Teach Yourself A Language

Be Multilingual

Welcome to TeachYourselfALanguage.com. In the past, being multilingual wasn't as important as it is today. Those who were able to speak multiple languages knew that new doors of opportunities would be open to them because of their linguistic abilities; however, the general population never really saw the need to become multilingual.

The truth of the matter is the internet has changed things. In today's society, a person can do business with someone overseas just as easily as they can with their next door neighbor. The internet has made it a necessity, if not to speak another language...then at least to understand other cultures. The majority of the world is multilingual. Many countries have incorporated English or another foreign language into the curriculum of study, in the hopes of increasing the competitiveness of their citizens. In the long run, those who speak multiple foreign languages will have the most opportunities available to them.

In many countries the majority of their citizens speak two languages, in some countries a good percentage of their citizens speak three or more different languages. There is nothing wrong with being proud and speaking your native language, but if you want to get ahead in the world of tomorrow you are going to have to find a way to give you an edge...so why not teach yourself a language?

There are approximately 7000 languages that are currently spoken around the world today. Due to the popularity of the English language, one would think that English might be the most spoken language in the world, but this is not so. There are various lists that ranks the languages by number of speakers around the world. Some of those lists place English as the second most spoken language in the world, some of the other lists place English as the third and sometimes fourth most spoken language in the world. Ranking the languages by number of speakers is not an exact science. Since some the statistics are only estimates and since some countries don't collect or report languages other than their native language, it is difficult to get an exact count.

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List of the top 20 most spoken languages in the world:

1. Mandarin Chinese
2. English
3. Hindi
4. Spanish
5. Arabic
6. Portuguese
7. Bengali
8. Russian
9. Japanese
10. German
11. Punjabi
12. French
13. Wu
14. Javanese
15. Telugu
16. Marathi
17. Vietnamese
18. Korean
19. Tamil
20. Italian

Again, this is only an estimate, but if you wanted to know what the majority of people in the world speak...this would be a great estimate to use at least as a starting point. If you've ever dreamed of relocating to a foreign country at some point in your life or even for your retirement, why not start learning that language, so that should you actually make the move, communication will not be a problem.

There are many language programs out there that can effectively help you teach yourself a new language. The most important part of a language program is the methodology...and regardless of the technique that is used, it works best when the method suits your style of learning. There are some programs which are purely auditory. These programs allow you to learn from a cassette or cd. The major advantage of a program that is purely on a cd or cassette is that you aren't restricted to learning at a set time. Because the program is portable, you can take the disk with you while driving; play it while you are doing house chores; or play it while working out.

Due to the freedom of this style of learning you are probably going to use the program more regularly, and this regular exposure and practice is the key to learning a new language. A major bonus of this type of course is that if you have a long commute to your job or school or wherever, you can take your cd with you and practice your new language. The downside to a purely auditory course is that you will only learn to speak the language...you will not learn how to write it.  However, once you learn how to speak a language it will be easy to learn how to read write in that language.

There are other programs, which require you to sit in front of a computer and interact with it as you learn the information. The benefit of this method of learning is you not only learn to speak the language, but you will gain fluency in writing the language as well. There might be an element of being able to retain the information longer due to the fact that you get to use more of your senses throughout the learning process. The negative aspect is going to be finding the time to actually sit down on a regular basis to use the program.

Learning a new language is becoming more and more important as the internet continues to bring the world closer together. With different social networking websites and other forms of social media, this is not the same world that your parents used to know. Smartphones are getting smarter and with increased capabilities and including the ability to surf the web and send emails and text messages all over the world in an instant, communication is the new frontier. You no longer need to travel to China to conduct business there. You won’t have to fly to Brazil to negotiate a contract. You can Skype a friend in Moscow or conduct an international interview in front of your computer.  

As the world becomes ever smaller learning a new language becomes ever more important. There are a few surveys indicating that if you are in business and want to increase your value, you should learn how to speak, Spanish, Chinese, Arabic, German, English and Russian. It is possible to add Portuguese to this list of most important languages to learn as the country of Brazil is going through some amazing growth and will continue to so for many more years to come. Learning these languages will give you an edge in any job that you apply for. It may even help you get an offer overseas.  

 Learning a new language is not as difficult as some people may make it out to be. The important thing is to choose a great language program and you have to practice your new language skills regularly. There are many programs out there that will help teach you to speak a foreign language. There are also online language translation programs that can help you carry on a conversation with someone from a different country without being able to speak a single word in that language. These language translator programs can help you translate emails; they can help you proofread whatever you are trying to say. These language translator programs can also help you translate entire documents and contracts or act as a dictionary of words for you the language that you are trying to communicate in.  

 There may come a day where there will be an international translator application where you will simply be able to speak in your native language and the mechanism translates everything you say perfectly into the language of the person standing across from you or maybe it will be able to translate your conversation in the languages of multiple people simultaneously. While that technology may one day become reality, it is far off and possible several generations away. It is recommended that you choose the most important languages to your occupation or future occupation and teach yourself how to speak that new language or take language courses to help you learn your new language. 

The opportunities that will become available to you will be vast. Learning a new language doesn’t have to be dull and boring. Learning a new language can be fun and exciting. Language programs like the Pimsleur program are easy to use. They come in the form of a CD or other audio device and for those on the go, you can perform another activity, such as driving or household chores, while learning your new language. When a language program is convenient to use and easy to fit into our lifestyle; it makes us more likely to continue using it. Practice is the key to learning any new language and the more you practice the more you understand and the better you will speak your new language. It is therefore important that you choose the language program that works best with your style of learning in order to get the most out of learning a new foreign language. Choose the method that you believe you can stick with and follow through.