**TL;DR - Everyone should learn a foreign language, because learning a foreign language (which could be any language of one's choice) means better opportunities for personal and professional advancement in a globalised world**. Rather than being just another part of your list of skills, learning a foreign language is vastly important because it increases the chances of communication with people who speak the language and enables one to better understand other people and other cultures. For example, Liz Reisberg claims that learning Spanish has helped her communicate with Spanish people and understand the way someone who is non-native learns a language and tries to fit in a second-language environment. Personally, learning English as a second language has helped me travel more comfortably and even study and find a job abroad. However, even people whose mother tongue is English should aim to learn at least one foreign language for the reasons already mentioned. According to Richard Adams in *The Guardian*, a 'survey showed just 32% of young Britons can read or write in more than one language'. There are also studies about the way learning a foreign language helps the development of your brain. As Kendall Dick observes, '[n]ot only do these advantages make it easier to learn yet more languages, they also make it easier to learn, well, anything. The ability to quickly switch between tasks is especially important in today’s busy multitasking world'. Learning a foreign language helps open up paths for personal and professional development. Works Cited Adams, Richard, 'Learning foreign languages should be compulsory, says report' (2020) <https://www.theguardian.com/education/2020/jan/09/learning-foreign-languages-should-be-compulsory-says-report> [accessed 16 February 2021]. Dick, Kendall, 'Why is it Important to Learn a Foreign Language?' (2020) <https://www.goabroad.com/articles/language-study-abroad/why-is-it-important-to-learn-a-foreign-language> [accessed 16 February 2021]. Reisberg, Liz, 'Foreign Language Study Should Be Mandatory!' (2017) <https://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/world-view/foreign-language-study-should-be-mandatory> [accessed 16 February 2021].

**tl;dr Learning a foreign language is extremely useful but also a privilege.** The personal and professional benefits of learning a foreign language are obvious as they open up opportunities from travel to relationships to careers. However, to assert that every person should learn a foreign language is misguided as it comes from a privileged stand point. Financially, people may not have the resources available to learn a foreign language. For adults, teaching, both in person or online, can be expensive and a luxury to many. For children, the situation is dire. The Language Trends 2015 report showed direct correlations between socioeconomic disadvantage and restricted access to languages meaning ‘children from working-class backgrounds in socially deprived areas are far less likely to choose, or have the opportunity, to study languages at secondary school, than their more affluent peers’. Factors that cause challenges to language education in working-class areas include shortage of qualified teachers, timetabling issues, poor classroom management and, as a result, disengaged students. Intellectually, learning a foreign language can also be seen as a privilege as many children struggle to grapple with the basics of their mother-tongue which must be prioritised before moving onto a second language. Languages are widely considered the hardest exams. Unfortunately, with such a grade-focused population, children are likely to choose subjects with easily-attainable marks over ones that may benefit them more. Even though foreign languages can vastly changes one’s existing quality of life, they also vastly depend on one’s existing quality of life. Ridealgh, Kim (2019). ‘Why learning another language is still a sign of privilege’, *The Conversation*. Accessible at: https://theconversation.com/why-learning-another-language-is-still-a-sign-of-privilege-112626

Learning another language is really important as it develops cultural appreciation. I think there can be some sort of arrogance with only knowing one language (particularly for English speakers), as they think that is the only language they will ever need to know. However, learning another language is great way to be educated about other cultures and histories of the world. This in turn can encourage people to be more tolerant towards other people around the world, they will have gained greater understanding. Some studies have actually proven that learning another language has a direct correlation between being bilingual and having a more positive outlook. '6 Surprising benefits of learning another language', https://www.rosettastone.co.uk/magazine/6-surprising-benefits-of-learning-a-language/