Why people should learn another language

We're all deeply connected to languages no matter what-mainly because we couldn't live without them. They're even essential to survival when you think about it. I mean, the human civilisation has only come this far because of communication and both the togetherness and diversity that a range of languages has brought us. So, it seems pretty obvious now that learning more of them is highly beneficial, doesn't it? Not only is it an useful life skill, but both your intellectual and social minds can reap the rewards of adding an extra language to your arsenal of knowledge. Really, at the end of the day there is no downside to learning another language!

People who learn another language get around with far more ease than their monolingual counterparts in both daily life and in the long term. You don't even have to be fluent in another language for it to help you greatly. For one thing, travelling becomes effortless if the locals in another country speak the same language as you (you'll have no trouble getting around more than 29 countries if you speak French!). Not only can you converse better with people that can give you vital information, but being able to read important signs and whatnot can save you from a lot of future pain. And it's also good news if you're looking for a job-many jobs are available to bilingual speakers thanks to added efficiency if travelling is required, or their typical consumer speaks that language. You can even get jobs just for speaking another language if you're fluent enough, such as a translator or tutor! Not only this, but if you have a friend or family member who is more fluent in another language, learning that language results in more interesting conversations and being able to understand each other better. You'll gain a better understanding of the world around you, and the people that live in it.

However, languages can also increase efficiency in more discreet ways. Your brain subconsciously improves when you build on your lingo, and there's even scientific evidence to prove this if you haven't already been convinced. The New York Times says a number of studies suggests that bilingual experience improves 'executive function', the system that directs planning, problem-solving and other thinking processes that involve challenging thinking. A study from Penn State University says multilingual people, or people who often switch from one language to another, are more experienced at being able to perform similar tasks where you switch between two different ways of thinking. Georgetown University Medical Center also thinks being able to converse in another language is good for your noggin when it comes to looks-bilingual speakers they studied had more grey matter in areas of the brain responsible for short-term memory, attention and self-awareness. All these skills, no matter how small their improvements or whether you think you may not need them, add up and before you know it they'll be helping you get by in no time. And to think that all you need to do is be at least bilingual!

Learning another language may be useful for your future job, or your learning, but there's always a deeper meaning to it. Since everyone on Earth is constantly surrounded by different languages and everyone's lives are shaped by the languages they speak, it makes sense that being able to speak another language can mean a lot to others who can understand you. More stories and experiences can be shared between people and spread around. You yourself can read more life-changing literature in another language, or share your own experiences with others. Connections thrive on communication, which is synonymous with language. Being able to speak more languages means being able to reach out to more people everywhere, and with the added help of the internet you can build connections with complete strangers from the other side of the world with absolute confidence. A lot of people are often really touched when a language they speak gets some representation, or when they can speak to others in a different language and be able to share their culture. And perhaps that's the more unseen, yet most beautiful part of learning another language.

Studying another languages, as you have seen, is incredibly useful and you could even proudly say that there are no disadvantages. I've been able to share that life becomes easier when you train your language-speaking brain, and that your thinking skills and even your emotional bond to others improve along with that. It's just that effortless, and even good news for those who already grew up bilingual. So perhaps you should jump on that website, or pick up that textbook, and see where it'll take you-you never know what's in store when you learn another language!

The Ghost Farm

The farm was tucked in between the slopes of the two desolate hills, obscured from the rest of humanity. There was no fencing either; the alfalfa and other flora thickly blanketed the land around it and the farm animals were unmoving in their sheds. Even the wind didn't seem to want to disturb the tranquility of the farm-both the natural and man-made world had stilled in that moment, as it seems to always do in the morning. In the cottage, the dawn sunlight peered through the gaps in the door and spilled out into the nursery upstairs. The lump of  blankets in the cot jolted. It rustled for a moment, making the cot groan as it leaned, and a pudgy limb fumbled its way out of the cot and seized onto one of the cream-coloured posts. The chubby fingers strained, and a head emerged from the mound of blankets the way a pudgy maggot emerges from an egg too small for itself. The child wriggled a little bit more, its cocoon of blankets collapsing as it pulled itself up. Clad in merely a diaper, it sleepily clambered over the cot and plopped onto the floor, dragging itself down the stairs. 

The child's matted mess of orange hair appeared around the corner as it crawled into the kitchen on all fours. Pots and pans were hovering above the kitchen benches, rinsing themselves under the gurgle of running tap water. The air froze, and then the silhouette of a woman faded into sight. Her hair was stringy and pale, swaying about her lanky body, but her round face seemed to glow pleasantly in the soft sunlight. She was almost invisible and grayscale, but the baby seemed to clearly notice her and its chubby cheeks lifted as it grinned toothlessly at her. She turned back to her washing, her scrawny elbows brushing against her apron.

"Morning, Emmett," she said. The baby toddled past, crawling out the open door. "Stop that crawlin', it's undignified," she added, as Emmett's pudgy foot slipped out. Watching him pick himself up, she sighed and flicked off the tap.

The shed doors groaned as they swayed open. Another similarly dull, diaphanous figure crouched on top of a crate squinted as the light spilled into the room. As soon as the head of carroty locks came into view, Riley mumbled a greeting and went back to fiddling with a pocket watch. 

"Lily's up, right?" he croaked hoarsely. Emmett's beaming, rosy face peered into his hands, and then nodded, his curls bouncing. Riley clicked his tongue. "Fixed up the watch she had when she was alive," he said. "Gonna give it to her n' see what the other ghosts got."

When no answer came he turned his head in Emmett's direction. The toddler gave a guilty grin up at him, Riley's straw hat engulfing almost everything on his head above his smile. Riley sighed, plucking the hat off with his colourless fingers and knocking it on the crate, dust swirling into the band of light that stretched across the shed. "Need some new friends on this dang farm," he muttered. "All I got are some animals and a mute baby."

The children trickled out into the paddock, their bare feet trampling on top of the alfalfa as they hollered into the fresh air. Their washed out bodies occasionally appeared transparent as they twirled in the field, camouflaging with the sky. Emmett bounced on the tallest's shoulders, his head wobbling as the children stampeded along. A snake stole across the wooden patio, its body trailing behind it as it dove into the bush. Riley's sandal-clad foot lumbered onto the deck as he shuffled out, pausing to see the reptile's glimmering being shoot into the bush. 

"Snake?" Someone said behind him. Riley collapsed into the hammock, his body making a muffled thud in the material.  He hummed. 

A dumpy boy, not much older than fifteen or sixteen, stumbled after Riley and shut the flyscreen behind him. He paused to watch the ghost children gambol around a giggling Emmett, then his eyes travelled to the collapsed Riley. The boy grinned roguishly at Riley. "I died because of a snake bite."

"Hush it, Sammy, we all know."

"Just sayin'," Sammy murmured as he watched Riley shift in the hammock. "Say, why is it just us ghosts and Emmett?" 

An eye opened and studied the olive-skinned boy. Riley's head lifted up slowly, the hammock creaking along with him. "Like why he's stuck with us?"

Sammy nodded eagerly. Riley thoughtfully sat up, his eyes boring into the horizon. The sunlight was starting to dim, but it still glimmered in his weathered eyes. "Well, we're stuck here, for one."

"Hm?"

"This farm's on a graveyard. We're all stuck here, cause we're all buried here." Riley tilted his stubbled head towards Emmett. "Kid got abandoned on one of the hills. Lily took pity on him, and we owe her a lot." 

At that moment, the worn-out children traisped along the flattened path. The tallest boy set Emmett down and wearily entered the house, the others following. Emmett wobbled, trying to regain his balance. He tilted his head up at Sammy, the dimming light seeming to bounce off his lively features.

He promptly whipped around. The pair watched him as he tottered into the house. 

"Some place to be stuck, eh?" Sammy chuckled softly, his gaze moving over to the sinking sun. "A farm fulla ghosts."