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10 Reasons Why Foreign Language Study is Good for You

Learning just one other language could add $128,000+  to your career.* But here are ten additional reasons why you should consider taking language courses at Saint Louis University.

Learning a foreign or classical language(s) and culture(s): 

1. Makes you more competitive on the job market, and as an applicant to graduate programs, fellowships and professional schools. The study of another language is seen as evidence that you are a better communicator (even in your native language) and that you can put yourself more easily into another person's shoes, be that a colleague or a client. Learning technical vocabulary related to your career keeps you one step ahead of the competition in the global world.

2. Enhances your understanding and competence of your own language and culture, because you can see it from both without and within and it helps you to communicate effectively in cross-cultural settings.

3. Sharpens your brain, helps you think more clearly, and make better sense of the world. Also, it delays illnesses such as dementia and Alzheimer’s.

4. Provides a deeper access to (an)other culture(s) that would not be available in translation.

5. Teaches you empathy, because becoming familiar with (an)other language(s) and culture(s) allows you to better understand the experience of immigrants and international colleagues and clients in your own country.

6. Enables you to learn additional languages more easily in the future.

7. Is fun and adds great variety and valuable experience to your education, and it is easy to fit foreign or classical language courses into your schedule.

8. Satisfies language prerequisites for internships, competitive fellowships, and immersive study abroad options.

9. Teaches self-confidence and self-awareness, especially when you take the leap of studying or interning abroad in a foreign-language immersion setting. This is identified by students as one of the most satisfying experiences of their university education.

10. Makes you a citizen of the world,  a human for others around the world.

Julia Griffin

 Paraphrased and modified from Wesleyan’s 9 reasons.

*Jordan, John-Erik. "Does Learning A Foreign Language Actually Pay Off?" Babbel magazine.