If you are a speaker of English, is it really necessary to learn another ......

I tink that learning foreign languages is a way to enrich personal culture. English native speakers are lucky because almost everybody knows english but in the future this could change. What about Chinese? It will become the language of the future? Pheraps..

Though English can be considered as the language of communication for people all over the world, it is not surprising that many are not using this language on a daily basis and still uses other languages in their everyday communication. Lets say you come to my country Malaysia you will be surprise that not many people understand the basic English language. This was all because of some foolish leaders in my country who thinks that learning english would corrupt the minds of the young generations. This is all political and religious motivated move. Not until lately English has been brought back to all schools and made compulsory again after realizing the importance of the English language. I am fortunate to be educated at a time when English was the main language used in teaching. I don't see any reason why we should limit our proficiency in other languages. As for me I am quite a linguist and is able to master chinese well besides my national language and of course a good command of English. Knowing more than one language is an asset and is a great advantage for me when I travel to places where English is not the language of communication. You will be appreciated and welcomed if you can speak the language of the people you are in contact. When you speak their language they feel you are one of them. Communication is made easier.

You have a point there.But learning a new language never go wasted.I don't think that it will be easier in France ,Japan and china with English alone.Well learning a new language is always a passion for the linguistics.Learning another language apart from English will never be an unnecessary thing.

I think it depends on many other aspects of life too. Whether you intend travelling to other countries or talking to natives of other countries for business or pleasure. Whether you expect others to speak your own language or indeed whether they should if it is or not their own. I moved from UK to Italy many years ago and I did not speak a single word of Italian. Many people were able to speak English and that helped but it was me in their country so it was up to me to learn their language. I also think that only by learning another language can you really understand the people of that country and all their history and local life.

It's not exactly being a necessity to learn more than one. But I think lanuage is an important way of communication The more you know, the better you are at knowing people, the way they act, the reason for acting a certain way, more learning how a person think Different lanuage nuture different culture It's interesting Learning french, you learn the most romantic lanuage Learning japanese, you apprecaite their amination more Learning chinese, you understand their history Learning sign lanuage, you can communicate with the mute It's what i think. Hope you understand what I'm writing :)

I am a non english speaker; yet, I consider that it is quite important to be able to know, not only to learn, another lenguage. Nowdays,it is more that necessary to speak other languages because the world is becoming smaller and communication between people is getting rather closer and closer. If we are really able to communicate in other languages it is going to be easier to understand lots of concepts and meet poeple from almost any country, everywhere. CHEERS!

HI Eskarena1, I am bilingual. Besides my native language which is Maltese, I learned English as well since it is our second language. Most Maltese learn a third language either French German or Italian. I have chosen Italian since we are closer to this country. During my time at school I had to learn Arabic compulsory.

It all depends on what type of work you are into. Here in the US, many call centers look for people that are bi-lingual, those that speak both English and Spanish fluently. Also, those that are in business speaking to people across the globe may want to learn another language, basically the language of the country that they contact the most, in order to communicate with people without a language barrier.

English is my mother tongue language. When I was at school I learned French for five years and that has been useful on my travels. After visiting Central America I had the desire to learn Spanish. I am currently going to an evening class once a week in Spanish. I can only master a few useful phrases in German but in Europe that is a useful language to know. It is desirable to be able to speak a foreign language. I feel that I am lucky that I have so many countries that all have different languages on my doorstep. I adore Australia but they don't have any nearby neighboring countries. Japan is a trading partner but Japanese must be a very challenging language to learn. Other than that it might be worth them learning Indonesian. English speaking Canadians might find it helpful to know French. I went to schools in the Netherlands and eleven year olds there are fluent in English. Wow! It is a shame that we can't all be masters of foreign languages like the Dutch people.

I used to speak Spanish, but lived in Spain at the time. Long forgotten it now though, so I suppose you could say that I don't speak another language and find I get by OK with just English on the Internet. There is no need for me to learn another language, but I could be just showing how much of a lazy Libra I am - Derek

Probably not really necessary, but working in the travel industry I would like to try and learn to speak Italian as I think it would be nice to be able to understand people when they are not speaking English - plus I would like to live there one day so would be nice to be able to speak their language easily! x

It is very much possible to study another language if you put in a little more effort. I studied French and I guess I am doing great I read lots of French books and forums. I think there is need to study other languages, you can be a translator and even when you travel to other places where they speak different languages.

It's not really necessary, but if you want something more out of life, it's really beneficial for personal fulfillment like meeting new people, get promotion on a job (overseas assignment), learning new cultures....

I do sort of agree that you don't need another language as well as English but sometimes it really helps. It is empowering to be able to speak another language. In England our Last prime minister spoke fluent French and that gave him a lot more respect from the French Prime minister. The present one speaks only English and seems rather powerless and insipid in comparison.

Well, I'm not sure it is necessary, but it is something that will always interest me. I think there is nothing better than to be able to communicate with someone in their own language. Maybe places like myLot force me to use only english, but as I email friends, or talk to them personally I prefer to use my own language or theirs if it's not english and I know it. I also enjoy to read books in their original language. It is true that often things get lost in translation.

Is it for you if you want to learn other language. You can use it when you plan to visit other country, you can use what you learn for communication. Me, I speak our national language but I also want to be fluent in English. I still want to learn, English, Nihonggo, Fukien, Korean.It is not really necessary but to learn foreign langugage can still help you in many ways. You can be a translator too.