Foreign Languages. Beneficial?

[Flame]

I am completing a project for a class at school concerning foreign languages. I'm not looking for a debate here, but what I need to know is...

Do you think it is beneficial to learn a foreign language and why?

If you know one, has it been beneficial to you so far?

Is it going to be beneficial to you for reasons other than traveling(such as traveling to Spain and knowing Spanish for the week you're there.)

Basically, the point of the project is to find out the pros and cons of taking a language and if making the effort to learn a language is really worth it in the end. So if you all could give me your opinions for some pros and cons of learning/not learning a foreign language, it'd be appreciated.

[Asparagus Queen]

I think it is. I know a bit of French (well, I know a lot, but haven't used it in years, so I can understand a lot if I hear/see it, but I can't recall it on my own to speak it). I understand a bunch of Spanish because of it, they're very similar languages. It's helped me when I've encountered French or Spanish at jobs, or elsewhere. And of course it helped when I went to France and Mexico.

[May]

Definitely! It has helped me quite a bit in my profession. I use Spanish much more than I thought I would. Around March every year, I get a bunch of new students. Many speak Spanish and very little or no English. It's nice to be able to communicate with them and help the rest of the class learn some of the language through singing.

[Shadow]

I'm learning Spanish right now and the little that I know has come in handy so far. It will probably help me out in the long run when I come across people who speak Spanish as I live in an area where there is a lot of Spanish speaking. Generally its good to know languages that are spoken often around where you live so you know whats going on.

[SpiraLethe]

It's always good to know more than one language. Language is very culturally tied. To know more than one gives you insight to more than one culture and ways of thinking. It also have practical uses. The world operates with many languages. To know more gives you more opportunities, especially with employment.

[Dragonfire]

Oh yes, I think it is extremely beneficial. I am currently taking AP French 5 (this is my 6th year in French) and it has helped me a lot in understanding some Spanish words (which is good seeing as how I live in Texas). It's also helped when I went to France both times.

I hope it will be beneficial to me in the future, for instance I might use it as a backup skill (customer support in French, translating pages, etc.)

[Kitten Medli]

Yes, because foreign people are in the US. Especially Spanish. So if you took Spanish, you could communicate with them easier. :]

An example could be, like, if you worked in Walmart/McDonalds/anyplace you have to talk to people and the person didnt know English well.. yah. :D

...

So.. yes.. I cant.. explain very well. :P

[.:Requiem:.]

I'm not sure how beneficial it's been to me so far, but I can see it being in the future. I personally think that learning any language is well worth it just for the enjoyment. But then, I'm a language-addict.

[Twizzler0171]

I think it's beneficial, if only for the reason I like the sounds of other languages. I'm currently learning Spanish -- but I have always wanted to learn Japanese (it sounds fun to learn!) and German (a lot of my ancestors are German, so I know a few words, but I'd love to know more).

Pros? Well, you can make fun of your siblings without them having a clue what you're saying.

Not that I'll ever use it to make fun of my siblings, of course... *Shifty eyes*

[o_0]

I speak Spanish fluently. I'll use that as my example.

I'm going to Spain for a month this summer. By myself. So it's really helpful.

Also, I put that I'm bilingual on my resumes and it really does help, considering I live in Florida, which has a great Hispanic population.

Finally, learning Spanish helps me understand my own language better. I was the "star" in my English class because I knew gerunds, participles, etc. from Spanish.

[Jasujo]

I think it is very beneficial to know more than one language. When you learn new languages, you also learn roots which can help you with others or figure out words in your own better. I know a bit of Spanish. I used to know a lot more of it, but 10 years out of high school deteriorates the memory a bit. What I do know has been beneficial. I worked in the legal department of social services and occasionally we'd get calls from people who spoke English poorly and I'm glad I remembered the bit I did. My mother has had to use her knowledge of Spanish/Portuguese frequently in her jobs. She used to work customer service for a financial company and now she works in the state job department. I think any job that delves into customer service at all benefits if you know more than one language. Also, if you are in a business, knowing more than one language can help you expand and deal with companies from other countries/areas where your native language isn't predominant.

[NeoPet_online]

Just look at it this way,

If you know English you can do many things.

If you know Another language, say Spanish for me, and speak it fluently, you can double the things you can do, so in heinsight, you're worth two people. And in most cases your income would increase, I dunno if that makes sense, but that's what my moms always told me.

[DiscordantNote]

Oh it certainly is. What if you discover a job you want involves dealing wtih epople who can't speak English, whether that be translating, teaching, advertising, etc. There are any jobs that require knowledge of multiple languages, even the people at the cash registers at your local supermarket probably know a few ords of Spanish. Besides, knowing another language is really cool.

I'm almost fluent in Spanish, know a few random words in Italian, and I'm trying to learn Japanese. Have they been useful? Yes, and here's examples how:

Spanish: Everywhere you look, there's Spanish. It's probably the second most common language in America, and though I've never had to really use it yet, it's been handy when watching soccer on the Spanish channel.

Italian: My English class read Dante's Inferno not long ago, and it happened to have the original Italian in there along with the English. We had to read a bit to see how close the translation was.

Japanese: I'm discovering all sorts of little things that are written in that (chopstick wrappers, things in video games, electronics, etc.) , and it's fun to try translating it. Besides, the alphabets are cool, albiet hard to learn and write.

[843]

Learning a new language is definitely beneficial. For example, I'm currently learning Japanese. Before, every Japanese writings look like gibberish to me and it's a pain to wait for an anime to be subbed or a manga to be scanlated

Now that I can read kana, I can understand some raws, though my vocabulary is still very limited.

In case of anime though, they speak so rapidly that I'll need a few seconds to comprehend whatever they're talking about...

Manga and anime probably don't go well with a school project, so you may refer to them as entertainment

[_jade_em_]

I think it's beneficial to learn a foreign language =D And even if you don't really get much of a chance to use it, it makes you feel smart xD

I grew up learning both English and Mandarin, and it was only just recently that I actually found use and joy in the latter one xP Y'see, there's this manga, Shaman King, that the online English scanlating groups are doing reaaallly slowly. But about a week ago, I found a Chinese site that has all 32 volumes quality-scanned and translated =D I was practically bursting with joy and thanking my knowledge of Mandarin then.

Also, there's this 24/7 anime channel that I have. 90% of the shows are in the original Japanese with Chinese subtitles, and the other 10% are in Cantonese. With the Cantonese ones I can pretty much understand most of it, but with the other ones, sometimes I don't read fast enough o_o; However, I also know a bit of Japanese, so I can pretty much grasp what's going on anyway =D

... Well. Entertainingly beneficial? xDDD