditions and culture. So, you will know more things about worldwide history and have a specific point of view on a certain issue.
Our Methods and Strategies
These points, which we demonstrated, can encourage you to start studying but it is not enough to reach the main goal. Now, it is time to explain you some effective and beneficial methods of learning foreign languages. Use them and you will be successful at college or during your homeschooling. Keep in mind that it is not an easy task to become good at speaking and writing in a foreign tongue. So, our tips and hints are rather a necessity for inexperienced young people.
Pay Attention to Pronunciation
Many young people find that phonetics is not an important part of learning a language and postpone it for later. This is a big mistake, as without knowing the basics you will never be good at speaking a certain tongue. A correct pronunciation is a key to success and this is a thing, which you have to learn first of all. In such a way, you will avoid a lot of mistakes in the future. It usually happens that students, who do not pay attention to phonetics, memorize words pronunciation wrongly and then it is hard for them to learn a correct variant. You should never ignore this part of a language and pay enough efforts and time to it.
Communicate with Native Speakers
It is essential not only to learn a theory and some grammar rules. The secret of success is live communicating and building dialogues spontaneously in the reality. You will learn how to choose correct words, phrases and answers in several seconds. Sure, you need some basic knowledge before starting a talk with a native speaker. However, there is no need to be a professional linguist or study this language for several years. Just find a needed person in reality or online. There are a lot of specific resources, which offer free chat rooms, where you can talk with foreigners and practice your skills. In addition, you can attend some specific courses, which have a form of a live discussion and try to participate there.
Remember About Cognates
You should keep in mind that you already have a basic vocabulary even if you have never learned this language before: the secret is a phenomenon of cognates. These are words with the similar meaning and writing in different languages. As a rule, they have Greek or Latin origin. So, you know some common words before the first class. Sure, they have a bit different endings, but in general, everything is similar. It is suitable for languages in the same groups. However, you will not be able to use this benefit in case of learning Chinese if your native language is English.
Watch Movies
This method is enjoyable and useful at the same time. However, many students practise it in a wrong way. Which are the main rules of choosing a correct film? First of all, you should take your level into account. If you just started to learn a language, you will barely understand anything on the screen. You need at least some basic knowledge to watch movies in original. Select something interesting and with lots of dialogues at the same time. It will be better if all actors are native speakers without accents or dialects. Moreover, it will be better to prefer videos with subtitles. Thanks to them, you can put down unknown words and then find their meaning in a dictionary. This is a good way to enlarge your vocabulary with some specific sayings, slang, idioms and so on. You can even write a short original essay about this movie after watching.
To sum up, it is essential to learn foreign languages for the development of your personality and being successful at college. You will get a lot of benefits thanks to these skills. However, it really demands a lot of efforts and time. You should be ready for this and do not expect to learn a language for several months. As a rule, even a year is not enough to become good at a certain foreign language. We hope that our tips and hints are helpful for you and will make your studying effective.
Chat with us