Why Study A Second Language

WHY A MAJOR OR MINOR IN A SECOND LANGUAGE WILL HELP YOU IN YOUR CAREER - AND IN LIFE

    Languages and liberal arts for the 21st century

• These are the most powerful languages in the world
• What critics of a liberal arts and sciences education are missing
• Liberal arts is the foundation for professional success in the 21st century
• The Advantages of Diversity of Language and Culture in Communicating Effectively
• America's Biggest Brands Are Increasingly Multilingual
• What Are The Most Important Languages of The 21st Century?
• The surprising thing Google learned about its employees — and what it means for today’s students
• It’s not liberal arts and literature majors who are most underemployed
• Sorry STEM, Google just made the case for more foreign language education 
• Tech Companies Hire More Liberal Arts Majors
• A great engineer needs the liberal arts
• Want To Know The Language Of The Future? The Data Suggests It Could Be...French
• The Liberal Arts Majors That Pay the Most

• 3 ways learning a new language helps your brain—even if you never get fluent
• The benefits of speaking more than one language
• A Bilingual Brain Solves Problems Faster
• The Health Benefits of Bilingualism
• The Benefits Of A Bilingual Brain
• Why being bilingual works wonders for your brain
• 6 Potential brain benefits of bilingual education
• The cognitive benefits of being bilingual 
• Neuroscientists have finally tracked down the bilingual language switch in the brain
• 10 Must-Watch TED Talks for Language Learners
• This Is Why Bilingual Is Better
• Bilingual Children Are Better At
• 3 Key Benefits Of Bilingualism
• Why Learn Languages
• 11 Awesome Reasons To Study A Foreign Language
• The Superior Social Skills of Bilinguals
• Language Study As A National Imperative
• Monolingualism Diminishes America’s Stature on the World Stage 
• The huge benefits of working in your second language
• Bicultural employees can be your organization’s secret to success
• My BA in French made me the tech CEO I am today
• The Mystery of People Who Speak Dozens of Languages
• Think Twice, Speak Once: Bilinguals Process Both Languages Simultaneously
• Learning a second language can alter sensory perception
• 6 Reasons Why Everyone Should Learn Spanish

     Careers and earnings
               

• Even On Conservative Estimates, Speaking Another Language Translates Into A Big Earnings Boost
• Myths And Misconceptions About Language Learning
• Thinking In A Foreign Language Helps Economic Decision-MakingWhy Bilinguals Are Smarter
• Applying To College? Make Sure You Have Options to Study Languages
• Money Is A Terrible Way To Measure The Value Of A College Major
• The Truth about College Majors and Future Employment
• Which Is The Best Language To Learn?
• French Language Is On The Up, Report Reveals
• New Language Helps Psychological Understanding
• Foreign Language Majors Earn More!
• Language Learning By The Numbers
• The Ability To Draw From Other Disciplines Produces Better Scientists
• Americans, Want to Earn More Cash? Freshen Up Your Foreign Language Skills from High School
• How much money learning a foreign language is worth
• Want A Job In Tech?  Learn Another Language
• Five reasons why knowing a foreign language will help your career
• Why learning another language can change your life

     Social Skills, leadership, tolerance, perspectives

• The Advantages of Diversity of Language and Culture in Communicating Effectively
• Why learning another language can change your life
• How languages shape the way we think
• Learning a language has a lot of benefits, including making you more tolerant
• Leadership skills multiply with language skills 
• How morality changes in a foreign language
• Speaking a second language may change how you see the world
• Learning a new language helps kids better understand psychology, diversity 
• Lost in translation : the power of language to shape how we view the world

• According to research from Georgetown University and the Bureau of Labor Statistics, “common foreign languages” rank 10^th on the list of the 13 most useful college majors—ahead of general business, elementary education, and economics!

• Thinking in a foreign language helps economic decision-making: In a study with implications for businesspeople in a global economy, researchers at the University of Chicago have found that people make more rational decisions when they think through a problem in a non-native tongue.  ScienceDaily (April 25, 2012)

• Being bilingual makes you smarter: It can have a profound effect on your brain, improving cognitive skills not related to language and even shielding against dementia in old age, according to an article in the New York Times: “Why Bilinguals are smarter.”

• "Sometimes liberal-arts majors struggle a bit more than other majors when launching their careers, but the evidence shows that they tend to advance farther and be more sought out by CEOs for high-level jobs," says Katharine Hansen, writer for the job-hunting website Quintessential Careers and author of A Foot in the Door: Networking Your Way Into the Hidden Job Market quoted in “What good is a liberal arts degree in the job market?”

• Michelle Marion graduated from Georgetown University with a degree in French in 2009—when the economy was in a recession.  After waiting tables for a few months while searching for a job, she landed one in an aerospace company: “My responsibilities, which actually had little to do with the fact that I spoke French, were vast and varied,” she says. “They had more to do with skills such as researching, organization and self-motivation that I learned through the multi-disciplinary four years I spent in college.”  Marion was willing to start in a junior assistant position and wound up in a senior position—with a big pay increase in six months. She says that she knows other French majors who got good jobs at consulting firms, financial companies and government agencies.  As quoted in “What good is a liberal arts degree in the job market?”

• “Of all the things employers look for when hiring entry-level talent, it’s the so-called ‘soft skills’ that are valued most:  communication, teamwork, flexibility and positive attitude are by far the most sought-after skills.  Employers understand that everything else can be taught, so they look for the most promising raw material to work with,” according to Jennifer Floren, Founder and CEO, Experience, Inc.

• An analyst quoted on the JP Morgan career page said, “I wish I'd known that effective communication skills are critical for success, even at the Analyst level.” He adds,  “Looking back at college, I should have taken many more writing classes. I'd even say that a few more writing classes are more beneficial than a specialized derivatives class. You can learn the derivatives on the job.”

• According to MyMajors.com, the communicative skills and intercultural understanding gained from studying a foreign language are increasingly valuable in many fields: business, education, government, law enforcement, media, social services and the service industry, among others. Many students choose a double or secondary major and combine a foreign language with a complementary field like English, history, international studies, journalism, political science, business, international marketing or education.

• Collaboration is a highly valued skill valued in business and government jobs.  “Foreign language classrooms lead the way in teaching and learning collaboratively. And, more importantly, learning a foreign language fosters all the skills required to collaborate--most notably, the ability to communicate--speaking and listening, understanding and empathizing. While I certainly don't want to say that learning a foreign language is only worthwhile because it has concrete cash benefits, nor would I deny them,” writes Oberlin University Professor Erik Inglis.