What is the Value of Communicating Conversationally in Multiple Languages?

I enjoy communicating in conversations with people.  My fourth grade teacher introduced me to Spanish, then I was introduced to French the summer before I went into the fifth grade.  In college I took Italian so that I could be the graduate counsellor at the university's study center in Florence.  I became conversationally fluent in Spanish, French, and Italian--motivated to have conversations with natives speaking these languages.  I lived and worked in Italy for three-and-one-half years, in South America for six months, and used French in Vietnam.  I could read and interpret in all three languages.

The U.S. Army found value in my ability to communicate in these languages.  I had duty assignments where I was required to communicate in each of the three languages.  After leaving the Army for a career as an organizational change management consultant, I had to find or make opportunities to speak the languages.  I have been using Spanish extensively as a teacher of English language learners (ELLs) in Illinois for the past six years.

One way for me to maintain my conversational fluency is to play the French, Spanish, or (more rarely) Italian audio and/or closed caption tracks on DVD movies.  That was how I built my fluency when living in Italy and it still is a good way for me to be interested and force myself to understand--I don't want to miss the punch lines.

I also find it valuable to listen to audio books in the languages and, when possible, to read along while I listen.  This is the same approach I have found very helpful for English language learners to learn English--listen to a book being read to them by a native speaker and read along with the same unabridged book.

Recently I needed to brush-up on my French and I signed-up for an online language learning program that will provide a basic conversational review (or introduction) for French and Spanish--vocabulary, grammar, and other essentials.  The program I signed-up for offers English and eight other languages at the basic conversational (101) level and was very affordable.  I signed-up for one year of the service and expect to review both French and Spanish and possibly to learn one or more of the other languages if I have a chance to use them in conversation.

I have worked with other online programs in the past and found this program to be one of the best values for a basic conversational language learning program offering multiple languages for one fee.

I liked the program so much, I signed-up to enroll others who can benefit from what the program offers.

To go back to the original question, what is the value of communicating conversationally in multiple languages? 

In the United States I see people from other countries who are struggling to communicate in English and I know that, if they had taken an online course to prepare them for basic conversation in English they would be much more successful in day-to-day living in this country.

As a visitor to many countries--Central and South America, Europe, and Asia, I have seen and felt the difference when I could communicate conversationally with people in their native language--and have felt the challenges when I was in countries where I did not know much (or any) of the language.  I was facilitating a class in Hong Kong that was conducted in English because, with the exception of one or two people, English was the only common language spoken by everyone in the training.  That meant that I had to rely on others to help me get through the day-to-day living requirements while visiting in Hong Kong.

Businesses are sending employees to other countries and knowing the language of the country would be of real value to both the business  and the employee.  Some organizations recognize the value of multilingual conversational ability and others do not.  The individuals with the capabilities certainly appreciate the value.  I know some people from Europe who are fluent in nine or more languages.  Chinese and Russian seem so different from English that I am very impressed when people native in these languages speak fluently in English to make my life easier.

I enjoy speaking and understanding Spanish when I visit Spanish-speaking countries.  I enjoy speaking Italian in Italy.  My friends in France have advised me that I need a refresher course before I speak French with French-speaking people in Canada or in France.  OK--now I'm in the program.  :-)