In an age where there is more competition than ever before for top jobs, your social network can be a powerful asset. Learning English can help you expand your social reach and make yourself more competitive at work. It’s also great fun to have a large circle of social contacts. Here’s five interesting ways that learning English can help you expand your social reach.
Reach more people
English is the most common language on the internet and by speaking it, you can share your ideas and opinions with all the English speakers out there.
Connect with a wider range of niche communities
There’s a community for anything you can imagine online and many of them speak English. Finding a community of people interested in similar things to you is a great way to practice, and being able to speak English opens up communities that may not have been accessible otherwise.
Meet interesting people along the way
Many people learn English for different reasons and the English classroom is typically a very diverse place. In one room, you might have a judge sitting next to a university student and working with a group of nuns. By learning English, you get to talk to people outside your usual social sphere.
Become a trusted advisor
Being able to speak English and another language puts you in the great position of being able to advise others on things that depend on language knowledge. For example, you could explain technical information documented in English to non English-speaking colleagues. Likewise, you could advise English speakers on topics that require knowledge of your mother tongue.
Practice social and language skills together
In any communicative English class, you’ll be practicing more than just words and grammar. You’ll be developing important social skills that you can use in a wide range of situations. From small-talk to business meetings, learning English is a great opportunity to develop those skills that we usually just take for granted.