learning foreign languages

Why should Americans learn French?

Emma

Paris en noir et blanc

 

If you’re American and you still wonder why you should learn to speak French, what follows is for you.

 

Be different and arouse admiration:

English, as it’s a language that the whole planet learns, is not a rare skill on the market. It’s hard time to make the difference with most of the English-speakers and show to the rest of the world that you, as an American, you also made efforts to learn a foreign language.

 

A superpower!

 

Speaking another language is a wonderful skill. You can add it to your resume and it’s like having a superpower! Indeed, you can communicate with a big part of the population in the world and by 2050, French will be the second most spoken language in the world. And thanks to French, you will increase your employability.

 

You’ll sound and look sexy!

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French is the language of love, everybody knows that! As French is a beautiful language, you’ll look sexy when you speak it. And you may find Love, French-speakers love the American accent!

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More culture!

You’ll be able to enjoy French-speaking movies, books and newspapers …

 

You will acquire many new skills and not only linguistic and cultural ones!

 

By learning French and by discovering the cultures from the French-speaking countries, your brain will begin to work in a different way and you will develop the following new skills:

 

  • You’ll be more open-minded.
  • You’ll be able to adapt to any unknown situation more easily.
  • You’ll be able to live in unfamiliar environments while being more comfortable.
  • Your writing and speaking skills will become better.
  • You’ll be more aware of your language and of your own culture.
  • You’ll be able to analyze and evaluate in a more relevant way.
  • You will understand many disciplines more easily.
  • You’ll be more comfortable with people who have a different culture than yours.
  • You’ll be more curious about the other cultures and the other languages.
  • You’ll feel almost at home in many countries: French is spoken on all the continents.
  • You’ll understand international relations better because learning a language is also learning a culture, a different way of thinking.
  • Learning French is an excellent exercise for your memory.

 

Traveling easily to many countries in the world and feeling at home everywhere!

In this map, you can see the French-speaking countries of the world.

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French is spoken in many interesting countries such as Switzerland, Luxembourg, Belgium, Canada, Senegal, Mali, Morocco, Tunisia and many other countries in Africa.

France is an awesome country!

Paris will always be Paris! But the whole country is interesting from a cultural point of view. Besides, the French landscapes are various and wonderful: The Alps, the French Riviera, the West coast…

La plage du Pouldu en Bretagne.
Le Pouldu, in Britany.

French food is delicious. French wine is great. French fashion is famous all over the world and the best perfumes are from France.

 

What can French bring you from a professional point of view?

 

Being able to speak another language always looks good on a resume. You will stand out from other Americans who don’t have this skill. As French is spoken in many territories on the planet, you’ll be able to do business with more countries easily. Moreover, the French-speaking countries located in Europe are quite successful economically (France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Monaco), so maybe it’s time to think about doing business with them or expanding your company. Besides, Canada is a bilingual neighbor country.

Many international companies are trying to hire people who have the skills mentioned above and being able to speak French may allow you to have a better salary.

If you don’t have any BA in a foreign language, you can take very affordable tests called DELF and DALF to validate your level of French. Each test allows you to have a diploma which will be valid for the rest of your life and that you can put in your resume.

This is a short list of examples of jobs that you can have thanks to a degree in French and you will see that French teacher is not the only job opportunity you can have:

  • Bilingual client care representative
  • International business consultant
  • Bilingual tour consultant
  • Book review editor
  • French teacher
  • Language assessor
  • Diplomat. French is the language of diplomacy 😉
  • Lawyer
  • Proofreader
  • Publisher
  • Translator
  • Travel agent
  • University professor
  • Writer
  • Technical writer
  • Journalist
  • Foreign exchange trader
  • Game tester…

And being able to speak French is always a plus in any career.

 

You already know so many French words! 

Due to the fact that England had French Kings many centuries ago, many French words are still in the English language. You certainly use them every day, so a big part of the job is already done!

You will be able to learn Spanish and the other latin languages more easily.

There are many similarities between the latin languages.

French is an important language in the world.

French is the language of culture, diplomacy, a very important language in the EU and the number of French-speakers is growing in a very impressive way. Besides, it’s the fourth language on the Internet.

If you speak French well enough, you can study in a French university and have a wonderful experience abroad saving money!

Studying in France is much cheaper than studying in any American university.

You will become a better person

Learning a foreign language is the doorway to open-mindedness, tolerance, empathy and wisdom.

So, when will YOU start learning French?

 

 

 

Why are exposure to foreign cultures and the learning of languages essential for tolerance?

Emma

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Learning a language is much more than learning grammar rules and vocabulary. Not only does the learning of a foreign language allow you to communicate with native speakers (it is already magic!), but moreover, it allows you to discover a different culture and to become somebody else because the goal is to make efforts to integrate a new community and to respect its traditions.

Language teachers are exploiting multiculturalism more and more, it is essential to understand your own culture better and notice the differences and common points with the targeted culture to adapt your gestures to the rituals of a community. This approach prevents you from making faux-pas and unconsciously teaches you respect because you want to be accepted by the members of this community.

Trying to integrate into a community can be done in your own country without having learnt a foreign language before. For instance, if you’re invited to a party at friends’ who have another nationality and culture, you will tend to taste the traditional dishes, to listen to some music in a foreign language, and to follow some important traditions for the host community. Consequently, this event is an opportunity to live a rich cultural experience which will create a strong link between you and this culture that you could discover sharing good moments.

Traveling is another means of having cultural and linguistic experiences. You discover a new environment, the local population, you can hear the language of the country, and you try to understand what is written around you. Day after day, you adapt to a new rhythm, a new way of living some situations and, with time, you learn how to integrate into a new community. For example, first, you try to have information about the tip you should leave in a café or in a restaurant and you want to know if it’s necessary to cancel your tickets before taking the train… When you have understood these things, you will feel more and more comfortable where you are and if you speak the language of the country and can make friends there, you will even have the feeling that you’re a citizen of this country!

This feeling can be accentuated if you master its language and its phrases. When you understand the working of the society, the interests, the worries of the population, and when your native friends almost forget that you’re not one of their compatriots and don’t need to make efforts to communicate with you.

There are different ways of traveling. Some people go to foreign countries to stay in a hotel. These people don’t have real contact with the local population and can only have a limited and stereotyped view of their holiday destination.

Being willing to go towards others and having empathy are essential to have a successful experience abroad. Contact with the population changes your vision of the country, of the world, and allows you to have another point of view about your own country and to become more open-minded.

Open-mindedness can be difficult to live when you go back to your home country. You may remember the reaction of Xavier, in the movie L’Auberge Espagnole, when he goes back to Paris after an Erasmus exchange in Barcelona. He realizes that he has evolved while the people he meets have stayed in their comfort zone and have not lived a strong international experience.

Why do some people go towards the others and want to learn from them while other people do not take any risk and only stay with their own community?

Education and the learning of empathy at an early stage of life can be responses to this question. Indeed, differences can sometimes be frightening but it’s important to learn how to tame them.

The motto of the EU is United in Diversity, a real tolerance lesson! One of the goals of the EU is the learning of two foreign languages (minimum) by all its citizens and there are many programs to study and work abroad. Everybody knows the current problems of the EU but these diversity measures could be really good if they were applied by most of its citizens. Of course, the ideal would be that everyone in the world could live a maximum of international experiences in their life to become more open-minded and tolerant.

As a conclusion, being with different communities, traveling, and learning foreign languages are key-elements to create respect for others and to understand that communicating can bring a fundamental value. An education turned toward others, exchanges, and the learning of languages and cultures could diminish some current worldwide issues like racism, xenophobia, conflicts between communities, and even some wars.

It is by understanding others that we can discuss and have a chance to neutralize tensions. It is by taming the differences that we can imagine a more peaceful future.