By CAMMIE BAGLEY

Staff Writer

Learning another language can be frustrating and tricky. When you’ve spoken one language for most of your life, it can seem impossible to train your mind to another way of spelling, new rules of grammar and different words for familiar objects.

 Many people could care less about being anything other than monolingual, but there are so many reasons why being able to speak a language other than English is valuable. 

For starters, employers seek out those who can speak more than one language. Businesses always have foreign clients that speak a multitude of languages that we know nothing about, so when you are the one out of many who is bilingual, you’re more likely to be hired than those who aren’t. 

Another advantage of knowing a different language is for travelling purposes. 

Most college students are interested in seeing the world, and if you get curious enough to go to a country where English isn’t the primary language, it’s good to know at least some of their vocabulary. 

My experience in France was tricky because I only knew how to say “thank you.” Luckily, the restaurant I ate at had an English menu, but it was still a bit awkward trying to talk to the waiter and any other local person I came in contact with. It can also come across as a bit rude or disrespectful if you aren’t at least trying to speak their language because after all, you’re in their country. 

Lastly, knowing another language is just an additional way to broaden your mind. 

We try to act as though learning is dreadful and boring, and while it can be sometimes, learning new things makes you more worldly and interesting. 

Learning it in a classroom might not be the most fun or exciting way to become fluent, but tools such as Rosetta Stone or being around people who primarily speak the language you’re learning are perfect ways to become bilingual. 

And if you’re brave enough, immersing yourself in the culture of the language you want to learn is an even better way. 

Being multilingual is a rare skill that more people should have which makes it a no brainer that learning another language is a fad.