Learning a new language can not only tremendously enhance your personal abilities and help you feel more comfortable and confident in new cultures and countries, but it can also significantly bolster your professional options too. It can encourage you to form international friendships and connections that can last a lifetime.
In this blog, BSc Management Science student and programme Unibuddy Anna Tran shares the reasons behind her decision to learn a new language and how the broad range of societies offered at UCL can be a great place to start. Not only do they offer excellent opportunities to expand your network and social life, but many societies also offer free weekly language classes to support your language and cultural development.
anna tran talks the importance of learning new languages
Why did I learn a new language?
According to research from the University of North Georgia, there are at least 25 reasons to learn a foreign language. The reasons that resonated with me the most were the idea that learning a second language can improve your Maths and English skills, that studying a foreign language will improve your chances of getting a job, and the idea that studying foreign languages can improve your confidence.
For me, learning a new language is also an opportunity for cultural exploration. After all, a country’s culture is communicated to the world through its language system and its expression style. Learning a new language is definitely a challenge, as some language systems often have different grammar, wording, paragraphs or writing styles. For example, the normal logic sentence in English is S (Subject) + V (Verb) + O (object) whereas, in Korean, the normal logic sentence is S (Subject) + O (Object) + V (Verb), so you need to completely think in the Korean grammar structure - not the English grammar system. I believe this fact also helps me to think more diversely and often in different ways, which helps me to become more flexible in changing my thinking to different systems. I have also found that these skills have supported by studies.
join a society while at ucl
And what’s even greater is that UCL has a plethora of societies for students from different countries - from France, Germany and Wales to Vietnam, Korea and Japan. These societies offer FREE Language classes, which you can attend on a regular basis as long as you have a membership. I have joined a Korean class and I feel very excited coming to the lessons every week. Although they are free lessons, our teachers are very dedicated to teaching and help us with a lot of questions. There are even different classes depending on your ability - from beginner to advanced - so you can choose a class depending on your level.
In addition to language classes, these societies also offer a range of fun and interesting activities to celebrate their national days or holidays which are specific to their culture. For example, I’ve seen a Tet (Lunar New Year in Vietnam) event, Running Man Game Day (A well-known gameshow in Korea) and a Japanese Green Tea Class.
Oftentimes, you would think that these cultural societies only have people from their country. However, UCL has an extremely diverse student body so everyone is welcome to the events. The membership for these societies only costs 3-5 pounds a year, but you can experience the culture and attend free classes or events throughout the year. The societies also offer great opportunities for students who intend to do a foreign exchange programme, as they can talk to people from that community or country to try and learn more about what it would be like to study an exchange there.
Got a question? Find out more about UCL School of Management’s BSc Management Science programme or chat to Anna via the Unibuddy platform.