Even if you’re not very good at it...
Why learning a new language is fun!
You will learn new things.
How cool is it to understand things you did not before? Doesn’t that make you happy?
Plus, this time it will be because you want to, not because you have to.
You’ll be able to understand what people are talking about in a new country, understand (short) movies without subtitles or subtitles in the new language.
Hearing yourself speaking a new language is a true boost for your confidence and happiness. Think about how much fun you will have trying to pronounce new sounds and words!
You will meet new people.
If you’re taking group lessons, this is a no-brainer. You will get the chance to meet new people from all over the world and social media makes it so easy nowadays to stay in touch.
But even when you’re not learning a language in a group because you’re having one-on-one lessons or using an app. You’ll be meeting new people when you’re practicing the language on the streets, in stores or wherever you go. Plus, a big chance that they will have quite a few compliments in store for you that will make you happy!
You will go to new places.
Think about all the vacations that you can go on with your new language. The moment you speak the language, you will have the opportunity to travel in a different way. A more independent way! You will be able to see a different side of the country, which makes it that more interesting!
Have you always wanted to live and work abroad? Learning a new language will make this possible for you!
You will sound cool.
Speaking a new language doesn’t have to sound perfect. The coolest thing about having an accent is that people know you speak multiple languages. They will be more patient and might even think it’s cute. So, put yourself out there and impress the people with your skills. If that doesn’t make you happy… 😉
Why learning a new language is a good idea!
You will understand other cultures better.
When you learn a new language, you will learn so much more than ‘just’ the language. You will also learn about the culture that comes with it. You will learn about the countries where they speak the language, places, history, food, people and many other cool things.
It will also help you understand the local people better by experiencing a new way of life.
There will be things you like and would be happy to adopt and there will be things that you prefer doing like you always did. Experiencing a new language and way of living changes how you see the world!
You will become a better communicator.
It’s obvious that speaking another language allows you to communicate with more people in different languages. This improves your communication in more than one way.
The thing about learning a new language is that you will use a lot of nonverbal communication as well and it asks for a lot of creativity. It will become more innovative in communicating and solving problems.
You will improve your native language.
When you learn a new language, you will get better in your own language as well.
You’ll be learning how words are built and formed, and how you can translate them and compare them. It will also improve your memory, how cool is that?
You will have new job opportunities.
Learning a new language gives your career a boost. Nowadays companies are connected all over the world and they need people like you who can communicate in multiple languages. It’s crucial for their business.
A nice bonus is that you can ask for a higher salary!
How I have fun learning new languages!
When I moved to China almost five years ago, I tried to learn mandarin.
I expected it to be hard, but my oh my it was even harder!
Especially when you’re working all the time and you’re adopting a new lifestyle as well. One thing that really helped me was to have fun with it.
I’ve experienced so many happy moments learning Chinese!
Learning a new language that is based on tones is HARD. The moment you think you got it, you don’t. After a few months, I noticed reoccurring words and some were really annoying to me. So, while commuting my friend and I would say a word using all different tone combinations we could think of, in the most annoying way possible. One of the words that still make me smile is 沒有(meiyou). It means “no” or “don’t have”.
At the end of the ride, people would look at us like we were crazy but hey, we had fun!
Reading menu’s in Chinese characters is hard, especially if you don’t know any 😉 So, I learned the types of meat.
This got me quite far until I went out for dinner in a hot pot restaurant where they had 10 types of beef. I had no idea which one to choose and decided to ask the waiter what their specialty was. That was something that always worked in other restaurants. Do you see how I got creative here? 😉
Apparently their beef specialty was tripe hahaha. Didn’t see that one coming. My friend and I had a good laugh about it and enjoyed the experience.
After 4 years of Chinese, I started to learn Spanish through an app.
I wasn’t really sure it was getting me somewhere until I was able to read the following message on Valentine’s day this year.
How will you learn a new language?
Are you motivated to learn a new language? Or pick up where you left off a while ago? One of the best things in 2020 is that learning a new language doesn’t have to take up a lot of time or has to be expensive.
Nowadays you have so many new learning methods and tools to choose from.
On the internet, you will find endless resources to learn the language you want. Think about courses, videos, worksheets, podcasts and so much more. These are available 24/7 and don’t have to be expensive.
Besides the internet, there are also a lot of apps you can consider. Some are for free; some ask a small price to use them. The best thing is that there is no such thing as a boring app so choose one and enjoy it.
I’m very happy with the app Duolingo. This app is awesome, it’s fun, it’s free and I learn a lot by practicing 5-10 minutes every day!
Are you ready to increase your happiness by learning a new language?
If you would like to join my journey in sharing happiness, make sure to follow my Facebook page “Happy Things in Life” or my Instagram “happythings.inlife“.
I am just getting started and will try to share a bit of happiness every day.
Wishing you all a very happy day,
Claudia
Great article. I previousally to spend alot of my time water skiing and being involved in sports. It was quite possible the most memorable period of my childhood and your info somehow brought back us of that. Thanks