Learning a Foreign Language is Good for Business

The majority of speakers of the world live life through more than one language. According to the Associated Press, the cognitive and neurological benefits of bilingualism extend from early childhood to old age as the brain more efficiently processes information and decreases cognitive decline. The aging and health benefits aren’t exclusive to people raised bilingual, however; they are also seen in people who learn a second language later in life. Beyond cognitive and neurological advantages, there are also valuable social benefits that come from being bilingual, including the ability to communicate in and explore a new culture.

In general, knowing more than one language can provide new career opportunities and higher pay, improve your health and personal life, and give you a change of perspective. 

Let’s take a look at the benefits of learning Chinese, for example:

1. Mandarin Chinese is the most widely spoken language in the world. There are over 1 billion people speaking Mandarin Chinese worldwide. By learning the language, you have the potential to speak to 13% of the world's total population. Mandarin Chinese is also one of the six United Nations languages (English, Arabic, French, Russian, Spanish, Mandarin Chinese).

2. Learning Chinese is easier than you think! The entire language stems from a set of 50,000 characters but you can read 97.9% of everyday written Chinese with a set of only 3,000 characters. There are also no verb conjugations, no gender specific pronouns, and no need to distinguish between singular and plural nouns.

3. You will improve your brain power! Studies have show Mandarin speaking people use both temporal lobes of their brain.

4. Build your resume by learning Mandarin Chinese. It gives you the perfect edge when competing for an important position. China is the second largest economy in the world and the largest trading partner of the United States. Many U.S. companies do business in China and have long-term investments there. Domestic and International businesses prefer to hire people who speak another language and specifically look for candidates who speak Chinese and can operate successfully in a Chinese cultural context. As well as in China, Mandarin is spoken in countries such as Malaysia, Taiwan, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Brunei, Philippines and Mongolia, which creates endless job opportunities for you.

5. Learn about culture and history. China is one of the world’s oldest and richest continuous cultures, over 5000 years old.

6. Order and eat great food.

7. Travel with ease and make friends with the locals!

Whether you chose to learn Mandarin Chinese or any other language, you will reap the benefits personally and professionally. Most importantly, learning a new language can be very fun and rewarding!