Reasons for Learning a New Language

Whether you are getting fascinated by a foreign language or considering to take and learn new language for working or schooling, learning a new language offers benefits for life. In this article, we will discuss the reasons for learning a new language and why it should interest and convince you.

Reasons for learning new language

1) Studying abroad
When you are planning to study at a foreign university, school or college, you will need a good knowledge of local language, unless the course you want to take is taught through your medium of language. Probably your institution will provide preparatory courses for improving your language skills and will continue to support throughout your course.

2) Emigration
When you are moving to a different region or country, learning local language will not only help you in communicating and integrating with the local people but also shows your interest and commitment to your new country.

3) Work
When your work involves contacting and speaking to foreigners, you should be able to talk to them in their own language. This also helps you in making sales and negotiate and thus securing contracts. Having knowledge and knowing about the foreign language will be increasing your chances of finding new job, promotions or going on foreign business trips.

4) Travel
When traveling, immersing fully in the country and its culture is a fantastic way to spend a holiday. If you have knowledge of the local language, you can participate in the everyday life of the residents of that country. Nowadays, it is possible to travel to any country but language barrier can be frustrating and dangerous too. So having knowledge about the foreign language will help you in many things from understanding directions to  bartering things when shopping.

5) Religion
Many people learn languages in order to spread their religious message to other countries. While others learn language to in which holy books/scriptures were written for gaining a better understanding. For instance, Christians might learn Hebrew, Biblical Greek and Aramaic; Muslims might learn classical Arabic and Buddhist might learn Sanskrit, etc.

6) Family and friends
If your relatives, in-laws or friends speak different language, having knowledge or learning that language will help you in communicating with them, thus enjoy talking to them. Further, it can also give you a better understanding of their culture.

Whatever the reason be, when you learn a new language, having a clear idea of why you want to learn the language helps you in motivate yourself.

Tips for Pronouncing Spanish Words Properly

The toughest part of speaking Spanish, by a native English speaker is the pronunciation. Since there is huge difference in sounds between English and Spanish, people tend to get influenced by their English pronunciation. There are more than a couple of sessions to concentrate on when it comes to pronouncing Spanish words. That is why, experts always recommend to listen and practice along with the native speakers speech.

The primary thing is we need to observe to the native speakers way of pronouncing and later we need to imitate them exactly. The practice should be continued till we are sounding similar to them. Here you can take the help of a voice recorder and try to record the speakers voice and then your voice. Once you are done, you can rewind it and can feel the difference.

The vital things to take care are the vowel sounds in Spanish. Spanish vowels have only one sound. Unlike English vowels, they are too short and hence to pronounce them, we need to pull our lips back into a tense smile. You need to tighten your facial muscles and your tongue should be high and forward in your mouth. For example, few English words like cheap, meet, piece should be pronounced like chip, mit, pis respectively in Spanish. Hence crisp and short pronunciation is required for Spanish words.

Similarly few letters like p,t,v should sound a little bit closer so that they sound like b,d,b respectively.

When it comes to 'r' sound, it is represented as 'rr' in Spanish. Means you need to roll your 'r''s while speaking Spanish. It is a bit difficult to English speakers, however, by doing a conscious effort and by practicing the principles we can learn it quite easily.

These are the tips which are easy to explain but hard to do. However, consistent practice is the key to pronounce Spanish fluently within short time.