Learning new languages will give you many different benefits

Learning a new language is one of the most heard "new year's resolutions" among people, and it should also be yours. Even if you are fluent in English, the most spoken language in the world (not the mother tongue of most people, but it is the one that most people seek to learn), learning new languages will give you many different benefits and opportunities.

What are the benefits of learning a new language?

• Communication with others: As human beings, interacting and connecting with others is a rewarding activity for us. Being able to communicate with someone in their language is an incredible gesture. As your list of spoken languages grows, the list of people you will be able to communicate with will grow as well. 
• Advantage in the workforce: Nowadays, being able to communicate in different languages is one of the most sought skills by employers. This is specially important for fields like customer service, hospitality, health care, information technology and administrative work, among others. Multilingual people are able to interact and communicate with diverse communities and come across as people who are motived and driven to learn new skills!
• Feeds your brain: There are many different cognitive benefits of learning a language. People who speak more than one language have improved memory, problem-solving and critical-thinking skills, enhanced concentration, ability to multitask and better listening skills. Signs of greater creativity and flexibility are also displayed by multilingual people.
• Travelling is easier and more fulfilling: Knowing the language of the place you're visiting makes you a "local". Communicating in the stablished language will be appreciated by residents and will help you discover more about the place you're in.

Why is it important to learn a new language? 

A part from all the benefits mentioned, learning a new language is important because it contributes to the preservation of a culture. The process of learning a new language is connected to the process of understanding the culture of the places where that language is spoken. Every language has a long history behind it and represents a culture that evolved until it became what it is nowadays.

Where to learn a new language?

As a Coventry University student you have discounted access to the World Languages Program, where you have access to more than 23 languages and their different levels of teaching. Teaching is done either face-to-face or online (depends on the language and its level) and once you finish the course you will earn a certificate in line with the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR).

They offer courses on these languages: Arabic, British Sign Language, Bulgarian, Cantonese, English, French, German, Greek, Hindi, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Persian, Polish, Portuguese (European), Punjabi, Romanian, Russian, Spanish, Turkish, Urdu. Each one has different levels so they can be accessible to everyone.

This is your sign to add "learning a new language" as one of your 2023 resolutions and now it's your time to make it happen!