Why should I learn a second language?

I work the help desk at a local college and our student base is really diverse with students from all over the world. Sometimes when trying to help the language barrier is hard to get over and many times I have thought it could be easier to assist if I spoke their fluent language. Here are some of the reasons why I chose to start learning a second language.

Improved career
Being bilingual can help you land better paying jobs. Companies and the government are always looking for people that can speak or translate languages.

Discover a culture
You can learn a lot about a culture, but you can’t feel it fully without throwing yourself in, and that begins with the language.

Travel smarter
Not only will it help you pick better places to see, it will also help make your a smarter traveler. It can help you detect problems that could arise and could get you better perks then a normal tourist.

Learn even more
Some books or magazines may contain great content or great stories. Learning the relevant language could broaden you options when looking for new media and content.

Think more flexibly
If you can speak more than one language your problem solving and abstract thinking skills will be more flexible and creative.

These are just a few of the many reasons why I chose to learn a new language, the only thing that I would do differently is to start sooner.