Language Benefits

"He who does not know another language, does not truly know his own." Johanne Wolfgang Goethe

Intellectual Potential

Second Language Learning:

• Increases cognitive skills, such as mental flexibility, creativity and divergent thinking.

• Allows learners to process stimuli in a variety of ways. They "view the world" more flexibly and might be more versatile in processing information.

• Strengthens vocabulary, communication skills, listening and memory skills.

• Helps your brain be its best!

• Allows students make effective use of verbal and non-verbal clues to grasp the meaning of any situation.

• Develops your critical thinking skills.

• Often produces students fluent in two languages who score higher in both verbal and non-verbal intelligence testing.

Scholastic Achievement / Effect on First Language

Second Language Learning:

• Increases achievement in reading, language and mathematics.

• Improves the knowledge and understanding of English through greater sensitivity to vocabulary and syntax.

• Allows learners to perform better in their mother tongue than non-second language students.

• Improves literacy; Skills and strategies used in reading and writing processes are transferable from first to second language and vice versa. · Allows learners to have a wider command of vocabulary.

Personal Benefits

Second Language Learning:

• Provides opportunities to interact with speakers of other languages.
  · Increases opportunities for travel and study abroad.

• Opens your doors to the ARTS. Opportunity to experience literature, films, art, dance, music in their
  original form.

• Introduces you to a wide world of sporting events.

• Broadens your experiences; expands your view of the world.

• Contributes to the creation of your personality.

• Allows you to appreciate more fully your own personal and cultural situation.

• Exposes you to the cultural diversity that makes up our Canadian heritage.

Citizenship

Second Language Learning:

• Allows students to possess superior cross-cultural skills and adapt better to varying cultural contexts.

• Enhances understanding of students' own cultures.

• Fosters an understanding and appreciation for things that are different. · Increases tolerance, open-mindedness, and helps students gain greater insight into other cultures.

• Supports students displaying greater cultural sensitivity.

• Supports society as a whole, by profiting economically, politically and socially when its citizens can communicate with and appreciate people from other countries and cultures.

• Encourages critical reflection on the relation of language and culture.

Career Potential

Language Learning:

• Provides a competitive edge in career choices.

• Connects to the need for communication skills in languages other than English in growing as the global market expands.

• Enhances mobility and improves chances for promotion.

• Provides opportunity to study at foreign universities.

• Offers a wider choice for post-secondary study. (Bursaries and scholarships in Canada or abroad)