The advancement of translation software has made it easier for your employees to communicate with international clients, but learning a new language is beneficial for your personal growth. However, these tools are often flawed, delivering unreliable and sometimes widely inaccurate results that just aren’t sufficient in a world where a single mistranslation could lead to costly losses in capital and reputation. It has never been more important, therefore, for employees to learn a new language.
Learning a business-oriented language, not only helps them to communicate better with global clientele but also provides many other benefits as well. In this article, we’ll have a look at some of those benefits.
Here Are The Benefits Of Learning A New Language In Business:
1. It Helps Business to Tap Into New Markets
To truly succeed in expanding into international markets, your company needs to understand the local language and local culture. Prospective clients will respect you much more if your employees can speak to them in their native tongue. It’s also easier to build strong bonds with them, and those bonds are essential when you’re trying to maintain long-lasting relationships with suppliers, clients, and customers. Whether you’re encouraging employees to learn corporate Spanish so your company can tap into promising markets in Latin America or learning French to enter markets in France and Africa, a language can open many new doors.
2. It Improves Working Memory
According to a study conducted in 2019, learning a new language significantly improves cognitive performance. The study found that learning a second language, even later in life, can have significant positive effects on brain function and cognitive abilities in older adults. Language learning resulted in increased functional connectivity in specific brain regions. What’s more, these benefits were detected over a relatively short period, indicating that language learning can have quick effects on brain plasticity in older adults. It’s proof that learning a language can sharpen cognitive function, but it’s also proof that you’re never too old to learn and reap the benefits.
3. It Improves Language Skills
Learning a new language can surprisingly improve an employee’s skills in their native language. While we naturally absorb and learn our first language as infants, many adults find it hard to explain the grammar rules they use every day. Learning a second language as an adult brings back these basic language concepts, making us think about grammar in a more conscious way. This renewed focus on how language works often leads to a better understanding of our own language.
For employees who struggle with certain parts of English grammar, studying a foreign language can offer helpful insights by comparing the two languages. The more thoughtful approach adults use when learning a new language can result in a better overall grasp of how languages work. In the end, encouraging employees to learn a new language not only improves their ability to communicate in that language but can also enhance their skills in their native language, leading to better overall language abilities in the workplace.
4. It Creates a New Habit for Learning
Learning a language can be challenging, but that also makes it fun and highly rewarding. As your employees progress through each step of learning a new language, they’ll develop new learning techniques, unlock learning potential, and procrastinate less. They can then use the strategies and willpower garnered through language learning to master other skills, whether it’s learning a new programming language, a new computer program, or a new business growth strategy.
5. Other Benefits of Learning a New Language
In addition to the benefits mentioned above, there are many other advantages of encouraging your employees to learn a new language:
- They can learn about new cultures and traditions
- It will give them a sense of accomplishment
- It could improve customer relationships
- It will boost business perception in new markets
- It could slow down cognitive decline and boost brain function
Summary: Unlock New Skills and Opportunities by Learning a New Language
Introducing language learning can boost your employees’ confidence, opening up new opportunities and ways to approach everyday things in their work and personal lives. In addition, it improves their cognitive function and could unlock untold benefits for your company as a result. So, take the leap and introduce language learning programs for your employees today!
