Why learning a foreign language is Important

Langma School of Languages

The idea of an eventual alienation from their culture seems to be one of the reasons we’re reluctant to learn foreign languages, and it is a fact that we in general are protective of their culture. This is evidenced, among other things, by the efforts of Indian immigrant parents in the United States or European culture to maintain their own traditions for their children, who are constantly exposed to the western culture.

More importantly, Indian parents know that language is a key to cultural identity and losing it would reduce the chances to preserve their own native culture. But language also opens possibilities to enrich their own culture and to spread it to others as well. And this is what the goal should be.

 
Learning any foreign language as a second language is similar to receiving a key to a second culture. This second key comes with a number of benefits; first, and perhaps most important, we have the chance to communicate with people from other cultures. We can use this ability to interact to spread our own culture and educate others. I wouldn't be writing this post sharing my perspective as an Indian if it weren't for that possibility.

But the benefits are not limited to a matter of input and output. A second benefit, that in some cases is ignored, is the opportunity to broaden our minds and thinking. A language is not just a given number of words and a set of grammar rules. New mental structures also come with other languages. We have to learn different ways of thinking, and this is something that improves us as human beings.

With such benefits, being able to communicate in foreign language seems a great asset for all of us and, for that matter, any person from any region. But, what about the how?  And how Indian students can learn a foreign language? As per the requirement of students we started an Institution in 2012, and the mission of our Institution is to provide better facility to the students to learn a foreign language and we’ve also set the goal of making students bilingual. The plan started with the discussion and selection of a reference framework for languages and its application in all levels of education. By establishing levels for students and a proper guideline is provided by the trainers at the Institution, according to certain competence indicators, the program improves the language skills in students and prepares them for success in the highly competitive global market.

But even at an individual level, learning foreign language has never been easier than now. With more and more content being produced by people who used to be passive content consumers, and with the immediate availability of such content anywhere in the world, finding material to learn is simple. If you feel that textbooks are boring, why not learn a foreign language using material on topics you are really interested in? 

In my personal experience, I began researching about the importance of foreign language just five years ago and before that, was not aware of all the possibilities and the future of foreign language. I came across sites about photography, design, travel, even research papers on linguistics and other fields, all of which enriched me culturally and professionally and made me eager to share my findings as a teaching. If we translate this into formal language instruction, it's similar to thousands of hours of reading, hundreds of pages of writing and months of listening, through the articles, forums and videos available online.

In conclusion, we can learn a foreign language without losing our own culture; what is more, multiculturalism will enrich our lives at an individual level and at a collective level; our cultural identity will be represented throughout the world, and we will understand other cultures as well.

Langma School of Languages Pvt. Ltd. is a private limited company committed to providing the best standards of teaching and corporate training and enabling you to reach the peak in your domain.

Emotionally yours,
Langma School of Languages Pvt. Ltd.
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www.langmainternational.com