There are several advantages to learning a new language. On a personal level, it can help keep your head above water when you go on a solo travel, allowing you to understand what people of an entirely different background have to say. When it comes to business, knowing a second language helps you globalize your market.
I graduated from a state university back in Bicol with Korean as our elective foreign language subject. To be able to march on our graduation day, we needed to become language translators ourselves and pass the subject by learning how to speak, write, and communicate in Korean.
As a communications student specializing in film and advertising, I had to master the English language. But, with foreign language as part of our curriculum, we were also required to learn Korean and be able to communicate in the language as if we were native speakers. From that experience, I realized some things as to why universities should also include foreign language as a subject in college. Below are four of those reasons:
It’s an advantage when you graduate and enter the corporate world.
Knowing another language will help you advance in the corporate world. For example, you can talk to foreign clients or friends. Also, if one aspires to work abroad, knowing another language and having it in your school records is one of the greatest advantages as employers outside the country would sometimes require applicants to either know and/or learn that country’s language for faster and more accurate communication.
In my case, it did not just satisfy my desire of understanding Korean dramas back in college; it also helped me advance into the young professional I am today.
They won’t need to spend a large amount of money to learn a new language.
If a foreign language subject is included in the curriculum, there’s no need to enroll in expensive language classes. It’s already part of the tuition fees, so all you have to do is show up for class.
Plus, learning a new language allows one to become stronger, smarter, and more broad-minded.
Subjects like these in college should be considered and included in the curriculum. Aside from what I already mentioned, people who know more than one language are actually smarter. According to Fluentu.com, bilingual or multilingual students tend to score higher on standardized tests than monolingual students, particularly in vocabulary, reading, and math. Plus, it improves multitasking and decision-making skills, as well as logic, rationality, and perceptiveness. Moreover, it can also improve one’s memory, helping one keep away from the onset of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia
Regardless if one wants to become a certified translator in or out of the Philippines or not, it’s definitely an advantageous skill to learn. As the brain is exercised far more often, functionality will improve, thus strengthening your thinking ability.
Or, this can be a stepping-stone if you ever want to pursue a career in translation or interpretation!
As the demand for translation services has been recently booming, including foreign languages as part of the curriculum would be a great stepping-stone for students who want to pursue a career in translation and interpretation in the future. It will also elevate them on a global level, professionally.
To give you an example, Lexcode Inc.’s CEO, Chul Young Ham, started out as a chief translator and editor in English for Langstech, an affiliate translation company of Konkuk University in Chungju, Korea. He then went on to establish G-Plus (later renamed Lexcode Inc.), and in March of 2016, he opened a new interpretation platform in Silicon Valley, California—eQQui.
If you’re looking for a translation company in the Philippines that provides certified expert and quality translation and interpretation service, look no further! Lexcode Inc. is home to translators and interpreters deemed as communication experts in their respective language specializations and communication. Our translation agency does not only aim to break language barriers for you, but we also provide professional editing services. If you’re looking for one here in the Philippines, then you’re on the right page!
