Speaking A Second Language: A Skill Everyone Should Master

Speaking a second language: A skill everyone should master

Habla espanol? Most English speaking people today have no idea what I just said. Speaking a second language is a skill that most do not have but should possess. A person who masters a second language definitely gains an advantage over someone who only speaks one language. Everyone should learn to speak a second language because it benefits our lives in so many ways ranging from economic to educational and even socially.

There are numerous potential economic advantages of being a bilingual. A person with two languages will probably have a wider portfolio of jobs available in the future. Being bilingual will give you the upper hand when competing in today's job market as well as the global economy (Four out of five new jobs in the US are created from foreign trade). This in turn can mean better pay, position, and job security. Bilinguals are increasingly needed in the retail sector, tourism, transport, public relations, banking and accountancy, administration, translation, secretarial work, marketing and sales, the law and teaching. Bilinguals can offer potential employers more flexibility. Bilingualism also opens a wider communication bridge which helps them with the ability to communicate with more people and have access to more resources. This will increase the marketability of your skills and makes your resume become very desirable. Speaking more than one language will make you more of an asset to the company rather than a hired hand.

Educationally, learning to speak a second language provides you with life-long knowledge and skills. It puts you ahead of the other students because it has been known to stimulate superior academic and linguistic performance. They show increased curricular achievement, flexible thinking and greater problem solving skills. Students practice and perfect advanced interpreting and translation skills. It teaches them intercultural understanding, tolerance and respect for different cultures.Thomas & Collier (2003) state, "English speakers exceed the achievement of their monolinguals educated peersÐ'....which leads to enhanced creativity and analytical thinking" (p.61). Most researchers agree that bilingual learners develop more skills in cognitive areas. This might explain why these students usually achieve better scores in