Benefits of learning a Third Language
Asian Languages: Arabic / Bahasa Indonesia / Chinese (Special Programme / Malay (Special Programme)
It opens up new horizons to better understand and appreciate Arabic, Chinese, Indonesian or Malay culture. It also facilitates better interaction with native speakers and enhances future learning experiences and job opportunities.
Foreign Languages: French / German / Japanese / Spanish
They open doors to tertiary education & scholarships in France, Germany, Japan and Spain; they also increase job opportunities in MNCs in Singapore, and local enterprises with overseas networks or operations in Europe, the Americas and Japan.
Additionally, research [1] has shown that the greater the effort made to learn a foreign language, the greater the brain growth in areas “involved in the learning of new material and spatial navigation”. In later life, it has been found to delay the onset of Alzheimer’s disease.
Research [2] also shows that learning a foreign language to an advanced level – as opposed to second language learning – also “significantly enhances all four divergent thinking abilities, i.e., fluency, elaboration, originality and flexibility. Such enhancement can be attributed to specific cognitive practices that language learning brings, and the psychological consequences of being trained under a system different from school system.”
[1] http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/10/121008082953.htm
[2] http://www.ccsenet.org/journal/index.php/elt/article/view/15947
