The Benefits of Being Multilingual (2024)

By: Erik Angelone

When you engage in a multilingual lifestyle, you are able to communicate with and more effectively blend into new communities and cultures. Not only does learning languages beyond your native one help you develop skills, but it can also open new professional opportunities and more.

Whether you are looking for a new career, trying to get closer to other cultures, or just want to make a positive change for yourself, taking the steps toward becoming multilingual can positively impact many areas of your life, including cognitive, sociocultural, economic, and educational ones.

A Look at the Benefits of Multilingualism

Motives for learning a new language can vary from increasing communication abilities and gaining insight into other cultures to improving problem-solving and achieving better listening skills. Regardless of your motive for learning a new language or further immersing yourself in one, you can experience the advantages of multilingualism, including:

• Improving your first language – Learning a new language requires active learning, whereas your native language was probably learned through intuitive absorption or memorization. When you decide to pick up a new language and engage in multilingualism, you may start to consider different aspects of your native tongue like its structure and beyond. This can help you gain a better understanding of how your language functions and can be demonstrated in the way you write, speak, listen, and communicate with others.
• Becoming more worldly – When you learn a new language, you immerse yourself into more than just the language itself. One of the interesting components of multilingualism is the ability to gain insight into the culture associated with the language. This allows you to obtain a deeper appreciation for the opinions, actions, and traditions of others.
• Increasing your networking skills – Engaging in business communication globally can produce challenges if you are not familiar with the native language. By adopting a multilingual lifestyle, you can better communicate with more individuals and increase your network. Facilitating solid relationships with others can open new opportunities and ultimately make you and other parties more comfortable around one another.
• Achieving cognitive benefits – Challenging your brain in different ways improves its performance. Gaining knowledge of a new language requires you to acquire familiarity with a new set of vocabulary and grammar and then recall it in different situations. Additionally, multilingualism can help you achieve better multitasking skills. When you comprehend what someone is saying and aim to translate it or respond, your mind is forced to switch, shift, and process at least two different languages. This can assist in your ability to collect information and think about many ideas at a time.

Exploring the Benefits of Pursuing Multilingualism at Kent State

The benefits of being multilingual are varied, as illustrated above. If you are looking for an environment to continue pursuing your passion for translation while solidifying your language skills, be sure to consider applying for the M.A. in Translation at Kent State University.

When you choose to explore the benefits of multilingualism by earning your online translation degree with us, you can experience the following:

• Flexibility of your classes, as you are free to complete your coursework from anywhere in the world
• Excellent employment prospects for a career post-graduation
• Personalized guidance by faculty while will guide you toward success
• Access to a virtual multilingual computing laboratory with state-of-the-art software
• Courses designed by experts in online pedagogy and in all aspects of translation/localization/language project management

Start Your Multilingual Journey Today!

Whether you want to learn one language or multiple, getting your M.A. in translation is a great way to reaffirm your knowledge and achievement. To begin your journey and experience the advantages of multilingualism, be sure to apply to our M.A. in Translation program today.

If you are interested in learning more about our program or how multilingualism can shape the rest of your life, be sure to reach out to our team today.