Mastering a SkillI think everyone would benefit from mastering a second language. I spent several days researching this topic and discovered that this skill has many wonderful benefits. The job opportunities are incredible. Bilingualism has even been proven to have cognitive benefits throughout life, from children to adults. According to the "Canadian Modern Language Review" an article by Lazarak, Wally titled "Linguistic, Academic and Cognitive Benefits of French Immersion", their review after several studies shows that FI programs allow students to develop proficiency levels in French and in English, without harming their academic success. Additionally, cognitive research associates bilingualism with increased mental flexibility and creative thinking skills, enhanced metalinguistic awareness, and high communicative sensitivity. The cognitive aspects of learning a second language are amazing. The brain works very hard to learn a second language. An article in the guest editorial "Cutting Edge Research in Bilingualism" by Margaret Deuchar, argues that in a series of experiments involving non-linguistic cognitive tasks performed by both monolinguals and bilinguals, bilinguals exhibit superior performance . She argues that bilinguals' superior performance can be attributed to their lifelong experience of switching between two active languages. Knowing a second language gives you a competitive advantage. We need to make ourselves more valuable to potential employers. The country is becoming more and more diverse. This is a useful career move to make. Suppose your company merges with a foreign company and moves abroad. It would be very useful for you to know a second language. Many careers are available for bilinguals, flight attendants, salespeople, geologists, paralegals, travel agents, bank tellers and social workers. It may even be a necessity with these types of jobs. Employees of large companies go abroad for business trips or to live. The interpreting profession has exploded. It is a daily struggle for those who emigrate to our country. They don't speak English and not all companies have translators. This is very inconvenient and frustrating for them. The demand for translators is too high. They come to America with a dream and it can be crushed in one visit because we as Americans look at them funny and always want to say "learn English or go home" . I hear this every day where I live and it's frustrating for me to hear this.