Samantha Montano– Mustangs Ahead

(LAKEWOOD RANCH, FL) – Being bilingual is a skill that can be beneficial in everyday life. In any social setting.  Knowing an extra language can open doors to so many new experiences and people.

Simply knowing a second language allows communication with twice as many people. This raises your value in a workplace, where communication is vital and bilingual employees are a necessity to accommodate language barriers.

“A man who knows two languages is worth two men,” said LRHS Spanish teacher Jasmine Westerburger.

On a resume, being bilingual can greatly increase the chance of receiving a job, especially if there is high demand for linguistically skilled employees.

Knowing how to manage between two different languages also helps train the brain, increasing its intelligence.

A study found in “The Cognitive Benefits of Being Bilingual” said, “Bilingual people often perform better on tasks that require conflict management.”

This is because of the increased ability of problem solving found in the bilingual brain due to the training of quick association between words of two languages.

In school, bilingual students tend to associate with others who can speak the same languages as them. The instant connection because of this similarity can make great relationships.

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Being able to communicate in two languages can also be helpful in cases where translation might be needed to help another student who is not fluent in the primary language spoken in the environment.

Joyce Gad, an LRHS  junior fluent in Arabic and English, said “I am thankful to know Arabic because it helps me communicate with my family and still feel connected with my culture despite living away from Egypt.”

Spanish and English speaker LRHS sophomore Matias Garcia said, “Being from a different country and knowing up to two languages really opens the eye to different sides of the world, especially with exposure to others who do not communicate the same way.”

LRHS senior Angel Markoski, a Macedonian and English speaker said, “Although not as many people speak my language here, I still feel proud to be able to speak two languages and I know I will continue using it in my future with people who share my culture or want to learn it.”

At LRHS, Spanish and French classes are available to all Mustangs.

The benefits of being bilingual are numerous and they shouldn’t be overlooked. If given the chance, take that language class and open your life to new possibilities.