Hello Bilingualism, and goodbye Monolingualism. Although many students dread the idea of a required foreign language, their future selves will thank them.

As students prepare themselves for the “outside world,” they are preparing for the next step of their lives. Schools have the right idea in requiring a foreign language. Whether it’s French, Japanese, Spanish, or Dutch, students needs to stop cursing the school and instead thank them for the opportunity at hand.

Language is a given, but the capability of two or more is a privilege. Schools are putting in place mandatory years for the learning of other languages, in order to benefit kids for whatever they’ll be doing later in life.

It may come as a surprise to you, but not everyone speaks the same language. No matter what you do or where you go, not everyone is going to have your native tongue, which is why you’ll need to adapt. Language allows you that.

With any new languages being taught, students not only learn the grammar of the specific language, but also about the culture it is accompanied with.

Fluency allows one to speak to others, understand what they say in return, and further understand how their culture works overall. It allows an individual to strengthen their overall ability.

However, a required language in school may not be for everyone. If a student doesn’t want to learn another language because they claim they, “won’t ever need it,” forcing a language upon that student isn’t fair. Students want a say, but they need to realize that schools aren’t just doing this to follow order. They are adding an additional benefit for the student, if they ever were to need that language for the next step of whatever it may be.

It may not be crucial to a student to study another language, but in future years it might not help their employment chances.

Research has shown that employers look for candidates who are well-rounded individuals. So if there are two people with the same qualifications, but one knows more than one language, most of the time they’ll be picked for the job.

While studying other languages shouldn’t be compulsory, it can be of service to students because it can open many doors.

Whether it’s work, school, or traveling, the fluency of more than one’s native language is a beneficial skill to have.