Top 10 Hobbies: Learning languages

How pastimes have a great application of crafting meaning in life.

Learning another language that is not what you grew up with or are familiar with can be challenging, but also very rewarding. Language is a unique way in which humans have developed deeper connections and evolved ways to share ideas that revolutionized our way of living. In current times, language is something that most of us do not really think about and it comes second-hand. There are dozens of different languages, each with their own dialects and nuances. While some students have grown up with predominantly speaking Spanish or French, others gave grown up in primarily English-only spoken households. Sometimes it is a mixture of many languages. Other times your grandparents may speak a language that aligns with your heritage but you are not fluent. While some of us are on the first levels of Duolingo while others are completely fluent in another language, becoming bilingual is a useful skill that has many important functions.

Words and sentences were crafted so that you could share ideas, thoughts, and input in an effective way to others. Language learning not just a hobby- rather it is a unique skill can help you interact with a broader community. Becoming bilingual isn’t easy after the age of about 8 years old (the time where your brain develops the most of its functions for speech). If education systems implemented classes where multiple languages were taught in elementary school, then many of us could have mastered many tongues. Thus, schools in the U.S. should implement language courses sooner so that American students can interact with the surrounding nations with a broader global perspective. Becoming bilingual also helps one practice their problem solving skills and make help develop their critical thinking abilities.

Studies have also shown that there is strong evidence that being bilingual will decrease you chance of developing neurological disorders like Alzheimer’s. Thus, learning another language has the potential to affect the future health of your body. It helps you strengthen your thinking skills and activates more activity in your brain. Being able to transition from speaking one language to another thus improve your health; therefore, it should not be limited within the small scope of a hobby.

Speaking another language also has many important affects on your future career. In almost all areas of the workplace, speaking another language could help assist in your ability to effectively communicate. For example, doctors and nurses can more accurate translate medical jargon and make patients feel more comfortable in the clinic if they speak in the patient’s native language. Successful communication could also ensure that co-workers can work more cohesively. While it is very difficult to learn every single language in the world, even learning a second language will assist you in making connections in your future career. Moreover, it will expand your cultural understanding as languages that are unknown to you are usually in a different location from what you call home. For example, a Penn State college art student could have grown up speaking English and German, but then they study French and live there to do art.

As a result, language opens many doorways by enabling us to live in different locations in the world, and it help gather a deeper understanding of other cultures through unique interactions.