It should not be mandatory to learn new languages at school, since not every pupil is gifted with an ability to learn them. I disagree with this idea, because despite some difficulties, learning foreign languages can have cognitive and professional benefits in life.
First and foremost, engaging in language learning can have many mental advantages. In other words, learning new languages requires a student to learn new words and grammatical structures, which challenges and trains the brain. That constant exercise usually results in improved memory. Moreover, switching between languages makes a person mentally resilient, and such people usually have much better comprehension. For example, polyglots mostly deal with daily problems in a much better way than ordinary people making life much easier for them. Even though there are some drawbacks of learning new languages such as the risk of AI or its challenging nature, I believe with strategic planning, hard work definitely pays off.
In addition, learning foreign languages at a younger age can result in a successful future. This is because there is a high demand for people with linguistic abilities and the demand is expected to stay strong in the future. Those who know the world’s lingua franca or any other language can be hired to work in international affairs or other high-level jobs. What’s more, polyglots usually have so many business opportunities, meaning they can go to other countries for commercial reasons. For instance, people who know Mandarin most likely travel to China to buy products for a lower cost and sell them in local marketplaces.
In conclusion, despite some challenges, I think language learning is generally advantageous due to cognitive and career opportunities.