Benefits of language study
Learning a language is more than just an enjoyable pursuit - it can improve your future employability.
Knowing a foreign language will help to improve your cultural awareness, increase your adaptability, and make you a more confident and effective communicator.
If you speak a second (or third or fourth...) language, you may be way ahead in terms of your cognition and your career. And if you don’t, it may be an especially good investment of your time and effort—because the payoffs for being bi-lingual or multi-lingual are significant in terms of everything from pay and performance to your thinking and your relationships. In a competitive job market, it makes sense to set yourself apart—and being multi-lingual may be exactly what you need to enhance your value to your current employer or a potential employer.
Forbes
2023
Your language skills can increase your job opportunities. You could be in Sheffield liaising with international clients for an engineering company, in Brussels interpreting for the European Commission, or in Seoul at an international bank - your multilingual skills will help you on your way.
Languages give you a window into different cultures
Language study is not just about translating words. It gives you a better insight into people and their different cultures, and helps you to learn about a country’s past and present, and give you insight into cultural differences and similarities.
Expand your horizons
Every year, many of our undergraduate students choose to spend time studying abroad, either as part of their degree or as an elective option. It's an exciting opportunity to experience another culture, while you further develop an existing language or learn a new one.