Foraying into the world of languages is not an easy task for many, in fact once you claim to be a language professional or being good at languages, it comes with added responsibility upon you to make sure that even the slightest mistake can hold you into bad light. That does not mean a human being who is excellent at communication and languages cannot make mistakes. There are times when it happens, but accepting it and not blaming in upon the fact of being a slip of the tongue will take any language professional a long way into the perfection and beauty of knowing any language.Knowing many languages is not an art, but being able to practice whatever you learn of the language holds immense importance.

With the advent of new technologies and globalisation, the world is definitely a smaller place. But learning any new language definitely cannot go waste in today’s global village. Imagine a situation where you are, to your utter surprise greeted with ‘Hola’ in Spanish, ‘Bonjour’ in French, ‘Hallo’ in German and ‘Namaste’ in Hindi, wouldn’t it be amazing if you are able to give back the same greeting, it would be so much more colourful and the pleasantries exchanged will have such a deep impact on the relationships you make with the other person.

The foremost effect it will have on your life is trouble free traveling and an enriching experience in the country where you plan to travel for any purpose be it business, fun, personal or culture. With so many MNCs setting foot in India it is definitely a win- win situation for both the sides. Personalized language training is one area that is gaining momentum at fast pace. With language institutes exhausting their supply thanks to the overshooting demand of learning languages, this area promises a good future.

The caliber of learning a language differs from individual to individual with the amount of time, interest and determination you put into the same as well as the purpose for which any individual would learn the language. The areas of competence that are included in the whole process should be equally defined and chartered out to give the learner a wholesome approach towards grasping and capturing the heart of the language. It sounds quite superficial in this paragraph when you explain the nuances of these things, but believe me once you get into learning one so dramatically and passionately, any other language you learn has to have the same intent and perfection with which you learnt your first language, be it foreign or regional.

The seeds that you sow reap out the benefits after a stipulated period of time. Be it diplomatic relations, translation and interpretation industry, cross cultural trainings or working as expatriates, learning any popular language makes sure that your brain keeps ticking. Stereotypically it is also said people who are good at languages often are right brained individuals who have at some point of their life hated the fact that they had to do Math! :P. Though, there are many who manage both equally well, and in such a wonderful scenario, who can stop you from exploring futuristic avenues.

A famous saying goes this way “When in Rome do what the Romans do”. Flexibility, agility and adaptability are the qualities which may come naturally to you after the language learning frenzy strikes you hard. In many cases you are ready to undergo and face any situation that comes your way!

Note: This article was inspired by a recent posting that I read about the advantages of languages and the above views are my personal views.

 Rucha Khot