We live in a multicultural world nowadays. Knowing only one foreign language isn’t enough to get in touch with people from different cultures and backgrounds. You may even be living in one of the cosmopolitan cities right now, and your neighbour comes from another country and speaks a different language than yours. Here comes the importance of being able to speak more than one foreign language.
But you may think for a while that French is no longer needed nowadays and that it is now useless to learn it as it seems to be obsolete and not important. But in this article, we will talk about ten valid reasons why you should study it in the 21st century. So if you are still not convinced yet, just keep reading, and you will find out why you were wrong.
Here is a quick look at the ten valid reasons discussed below in the article:
French is a widely spoken language all over the world. It ranks fifth among the most widely spoken languages around the globe. It is also the second most widely learned language after English. Many countries even teach it as a foreign language alongside English in their schools. There is an estimation that the number of people who speak it nowadays is around 280 million all over the globe. Isn’t that interesting?
Down below, you can see a map of some of the French-speaking countries.
Your ability to speak more than one language apart from your mother tongue gives you an advantage over your colleagues in the job market. French is not an exception to this rule. In fact, it adds a lot of value to your CV and opens the doors for multiple opportunities for you. Being able to speak French fluently will make it easier for you to work in multinational companies in France or even in French-speaking countries. Also, put in mind that France has one of the biggest economies in the world.
Yes, you have read it right, to “improve your English.” In fact, French could be your first step into becoming a polyglot. Since learning it will make it easier for you to learn other foreign languages, especially romance languages (Italian, Spanish, Romanian, and Portuguese) besides English.
And that is because an enormous amount of the English vocabulary is derived from French. It is estimated that more than 40% of the English vocabulary has French origins. So it turns out that English is a lot more French than we thought.
Here are some of these words that might be familiar to you but you don’t know they have French origins:
France has a lot of prestigious universities and institutions that rank among the top 100 universities all over the world. France attracts a lot of international students every year from all over the world. The most common majors international students choose to study in France are things like economics, business administration, fashion, history, literature, and philosophy. So if you are willing to major in any of the fields mentioned before, you should definitely consider studying French and applying to a University that teaches that major in France.
So being fluent in French will open up huge opportunities for you to get a better education. We have collected some of the top universities in France and listed them below. According to the QS ranking, these universities are among the top one hundred universities worldwide.
Learning a new language has been scientifically proven to enrich your mind and open up new horizons. It also decreases your risk of developing dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, as well as enhancing your memory.
But when we talk about French enriching your mind, we also mean making you able to think critically and reason things as you will be able to read the original works of famous philosophers and writers. You will get access to aesthetic French literature and art. And of course, you won’t be able to understand these things without being fluent in French.
To name a few of the brilliant French minds, here are some of these:
So being able to read the work of these brilliant minds in their native language will definitely give you a deeper understanding of their ideas and the cultural or political circumstances in which they wrote these pieces of art.
Being able to speak just a little bit of French will allow you not only to travel to France (which is one of the top tourist destinations) but you will also be able to travel to French-speaking countries.
These countries include:
It is important to note that most of these countries speak languages other than French, but knowing a little bit of it will make your travel more enjoyable and easier. You will be able to navigate your own way, ask for directions, book your hotel room or restaurant table, and, more importantly, talk to locals and get to know more about their culture and traditions.
French, without a doubt, is a beautiful and rich language. Some people even call it “the language of love.” It has unique sounds like the (R) and the nasal (N), a distinctive accent, and unique intonation. To back up this claim with some evidence, a recent survey from google translate says that French is the most often used language to translate romantic expressions. They found out that 34 out of the top 1000 phrases translated into French were things like; “Je t’aime,” which means I love you in French.
France has always been an attractive place for filmmakers, music festivals, art galleries, and more. You may have heard of the Canne festival, which is an annual film festival held in Canne, France, where filmmakers, actors, and producers from all around the world come together. French films are also of high quality, and there’s no way you can enjoy them without knowing French and the cultural background of that language. Also, knowing French will open the door to understanding countless aesthetic French songs.
We can’t deny that one of the main reasons why most of us learn new languages is to impress other people and sound smart. It is not something that we should be ashamed of. We all love to see that Awe on the faces of the people who are honestly impressed by our ability to speak a foreign language fluently. Speaking French especially gives you prestige and makes you sound Chic.
One of the main factors that will tremendously help any student learn a new language is the availability of content in that language. There are tons and tons of French content online and offline that you can learn from. You can find youtube channels, websites, online and offline courses, books, music, podcasts, mobile applications, and more. So if you want to learn it, you have no excuse to start off right away.
So if you are a beginner and would like to learn a new language, here are some apps we recommend you start off with:
And here are some Youtube channels we have collected for you according to your level:
In the end, here are some phrases that will come in handy if you are travelling soon to France:
And here is a video in which you will find almost any word you might need in your first travel to France.
Finally, we hope you got an overview of the main valid and practical reasons of why you should learn that language. Now the choice is yours, and you can decide whether to learn it or not. If you are convinced and want to start learning it right away, you have got tons of resources above to help you out.
And if you love learning languages through movies, we also got you. Here is a list of the best French movies to watch in 2022 and 2021.
Want to know how to learn anything from home, check out this link.
Happy learning journey!
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