When I graduated high school, I thought getting my French immersion diploma was a huge waste of time. After six gruelling years of conjugation, Bescherelles, memorizing verb tenses, and having to learn about the human anatomy in French, I was absolutely done with the French language and convinced the skill would rarely come in handy. Today, I couldn’t be more thankful that I know it.
But I soon realized knowing how to speak French is not a particularly common skill. Only 17.5 per cent of Canadians are bilingual, and almost half are from Quebec, according to Statistics Canada. Most provinces have very basic second language requirements, except for Quebec, where you need four second-language credits to graduate high school.
Even though some Canadians learn a different language at home, a lot of them enter post-secondary school, the workplace, and the rest of their lives only knowing English.
While English has become more of a globally recognized language over the past few decades, only 5.6 per cent of the world’s total population speaks it as their primary language. In a world where travel is becoming more accessible and affordable, globalization is increasing, employees are relocating more, and rates of immigration and migration are rising, it is more important now than ever to learn another language.
In most European countries, students are required to learn at least one foreign language before they graduate secondary school. On top of knowing their country’s native tongue, they learn English starting in elementary school, and in more than 20 European countries, are required to study another foreign language for at least a year before graduating.
Perhaps the biggest advantage, especially to students who are about to enter the workforce, is that being bilingual or trilingual improves your employment potential. Many companies do work abroad, and knowing how to communicate in foreign countries is key in today’s global economy. Government agencies, the travel industry, communications, education, public policy, entertainment, and all sorts of different fields have needs for people with foreign language skills. You may even earn a higher salary just for knowing another language, and it’ll definitely give you an edge over monolingual people when applying for jobs.
Studies have shown that learning a new language can enhance other skills, such as memorization, overall comprehension, and decision-making. People who learned foreign languages in their youth show stronger cognitive development and slower rates of cognitive decline in old age. And since so many languages are connected, learning one language can make it easier to learn another. For example, many grammar and verb rules are similar in French to those in Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian.
Although many people travel to different countries not knowing the native tongue, travel experiences improve significantly if you have at least a basic ability to understand and communicate with the locals. Language barriers are at the very least frustrating, and at worst straight up dangerous.
While Canadian schools don’t have the same language requirements as international universities, being monolingual is a self-imposed limitation. Nothing’s stopping you from learning another language. Apps like Duolingo are a perfect (and free) way to start because they make learning a new language feel like a fun game. And even though course registration has already passed, it’s not too late to consider picking up a language course in university. You never know when it will come in handy.
