Language skills can be a significant competitive advantage that sets you apart from your monolingual peers. They are among the top eight skills required for all occupations - no matter your sector or educational level - and the demand for bilingual professionals increases exponentially. In fact, between 2010 and 2015, the number of job postings in the US specifically targeting bilingual candidates more than doubled. As an added incentive, in many cases, language skills also lead to hiring bonuses and salary increases. Whatever your career aspiration - with language skills added to the mix, you are ahead of the crowd!

One of the most rewarding aspects of the human experience is our ability to connect with others. Being able to communicate with someone in their language is an incredible gift. Bilinguals have the unique opportunity to communicate with a wide range of people in their personal and professional lives. Knowing the language makes you a local, no matter where you are, opening your world literally and figuratively. You will be shaped by communities. You will be admired by strangers. You will build lifelong friendships. And just for these reasons, you will see the reward of learning languages for many years.

Traveling as a speaker of the local language can revolutionize an overseas trip. While monolingual travelers are able to visit the same places, travelers who know more than one language can navigate more easily outside the tourist bubble and connect and interact with the local people in a way often inaccessible to those without the language. Learning a second language also opens additional doors to study or work abroad opportunities.

Any language learner can attest that they made mistakes while discovering a new language. It is a necessary part of the learning process! Learning a language means putting yourself out there and stepping out of your comfort zone. The reward is the incredible sense of accomplishment you will feel when conversing with someone in their native language.

The cognitive benefits of learning languages are undeniable. People who speak more than one language have improved memory, problem-solving and critical-thinking skills, enhanced concentration, ability to multitask, and better listening skills. They switch between competing tasks and monitor changes in their environment more easily than monolinguals, as well as showing signs of greater creativity and flexibility. If that weren't enough, as we age, being bilingual or multilingual also helps to stave off mental aging and cognitive decline.

Speaking at least one additional language empowers us to access information that would otherwise be off-limits. For example, individuals proficient in other languages are able to navigate the Internet as global citizens, consuming and evaluating media and entertainment from other countries.

Language is the most direct connection to other cultures. Being able to communicate in another language exposes us to and fosters an appreciation for the traditions, religions, arts, and history of the people associated with that language. Greater understanding, in turn, promotes greater tolerance, empathy, and acceptance of others - with studies showing that people who have studied another language are more open and express more positive attitudes towards the culture associated with that language.

Studies show that decisions made in your second language are more reasoned than those made in your native language. Contrary to popular assumptions, when we deliberate in a second or third language, we actually distance ourselves from the emotional responses and deeply associated biases with our mother tongue. The result? Systematic and lucid decisions based solely on the facts.

As we explore a new language and culture, we naturally make comparisons with what is most familiar. Learning about another culture sheds light on aspects of our own culture - both positive and negative - that we may not have considered before. You may appreciate more what you have or decide to change things!

Learning a second language not only improves communication skills and multiplies vocabulary in your first language - yes, it's true! You develop new brain networks that are primed and ready when you embark on learning a third language.