BILINGUALSIM:
The Business Benefits
Many people, especially students, wonder if learning a second language is actually beneficial in the long run. If college students want to minor in a foreign language, they must take language classes in addition to classes they are required to take for their major. These extra classes could result in an extra semester of schooling in order to get a foreign language minor. The thought of having to take an extra semester of schooling causes many students to doubt whether they want to spend the time to learn another language or not. In order to find out if bilingualism is an asset in the business world, I asked a few business recruiters if they thought bilingualism would be beneficial in the long run. All three of the recruiters that I discussed bilingualism with said that they wished they knew another language. They told me that students should learn another language if they are considering it, because the benefits outweigh the time it takes to learn another language. No matter what age someone is when they begin to learn a second language, the advantages of being bilingual or multilingual are just as beneficial as learning two languages from birth. Children, teenagers, business professionals, business executives, and even people who do not even work can benefit from knowing multiple languages. There are more benefits to bilingualism than most people realize, especially in the business world. Bilingualism creates cognitive benefits, more job opportunities, the opportunity to expand one’s client base, larger salaries, and other advantages that effect bilinguals every day.