Language Education Opportunities: A Guide for Language Lovers

Learn­ing a for­eign lan­guage is excit­ing and reward­ing. You can, of course, learn it through stand­alone cours­es. But you will gain more ben­e­fits through lan­guage learn­ing bach­e­lor’s degrees.

Keep in mind that not every per­son will enjoy learn­ing a for­eign lan­guage. You must have a strong apti­tude for lan­guages, curios­i­ty for cul­tures, and ana­lyt­i­cal skills. You have to be patient, resilient, and cre­ative, too.

If you believe that you’re up for the chal­lenge, keep on read­ing. Here, we will dis­cuss the impor­tance of bilin­gual­ism in a con­nect­ed world. Our dis­cus­sion will also cov­er the pop­u­lar pro­grams offer­ing lan­guage learn­ing bach­e­lor’s degrees. We will dis­cuss the career advan­tages of being a bilin­gual pro­fes­sion­al, too.

Relat­ed Resource: Get Glob­al: Ben­e­fits Of Glob­al Edu­ca­tion For Bachelor’s Students

Importance Of Language Skills In A Globalized World

With the world being more con­nect­ed, lan­guage skills have become more impor­tant. Suf­fice it to say that the abil­i­ty to com­mu­ni­cate is at the heart of all human inter­ac­tions. The bet­ter your com­mu­ni­ca­tion skills, the bet­ter your human inter­ac­tions. For this rea­son, bilin­gual indi­vid­u­als find more employ­ment and entre­pre­neur­ship opportunities. 

Of course, learn­ing a for­eign lan­guage can only be a hob­by. But its best use is in cement­ing your per­son­al and pro­fes­sion­al suc­cess in a glob­al­ized world. Here, we dis­cuss how your lan­guage skills can be an effec­tive tool in this regard. 

Improved Com­mu­ni­ca­tion Skills 

Effec­tive com­mu­ni­ca­tion is among the top soft skills that employ­ers con­sid­er among appli­cants. After all, it’s vital to work well with peo­ple from dif­fer­ent back­grounds, with dif­fer­ent per­spec­tives, and dif­fer­ent approach­es. This is par­tic­u­lar­ly use­ful in mul­ti­cul­tur­al work­places — and it’s true in most industries. 

When you com­mu­ni­cate well with peo­ple in their lan­guage, you’re build­ing trust, respect, and cred­i­bil­i­ty, too. Strong per­son­al and pro­fes­sion­al rela­tion­ships are made of these traits. 

Increased Cul­tur­al Aware­ness and Competence 

With flu­en­cy in a for­eign lan­guage, you will under­stand the nuances and sub­tleties of its cul­ture, too. You’re not only com­mu­ni­cat­ing in words, but you’re also mak­ing con­nec­tions. Keep in mind that lan­guage isn’t only words — it’s also facial ges­tures, body lan­guage, and social norms. 

In a diverse work­place, your cul­tur­al com­pe­tence can mean the dif­fer­ence between pro­duc­tiv­i­ty and loss. For exam­ple, choos­ing the col­or red for pack­ag­ing mate­ri­als can be tricky. It’s con­sid­ered lucky or unlucky, depend­ing on the cul­ture. You can start in-depth dis­cus­sions about its impact on your products. 

Enrich­ing Per­son­al Experiences 

Learn­ing a for­eign lan­guage is an excit­ing expe­ri­ence because it chal­lenges your intel­lect. Your patience, per­se­ver­ance, and dis­ci­pline will be put to the test. You must also use your prob­lem-solv­ing, mul­ti­task­ing, and mem­o­ry skills. 

These activ­i­ties involved in learn­ing a for­eign lan­guage con­tribute to your per­son­al growth. Your cog­ni­tive func­tion, includ­ing your mem­o­ry, improves. You have greater empa­thy for oth­ers, too, because you’re more like­ly to focus on what they’re saying. 

Devel­op Your Glob­al Citizenship

With your for­eign lan­guage flu­en­cy, you’re in a bet­ter posi­tion to take part in glob­al issues and their solu­tions. You can under­stand diverse per­spec­tives in their native lan­guage and com­mu­ni­cate your ideas in it. Being a glob­al cit­i­zen becomes more pro­duc­tive and reward­ing for these reasons. 

If you’re work­ing with Span­ish-speak­ing indige­nous peo­ple, for exam­ple, you can exchange ideas eas­i­er and faster. Your abil­i­ty to arrive at effec­tive solu­tions to their issues improves. 

Enhanced Access to Information

In the glob­al­ized econ­o­my, infor­ma­tion is the best cur­ren­cy. Your lan­guage skills are your tick­et to access the wide range of infor­ma­tion avail­able in dif­fer­ent lan­guages. You can access these resources, too, regard­less of their form — print­ed, record­ed, and pub­lished online — as long as you know the for­eign language. 

Effec­tive access to infor­ma­tion is vital in all indus­tries, too. The busi­ness, pub­lic gov­er­nance, and non­prof­it sec­tors depend on reli­able infor­ma­tion for their prob­lem-solv­ing and deci­sion-mak­ing functions. 

Expand Your Cross-Cul­tur­al Network

You can tap into your net­work to find employ­ment or entre­pre­neur­ial oppor­tu­ni­ties as an entry-lev­el pro­fes­sion­al. Then, your net­work will be instru­men­tal in your career advance­ment, too. 

When your net­work tran­scends geo­graph­i­cal bound­aries because of your lan­guage skills, you have an excel­lent advan­tage. There’s no need to trav­el, too, because the Inter­net and telecom­mu­ni­ca­tion tech­nol­o­gy make it pos­si­ble to net­work any­time, anywhere. 

With these ben­e­fits, you should learn a for­eign lan­guage through a bach­e­lor’s degree. Think of it as gain­ing career-ready knowl­edge and skills while also expand­ing your oppor­tu­ni­ties with your lan­guage skills. 

Language Programs And Majors In Bachelor’s Education

Many US col­leges and uni­ver­si­ties offer lan­guage learn­ing bach­e­lor’s degrees or pro­grams for col­lege fresh­men, trans­fer stu­dents, and even adult learn­ers. Many of these insti­tu­tions also offer study abroad pro­grams for lan­guage majors for more immer­sive learn­ing experiences. 

Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Foreign Languages 

Stu­dents in BA in For­eign Lan­guages pro­grams learn one or more for­eign lan­guages. These lan­guages can be Span­ish, Ger­man, and French, while Japan­ese and Chi­nese are also pop­u­lar. Their well-round­ed cur­ricu­lum empha­sizes both lan­guage skills and the study of cul­ture, lit­er­a­ture, and linguistics. 

Notable exam­ples of insti­tu­tions offer­ing BA in For­eign Lan­guages pro­grams are: 

• Mid­dle­bury Col­lege’s Lan­guage Schools offer under­grad­u­ate pro­grams in French, Span­ish, and Ara­bic, among oth­ers. Stu­dents gain inter­na­tion­al expe­ri­ence through its Mid­dle­bury Schools Abroad in Italy, Rus­sia, Japan, and more. 
• Uni­ver­si­ty of Cal­i­for­nia Berke­ley has sev­er­al depart­ments offer­ing for­eign lan­guage pro­grams. The Depart­ment of East Asian Lan­guages and Cul­tures, the Depart­ment of Span­ish and Por­tuguese, and the Depart­ment of Ger­man are pop­u­lar. Stu­dents gain lan­guage skills in their cho­sen for­eign lan­guage through study-abroad oppor­tu­ni­ties offered by the Berke­ley Study Abroad office. 
• George­town Uni­ver­si­ty offers under­grad­u­ate pro­grams in Por­tuguese (major and minor), Span­ish (major and minor), and the major in Span­ish and Por­tuguese Stud­ies. Stu­dents must be enrolled in its Depart­ment of Linguistics. 

These under­grad­u­ate pro­grams empha­size lan­guage skills in a for­eign lan­guage with its his­to­ry and cul­ture being backdrops.

Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Linguistics

Stu­dents in the BA in Lin­guis­tics pro­gram study mul­ti­ple for­eign lan­guages, too. Their main focus is on the study of their for­mal struc­ture instead of gain­ing lan­guage skills. Pho­net­ics, syn­tax, seman­tics, and gram­mar are the com­po­nents of lan­guage structure. 

• Har­vard Uni­ver­si­ty’s lin­guis­tics pro­gram empha­sizes lin­guis­tic his­to­ry, the­o­ry, and meth­ods. Stu­dents also learn about the cog­ni­tive aspects of lan­guage devel­op­ment that pre­pare them for research projects. 
• The Uni­ver­si­ty of Chica­go offers a chal­leng­ing lin­guis­tics pro­gram that pre­pares stu­dents for entry-lev­el work and grad­u­ate stud­ies. Stu­dents have a bet­ter under­stand­ing of the the­o­ries, prin­ci­ples, and prac­tices of lan­guage study. 
• Stan­ford Uni­ver­si­ty’s lin­guis­tic pro­gram fea­tures a chal­leng­ing cur­ricu­lum and fieldwork. 

These lin­guis­tics pro­grams pro­vide a strong foun­da­tion for learn­ing for­eign lan­guages by under­stand­ing their struc­ture first. 

Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Modern Languages

Stu­dents in BA in Mod­ern Lan­guages pro­grams study one or more for­eign lan­guages, too. The empha­sis is on lan­guage skills in the writ­ten and ver­bal aspects.

• The Uni­ver­si­ty of Mass­a­chu­setts Amherst offers many lan­guage under­grad­u­ate pro­grams through its Depart­ment of Lan­guages, Lit­er­a­tures & Cul­tures. These pro­grams include East Asian Lan­guages and Cul­tures, French and Fran­coph­o­ne Stud­ies, and Ger­man and Scan­di­na­vian Studies. 

Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Language & International Studies

Stu­dents inter­est­ed in an inter­dis­ci­pli­nary degree should con­sid­er a bach­e­lor’s degree in lan­guage stud­ies. These pre­pare stu­dents for careers in inter­na­tion­al busi­ness, diplo­ma­cy, or tourism. 

• Indi­ana Uni­ver­si­ty’s pro­gram com­bines chal­leng­ing cours­es and an over­seas experience. 
• Maryville Uni­ver­si­ty offers an online inter­na­tion­al stud­ies program.
• Wright State Uni­ver­si­ty’s pro­gram has a two-year com­pul­so­ry for­eign lan­guage requirement. 

Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Translation & Interpretation

Indi­vid­u­als inter­est­ed in trans­la­tion and inter­pre­ta­tion careers will ben­e­fit from earn­ing the BA in Trans­la­tion and Inter­pre­ta­tion degree. Stu­dents learn prac­ti­cal skills for fast yet accu­rate trans­la­tion and inter­pre­ta­tion of writ­ten and spo­ken languages.

• The Uni­ver­si­ty of Iowa’s pro­gram pre­pares stu­dents for suc­cess­ful careers in the legal, med­ical, and lit­er­ary fields and more.
• The Uni­ver­si­ty of Texas Rio Grande Val­ley has a Span­ish Trans­la­tion and Inter­pret­ing program. 
• The Oral Roberts Uni­ver­si­ty’s Trans­la­tion and Inter­pret­ing pro­gram allows stu­dents to choose a minor besides their major. Choic­es include Ara­bic, Hebrew, and French, and more. 

When choos­ing among these aca­d­e­m­ic pro­grams, you must set real­is­tic expec­ta­tions of their aca­d­e­m­ic rig­or, time com­mit­ment, and cost. Your choice must also be aligned with your inter­ests and goals. Start with a self-assess­ment, fol­low up with research on the pro­grams, and dis­cuss your options with a trust­ed advisor. 

Career Advantages For Multilingual Graduates

Pro­fes­sion­als who have earned lan­guage learn­ing bach­e­lor’s degrees or tak­en advan­tage of lan­guage edu­ca­tion oppor­tu­ni­ties will find plen­ty of career oppor­tu­ni­ties. Your abil­i­ty to speak at least one for­eign lan­guage becomes your com­pet­i­tive edge. This is because of the increas­ing demand for bilin­gual work­ers in diverse indus­tries. The health­care, tourism, hos­pi­tal­i­ty, and busi­ness indus­tries have the high­est demand. 

The increase in e‑commerce trans­ac­tions fuels the demand for bilin­gual work­ers, too. Busi­ness­es sell­ing their prod­ucts and ser­vices to a glob­al audi­ence hire them. Their lan­guage skills mean more effec­tive com­mu­ni­ca­tion with cus­tomers, investors, and suppliers. 

Many gov­ern­ment agen­cies and non­prof­it orga­ni­za­tions need bilin­gual work­ers for their dai­ly activ­i­ties. The Depart­ment of State is a pop­u­lar workplace.

Improved Net­work­ing Opportunities

Meet­ing new peo­ple speak­ing a for­eign lan­guage is eas­i­er and faster with your lan­guage skills. You can build a wider net­work con­nect­ing indi­vid­u­als from all walks of life. Remem­ber that your net­work should be diverse and inclu­sive for it to be effective. 

When you’re estab­lish­ing your career, your net­work will be an effec­tive job-hunt­ing tool. You should con­tact peo­ple on your net­work for guid­ance, sup­port, and infor­ma­tion. Your net­work is an excel­lent source for job refer­rals, let­ters of rec­om­men­da­tion, and insid­er tips. 

Once you’re hired, your net­work will be your effec­tive tool for career advance­ment, too. You can, for exam­ple, request insid­er infor­ma­tion about pro­fes­sion­al devel­op­ment opportunities. 

Increased Employ­a­bil­i­ty

Being a mul­ti­lin­gual pro­fes­sion­al through lan­guage learn­ing bach­e­lor’s degrees increas­es your employ­a­bil­i­ty in many indus­tries. Your job oppor­tu­ni­ties can be in the Unit­ed States or in a for­eign coun­try where you speak its lan­guage. You may even enjoy trav­el­ing to and from these coun­tries for free, even trav­el around your host country. 

The job oppor­tu­ni­ties are var­ied, too. Your job can be in trans­la­tion and inter­pre­ta­tion, mar­ket­ing research, or busi­ness com­mu­ni­ca­tion, among oth­ers. Many orga­ni­za­tions also offer spe­cial­ized roles for mul­ti­lin­gual workers. 

Increased Earn­ings 

In some cas­es, being a mul­ti­lin­gual pro­fes­sion­al can result in high­er earn­ings. You can, for exam­ple, nego­ti­ate for high­er pay con­sid­er­ing your lan­guage skills. Your job may also involve com­mis­sions from sales secured part­ly because of your lan­guage skills. 

But max­i­miz­ing these career advan­tages takes hard work, too. You must high­light your lan­guage skills in your resume, demon­strate your soft skills learned from learn­ing lan­guages, and prove your worth. 

Frequently Asked Questions