There are those who opine that the sole purpose of studying a foreign language is to enable travel or employment overseas. However, others argue that this is not the only reason why individuals ought to learn a foreign language.
On the one hand, one of the reasons why a foreign language is mainly for travel or work is that the acquisition of such is a way for individuals to communicate deliberately
with other people when they are in other nations. They can handle simple tasks such as ordering in a fast food restaurant, buying in a convenience store, or even riding public transport in an unfamiliar environment. On top of these, workers could manage professional responsibilities at work without the hassle of asking for a translator. Therefore, learning foreign language is largely beneficial in improving one’s professional opportunities as well as aids in navigating daily life in other countries.
On the other hand, others hold the view that learning a foreign language is not purely for working or travelling in other countries. They contend that studying a foreign language helps expand people’s awareness and understanding of a different country’s culture. By educating themselves with a certain country’s language, they teach themselves to be aware not only of that country’s identity, but also its traditions and customs. To illustrate, a recent study found that there has been an increase in the number of people studying Asian languages to educate themselves, like Korean, Japanese, Indonesian, and Cantonese, to name a few. Hence, people could build connections with one another and form stronger bonds between different nations.
Taking everything into consideration, although there are those who believe that learning a foreign language is a method to promote open-mindedness in people due to aiding the country’s culture, I do not support this notion. From my point of view, I believe studying a foreign language is imperative so that individuals do not have a problem communicating when they travel or work abroad.