Learn another language & your options multiply. There’s more to read, watch, write, say, hear, sing, eat, drink, buy, sell, discuss, enjoy & experience & far more people to do all those things with. Whichever language you start with, solidarity & understanding go a very long way.

Maybe you're fascinated by German engineering or a budding chef learning French cooking techniques or a historian of modern Russian history or a doctor in a refugee camp or a lawyer working across borders. Whatever your aspirations are, your options grow with a language or two.

When I’m asked, why learn another language when everyone speaks English? I reply, there are millions of people who don’t speak English & even if they do, their hearts & minds are in their own languages. You’ll find that connecting with hearts & minds takes you so much further.

It doesn’t matter if it’s Chinese or Esperanto that’s sparked your interest. There is no Champions League of languages. When you find a language that you love, pursue it, enjoy a new culture & open your mind. Any new language will give you a new outlook on life.

Getting served first in a Portuguese restaurant, getting a big discount on a taxi fare in Mexico, getting the last seat on a flight from Rome or getting a bargain in Tunisia. Languages aren't just subjects in school. They are a huge advantage in life in so many practical ways.

At schools talks, I’m often told, “my school only does French”. Well, French lets you access much of western Europe & north Africa. It can lead to Italian, Spanish & even Romanian. Then you might go on to discover Chinese, German or Russian. That’s the joy of languages.