Why You Should Learn a Language During the Pandemic

Why You Should Learn a Language During the Pandemic

My Story

When the pandemic hit, and lockdowns first began, I suddenly found myself with more free time than I was used to. At first, I didn’t mind the extra time to myself, but eventually boredom struck me, and it became hard to fill in the days being stuck at home. After watching countless shows and movies, Netflix started to lose some of its charm, and I needed to find a new activity to keep me occupied. Thus began my journey learning a language.

I already speak English and French, so learning a third language was not really on my mind at the time, at least, not until I discovered Spanish music. I loved the sound of the music and the language they sang in, even though I couldn’t understand a word of it…

But the music sparked my interest enough to start exploring Spanish movies and TV shows, learning about Spanish-speaking countries, and one thing led to another, I had fully plunged myself into Spanish culture. This prompted me to take classes and learn the language, and now a year later I am proud to say I’m nearly fluent, and I probably wouldn’t have learned the language in the first place if it wasn’t for the pandemic.

This just goes to show that there is a silver lining to this pandemic lifestyle we are living. We can all agree that the world would be a better place if we could just snap our fingers and get rid of the pandemic now, but the best we can do is adapt to it and explore the new paths this situation has created for us, and one of the possible paths is to learn a language.

Why now is the right time?

With a whole lot more free time on our hands, and a less social lifestyle due to the nature of the pandemic, now is the perfect time for you or your kids to pick up a language and be productive with the extra free time that we don’t know what to do with. Leisure time is very important, but with boatloads of it during these times, it can feel repetitive to spend too much time doing the same thing, and it can be frustrating seeing our kids glued to their electronic devices rather than being productive. Now some of that free time can be allocated to more productive activities that we might not have had time for before.

Learning a language takes time and practice, but if you’re genuinely interested in a language, the learning process is a blast, and the results are extremely rewarding. The first step is the hardest, but as they say the journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step, so don’t be afraid to take that step and embark on a language learning journey full of discovery and excitement! Try to create a positive outcome from this pandemic, however hard it might seem to do, the doors have opened to different opportunities such as finding new hobbies and passions like language learning.

 But before you begin, you must start by finding the language you’re interested in and explore what it is that interests you about that language. Start by enjoying the music, films, cuisine, and learning about the countries that speak the language. Then you can make the decision to start learning the language.

So, what language should you learn?

French of course! French is known as the language of love, and as such it is a beautiful language that is spoken by people around the world. In fact, it is the only language other than English spoken on every continent. But if the elegance of the romantic sounding language is not appealing enough to you, perhaps some of the benefits of learning it will win you over. Benefits such as the opportunities it grants you.

With the popularity of the language, especially here in Canada, being bilingual is a huge advantage and can land you better jobs and opportunities in your career, not to mention higher wages in many cases. Some employers look for strictly bilingual candidates, and many at least see it as a strong asset. So, if you learn French yourself or teach your kids while they’re young you can set yourselves ahead of the unilingual competition.

Another huge benefit of learning French is the amazing people you’ll meet along the way, whether that’s in the classes you take, or other people you come to know throughout your life thanks to the language. French allows you to understand and communicate with people that you otherwise wouldn’t be able to. It creates a connection with these people, and it can guide you to exploring new cultures and coming to truly appreciate them.

Start Learning With Us!

With that being said, why not come learn French with us, now is the perfect time to do it! We offer a variety of classes that can help you or your kids speak French. Get started today by signing up for one of our classes, and we’ll be thrilled to make this pandemic a little brighter for you!