Learning Japanese

We all know there are benefits to learning a foreign language.  It doesn’t matter what foreign language you learn just so long as you learn one.  Most people think that learning a foreign language is only beneficial if it’s a language you will use every day or in your profession.  This is not always true.  Having a child learn a foreign language increases their knowledge of the world, not to mention it boosts their self-confidence because they’ve mastered something new.  Studies also show that kids who know more than one language tend to score higher on standardized tests. So how do you choose what language to learn?

Certainly learning Spanish comes to mind since it is so widely used in the United States today.  But maybe you want to broaden you horizon a little more. How about learning Japanese?  Think of how cool you would feel walking into a Japanese restaurant with your friends and reading the Japanese symbols on the menu and decorations. There has been an increase in Japanese to English television programming the last few years.  Many people just want to learn Japanese so they can watch these programs in the language they were originally made.  Finding a Japanese language class isn’t quite as easy as some of the other foreign languages but they are out there.  Many of the colleges offer learning Japanese as part of the foreign language requirement for graduation.  If you don’t have a college near by try finding Japanese language tapes at a bookstore or online.

Don’t be like everyone else and learn a foreign language because you have to. Go a different route instead. Learning Japanese can be just as fun because it isn’t your normal foreign language.  Next time you and your friends are sitting around watching those Japanese animated shows who knows, you might actually understand what is being said.