Danish Language Insight
Learning a foreign language is always a challenge which takes a lot of commitment and time. Hence, not surprisingly, very few of us are willing to take up this additional burden. However, research shows that taking up such task at any stage of life improves learning skills, ability to function and adapt. Learning a new language also develops other life skills like coping fast changing world and handling unfamiliar situations. Additionally, it provides a lifelong skill to interact, understand and communicate with people from different cultures. Recent survey of academic results of school going children in Australia has shown that children that speak more than one language almost always do better in school as compared to their monolingual counterparts. The enhanced problem solving ability and higher order thinking skills are generally observed in bilingual or multilingual children. Career wise knowing an additional language is always a big advantage in today’s inter-linked global market. Almost all walks of life like engineering, medicine, management, retail and service sector etc. require communication in multiple languages at one stage or another. Knowing an extra language can open venues in new and advanced fields with improved possibilities of professional development. More importantly, the additional effort one puts in to learn a new language shows the willingness, ability and commitment to learn and enhance ones knowledge to excel. While learning a foreign language one also gets a good insight into that foreign and new culture which enhances one’s ability to adapt and adjust. Hence, such exercise can prepare one for unforeseen complications and challenges in work environment. More importantly, it adds up the tolerance for diverse customs and lifestyles. Having a career in the field of computer science, I have experienced that familiarity with an additional language may not always be a primary requirement for many jobs but having such ability definitely widens job market for job seekers in this field. By profession, I am a teacher and mode of teaching in most teaching universities is English. Even then, the faculty members with multilingual backgrounds have better ability to adjust. Such teachers can generally offer the required flexibility in class to accommodate students from different cultures and backgrounds. |
