Hola. Bonjour. Konnichiwa. Although most of us are aware of what these foreign greetings mean, there is a natural mental barrier that swiftly comes up when we see these words.
Oh dear God, no. Please tell me I don’t have to divert from my sweet and safe comfort zone in the English language.
Unfortunately for the rest of the world, the English language is both important and necessary to learn if an individual ever hopes to excel professionally or personally. Learning English can sometimes be the only way for a person to gain a job that will pay the bills or even advance out of an enforced social class system.
Fortunately for us native English speakers, this isn’t the case. It’s not to say that all English speakers live a life of privilege due to a shared mother tongue, but it is one less thing to learn or be concerned about. However, the fact that there has been no pressing need for English speakers to learn a second language has led to two issues that are rather hideous. Laziness and lack of communication.
To explain, I’ll discuss my often complicated relationship with Spanish. To cut a long and mundane story short, I ended up falling in love with Spanish in college and and declaring a minor. How? I had a teacher who promoted speaking it every single day. I even studied abroad in Mexico for six weeks to amplify my ability to speak Spanish and learn as much as I could about the language.
When I returned and spoke with friends about my experience, most of them told me they couldn’t even imagine trying to speak another language. This both disheartened and irritated me. Why is it that most English speakers don’t want to learn another language?
Speaking another language is arguably therapeutic — it stimulates underused parts of the brain, assists in communication and relationships with other people and promotes a wealth of new opportunities in which the language can be used. Many employers in exciting places deeply value applicants who can speak another language. In short, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t go ahead and learn another language.
So, how do you go about it? It may be a little late in the game, but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible by any stretch. Here are some affordable and effective ways in which you can go about learning any language of your choice:

• Duolingo. This is probably the most popular and easiest way to get a base in another language. Duolingo is both a website and an application you can put on your phone. It currently supports nine languages and is constantly adding more. Duolingo is interactive and pairs various grammar, vocabulary and speaking exercises to ensure accuracy. Although Duolingo won’t make you fluent, it can definitely make you conversational if you put in the effort to use it habitually. Did I mention it’s also free?
• School classes. Yep. This isn’t the most exciting way to learn a new language, but it is much more effective than other methods if you work hard. Many of the language professors at the University of Oregon are fantastic, authentic speakers, originating from the countries that the language they are teaching you is spoken. But if you don’t have time to fit the classes into your university schedule, there are other options. The Language Studies Department at Lane Community College offers classes in French and Spanish (and even an American Indian language) for a cheaper price and more accommodating schedule. Additionally, there are well-known online programs you can buy in bulk such as Rosetta Stone and Pimsleur.
• Immerse. The simple answer is the only way to become really fluent in another language is to immerse yourself in the language. Naturally, this is most efficient when you live for a period of time in another country. Nowadays, there are many ways in which you can do this for nearly free. There are programs such as Workaway, Help Exchange and Volunteer South America that provide listings of opportunities to work abroad in exchange for free accommodation and food. However, you can still ‘immerse’ yourself from home. Listen to podcasts in the language. Watch television programs. Read books. You can do it.

There’s no other time like the present to learn another language. It takes some time and effort, and it may be slow, but becoming bilingual is more than worth it.
Follow Ciara Gaffney on Twitter @CiaraGaffs