Language Learning

The aim of this site is to make you a language learning expert, by teaching you how to learn languages, Whether you want to find the easiest language to learn, pick up some useful Spanish phrases for your next holiday or understand how to look up Chinese words in a dictionary, you'll find helpful tips and free online language lessons.

 Why Learn Languages?

Language learning is fun, but it can also be very challenging. So why learn a foreign language in the first place?

There are plenty of reasons to become proficient in another language. Here are just a few:

• Making holidays more fun
  
  
• Opening up new cultures
  
  
• Improving your job prospects
  
  
• Broadening your horizons
  
  
• Meeting new people
  
  
• Motivating you to travel more extensively

Language Learning for Vacations

If English is your native language, it's easy to think that the rest of the world speaks English and you can get by without speaking anything else. To some extent that is true, and in most countries you'll find that nationals really want to practise their English.

Even having an elementary grasp of basic vocabulary and phrases will enable you to interact with local people and will make your stay more interesting and enjoyable.

If you take the time to learn even a little of the language the locals will generally be impressed and of course you will be able to communicate more easily. If your language skills are limited, the attempt to make yourself understood can be amusing and laughter can quickly create a bond, enabling you to make new friends.

Getting to know people abroad will also enrich your holiday. The locals can recommend places worth seeing,as well as restaurants,cafes and events which aren't on the usual tourist trail. So with even a smattering of German, Spanish, Greek or whatever the language of your destination happens to be, you can have a holiday which is more unusual, exciting and memorable than a package deal or typical tourist visit.

Learning Languages to Discover New Cultures

There is so much more to learning a language than grammar and vocabulary - you are learning about a culture which is often very different from your own.

One of the most interesting experiences of my life was spending a year in China as part of my degree course. This was before China had become industrialized and was still a long way from becoming a world power. However, I'm sure that a visitor to China today would still find huge differences in culture and lifestyle.

Every country has its own literature, music, art and traditions. Many aspects of foreign culture are well known throughout the world, and others less so. To get a real feeling for another culture having some understanding of the language is important.

Language Learning to Improve Your Job Prospects

These days you need as many skills as possible if you are to succeed in the job market and with international travel and the internet so easily accessible these days, knowledge of one or more foreign languages is a big asset.

It really depends on your job and the company you work for, but amongst the most useful languages for business are Spanish and Chinese. You could also consider working abroad in an area where your English would be valuable and you would then choose the local language for everyday situations and communicating with your colleagues.

If you are working at home in an international company, the level to which you need to develop your linguistic skills will depend on how much you will use the language in your current job. If you hope to gain promotion, you might need to study the language in more depth.

Language Learning to Broaden Your Horizons and Meet New People

Even if you don't need languages for work or travel, you can still gain a great deal from taking a language course. This is especially true if you live in an area where there are a lot of foreign nationals and is particulary the case in big cities. But many smaller towns and rural areas are home to people whose first language is not English.

I'm using English as an example since it is my native language and the language of this site. Of course, the same is true for non-English speaking parts of the world.

To get started on your language learning adventure, go to the introduction to language learning.

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