On Wednesday evening, I sat with a German textbook open on my lap desperately trying to memorise all the rules of der, die and das. Sometimes it’s difficult to find patterns or meaning in a new language. But to persevere and struggle on when you learn a new language is oh so worth it at the end of the day when you get to converse fluently in that language.
Learning a new language will change the way you view the world and will even shape the way you think. Example: in English, we use the word love to refer to what we feel for our dogs, things we like, and even to express what we feel for our significant other. In Spanish however, the word amar (to love) is not used in the same way, it is reserved ONLY for those you deeply care for.
Learning a new language also exposes you to new cultures you may never have been exposed to otherwise. By learning a new language, you learn about the culture that comes along with it. You learn that there is so much more to life and that it is good to be different. It teaches you to truly understand and embrace diversity. By being able to speak another language you connect yourself to millions of others on a level that you would otherwise be unable to reach. Learning another language results in an understanding and tolerance between people. One of the best ways to understand a culture better or a specific person of another language you’d like to get to know better is by learning to speak their language.
It may not always be easy learning a new language by yourself, which is why the Language Teaching Centre (LTC) is a great way to really get a feel for a language. Here, students not only have the chance to learn another language but to engage with others from different backgrounds and discover more about other cultures. Highly qualified teachers at the Language Teaching Centre are experienced in teaching students from many different backgrounds and languages, and their encouragement motivates students to work harder to learn more. As famous psycholinguist, Frank Smith once said, “One language sets you in a corridor for life. Two languages open every door along the way.”
To be at least partly fluent in another language is great for your social life. The more languages you know, the more people you’ll be able to interact with. Even better, learning a new language is good for your brain, keeping it alert and high-functioning thanks to all the technical nuances, irregularities, and grammar rules. But best of all – knowing a number of different languages makes you stand out in a pool of job applicants. With all these benefits and more, you have no excuse not to learn at least one other language, especially with the boost the Language Teaching Centre will give you. A quote by Hungarian interpreter, Kató Lomb, sums it all up beautifully: “We should learn languages because language is the only thing worth knowing even poorly.”