Knowing another language will allow you not only to communicate with people from other countries and learn about their cultures, it will also assist you in practical ways. Students in all fields will be able to apply the skills and knowledge that studying a foreign language provides. Most important, studying another language helps you become more competitive after graduation from school. In my personal experience, learning a foreign language opened up totally new doors and allowed me to have a much more broad range of experiences.
Studying a foreign language may be the best way get to a rewarding career in the areas of international business, education, tourism, foreign service, management and social service, to mention just a few. No matter what field you specialise in today, you will benefit from studying another language and culture because it provides you with a broader view of the world and an additional marketable skill.
There are other reasons to study a foreign language, such as that learning a foreign language teaches and encourages respect for other peoples, it contributes to the development of one's personality, and it helps to preserve a country's image as a cultured nation.
Probably, at this time, the most important language used for world communication is English. It's spoken in many parts of the world, mainly in Great Britain, the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand (and also in Malta and Gibraltar). More and more English expressions are being borrowed into other languages, particularly in technical and computer related areas. In the Czech republic, the other languages we mainly study include German, French, Spanish and Russian.
As Goethe wrote, "Whoever knows no foreign languages, knows nothing of his own". Only by learning how other languages manage to express themselves differently from our own native language can students understand the unique qualities of their own language's words and grammar.
