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.

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.  So, if you goal is to only learn to speak a language, then this is the recommended course for you.

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.

Choose the method that you believe you can stick with and follow through.