“If you learn languages, you’re learning intercultural awareness, communication & negotiation skills, training & mentoring, empathy & even codebreaking & decryption - transferable skills to complement almost any other discipline.”

Christopher Hughes MBE, Educator

At Woodbrook Vale, we have done our research and from our experiences we feel langauages are very valuable to young people.  This commitment is shared by all the local schools.

This is a list of benefits and highlight why we place such a high emphasis on language learning:

1. Improves brain power and memory (so helps with all other subjects)
2. Improves English skills by making us more aware of how our language works
3. Opens doors in an increasingly global jobs market (see some examples in the 'departure board' below)
4. Gives us the skills we need to learn other languages (including computer programming languages!)
5. Increases awareness of other peoples and cultures
6. Allows us to see the Word from a different perspective
7. Opens up the possibility of living and working abroad
8. Allows us to appreciate international art, music and literature
9. Transforms your travel experiences
10. It's fun!

The departure board summarises some of the opportunities, skills and career paths that come with studying and second language.

Do you want to know more? Here are some useful links that give further explanation.

What happens in the brain when you learn a language?

10 Benefits of Learning a Second Language

The Importance of Languages in Global Context: An International Call to Action

20 reasons to learn another language