The Bridge INTELLECTUAL RESULT IO 16 (8) | Page 34

the possibility of communicating with others and, as a consequence, civil progress
wouldn’t have reached the point in which it is now.
In fact, people of different nations today feel a need for relationships even outside their
geographical boundaries, in order to progress both on the economic and political level
and on the social and cultural level. Indeed, it is only through the knowledge of the
languages of other countries that we can communicate and we can share our
achievements with others, while assimilating theirs. When we meet people from other
cultures, and compare traditions, values and beliefs, we can appreciate the differences
and break the barriers that divide the people, and definitely realize the importance of
studying foreign languages. Not by chance, multilingualism is one of the objectives of
the EU.
Regarding multilingualism, the EU promotes the learning of foreign languages because
better language skills allow more people to improve their employment prospects, and
speaking other languages helps people from different cultures to understand each
other, an essential element in a multicultural Europe. The ability to speak, read, write
and understand more than one language is remarkable and expands freedom in life,
especially for young people. Precisely for this reason, today young people should be
encouraged to study foreign languages, because they represent an added value to
their studying, especially in the world of work. In fact, in order to operate effectively in
Europe, companies need multilingual staff, so it is not surprising that the best language
is always the language that allows us to establish contacts and have more chances of
success.
Competences in speaking foreign languages are a necessity to remain competitive, to
broaden our horizons, to get to better cultural understanding, as the language is a
fundamental element of every family, community, cultural environment.
For this reason, young people are duty-bound to take the chance to exploit the
possibility that our society is offering to them: to widen their knowledge of life through
more than one language, making Fellini’s statement "A different language is a different
vision of life" true.
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