Why do people learn languages?

In your experience, what are some of the reasons adults choose to learn a second language?

How do we encourage more people to pick up a second language?

Hi euroasia,

There are almost as many reasons for learning a language as there are people who want to learn a language. A recent article on Bright Hub talks about looking at motivations for choosing a language, at http://www.brighthub.com/education/languages/articles/21704.aspx, and you might enjoy reading it for some insights. Under the topic Second Language Acquisition (found on the middle of the left hand side of this channel), there are a number of articles on learning a new language, some of which consider specific languages.

A new language can add to your understanding of other people, other cultures, other countries- and it can open job opportunities. It can also, by letting your brain form new patterns using words with new meanings, help you understand yourself differently. A number of the topics in this channel examine various languages, from All About Spanish to a multitude of different languages in the topic Other Languages, and you may enjoy reading a few of these articles to see if any of the languages engage your interest.

Here is an article on why language learning can be critiical to American security.

If you have more specific questions, feel free to ask them here.

Learning a second language opens doors for you, both here and overseas.

Imagine being in a foreign city. You see people walking the sidewalks; you hear the "vroom" of the cars, motorcycles, and mopeds on the streets. Further down the sidewalk, you come across something that smells real good, your stomach churns. You step into one of the restaurants.

You sit down and the server hands you the menu. When it's time to order, you find yourself doing something like this, "what's this entry like?" Immediately, the server goes 100 mph in the native language. You're getting hungry, but you're not ready to order something that might take your appetite away.

If you speak the local language, you'd be able to read the store signs and what they sell. Once you step into a restaurant, you could read and understand the menu; then place your order. When the natives see you speaking in their tongue, they remove you from the stereotype they have of people from your home country. They end up liking you more and go out of their way to help you out.

Getting into conversations with people that don't speak your language is a learning experience. The person you're talking to will tell you things that you won't get out of a guidebook. You might find a place where you could knock your gift shopping, for the family, out in one afternoon; and have money to spare. You might find a hole in the wall place where no tourist ventures; one that's safe and where decent locals like to hang out at.

A good language to learn is one that's spoken in multiple countries. Spanish, Portuguese, and Arabic are examples. You remove most language barriers for multiple countries just by learning one language. There are regional differences and accents, but you'd be able to overcome these in a few hours.

Language barriers have the potential of ruining people's stay or vacation overseas. If you get lost, and nobody could understand you, you open the door to someone taking advantage of you.

Finally, the number of people speaking a foreign language in the U.S. is increasing. You may end up in a restaurant, deli, or establishment where the employees don't speak English. Knowing the employee's language could make the difference between having a decent meal; or you complaining about a bad experience to friends.

You've all covered some great points that I would normally contribute to this subject. That leaves me having to speak more about my experiences travelling overseas. I wish I'd learned a second language before I went. Even without being able to speak a second language I found the most rich parts of my trips were when I got to sit down with locals and talk like equals. I was in awe seeing St Vitus cathedral in Prague and had little trouble getting around. Most of the people in the tourist areas speak english. The best part of the trip however was when I ventured out past 'the wrong side of the tracks' to go to a little heavy metal show in a tiny little basement pub to see an iconic Czech metal band. I tried talking to the band afterwards but they didn't speak english. Fortunately most of the younger generation in Prague learn english in school and another fan was happy to translate between me and the band members. They were happy to see that a foreigner would take the time to come and see them and enjoy their music. I ended up finding out they were playing again that week at an outdoor show for a national holiday before I would be leaving so I got to see them

again and they brought cd's for me to buy this time.

Elsewhere in the world, I was very fortunate when I travelled in China to travel with a local who spoke english and was essentially my unnoficial tour guide. I paid for their food and hotel and they showed me around the local side of China. I never saw The Forbidden Palace or the Great wall. I'm sure they're great sites but instead I got to see Chinese in their every day life in places where tourists don't go. I must say they are such a friendly and hospitable people. I only fear their patriotism. Otherwise they are a very pleasant people. I was lucky enough to see Su Zhou and Huangshan Mountain among other places. When I was on my trip back home without my tour guide things went sour, I missed a flight and couldn't get another for two weeks (long story). I was a little shy to leave my hotel and explore since I was now in Urumqi and didn't feel quite as safe there. But after a few evenings spent at my hotels net bar (internet cafe) I bumped into an engineering student who in fact was bored by electrical engineering and his dream was to be a professional translator. Being in such an odd region of China, I was the first person he'd ever met who spoke english as a first language. He was honored to take me out to dinner, and I had a great time over there after connecting with a local. He showed me around a bit so I wasn't afraid to explore.

In some cases where I'm with someone who doesn't speak english we've sat in front of a computer using google language tools online translator to carry on a conversation. That was great fun on a number of occasions and got me out of some sticky situations (that I wouldn't have been in if I'd spoken the local language a bit)

The most fun I had in all my trips was the time I spent amongst the locals. I can scarecly remember the magificent Aya Sofia but I can remember clearly being stuck in China, sitting outside a restaurant eating Gong Boa Zi Ding in the company of a friendly engineering student.

There's quite a few (www.kalliance.com ?) elearning avenues available for learning languages. One of the best things to do is get on skype and look for random foreign strangers to talk to. You might find one who'll humor you and let you practice your linguistics on them. They'll laugh at your mistakes and tell you how a local would say it - not how a text book says to say it. I've done the same for an Italian I met in an online game. I had a pleasure talking with him online and helping him with his english, discussing philosophy. So I stopped by to visit him when I was in Italy. Site seeing gets a bit old after a while. People don't.

Reading newspapers, books, and magazines is one of the best ways to learn a new language. LangLearner has taken the liberty of collecting reliable and relevant content from foreign language news feeds.