"I Lost The Promotion - The Other Guy Speaks Spanish!"

This is becoming an all-too-common situation; those guys with a couple languages under their belt always get the sweet promotions and good jobs.  You can sit and blame how the world is changing, curse your bad luck by being raised mono-lingual, or blame those immigrants with their funny languages... but you're hiding from a basic fact of life - Speaking a second language is a great skill, and in today's international business world, it is indispensable.

You can look at second language learning as something you have to do to cope with changes, or you can see it as an exciting opportunity that opens the world up to you.  Studying a second language gives your career a boost, but it also benefits you in other ways. 

Let's look at some of the benefits of learning a new language.

Career Enhancement.  Studying another language can boost your employment opportunities and promotions, whether you stay at home or work overseas.  With even a little bit of a foreign language, you may have the opportunity to work for a US business in that country.  For instance, if you study Italian, there's a good chance you might be able to find work opportunities in Italy.

Even if you stay at home, a second language can help.  A potential employee who speaks a second language is valuable to any company, no matter what industry.

Travel Opportunities.  It's one thing to learn a few simple phrases before you go, but imagine being able to converse with the locals when you travel all over the world?  Speaking the language opens doors that would otherwise be shut to the traveler.  Even a beginner level proficiency in a second language can be a big help when you're traveling.

Brain Enhancement.  Besides being useful in everyday life, learning a second language is a great exercise for your brain.  Studies show that those who speak a second language are at lower risk for Alzheimer's and other diseases that affect the mind.  Those who speak or have studied a second language have also been shown to have better overall intelligence.

Part of second language learning is mathematical.  This is involved in studying grammar.  Another part involves speaking and listening, which uses the same part of the brain that musicians use when they perform.  Learning a second language exercises both your right and left brain, your creative-intuitive learning centers, as well as your analytical mind.

Making International Friends.  Learning another language opens up the world to you.  If you can develop a basic fluency in a major language like Chinese or Spanish, you can communicated with a huge portion of the earth.  With basic conversational ability in a couple of language, you can talk to people all over the world!

Hobby Enhancement.  If you're into soccer, how would you like to read the World Cup Soccer news in Spanish or Italian, straight from the source?  Or, if you like sushi, how about ordering in Japanese?  A second language can help you enjoy your hobbies in a new way, and you can blow your friends away with your knowledge of another language.

For those who want to learn a useful second language that is spoken all over the world, as well as right here at home, the best option is Spanish.  Even a low level of Spanish will help you get the job you want, as well as get around wherever you want to go in the entire western hemisphere.

Stop cursing yourself for only speaking English, and start learning your new language today!

Peter Freeman
Polyglotus.com