In the 21st century the world as become a global village. The world is full of social, economic and cultural opportunities that could not have been imagined a century ago.
Due to developments in transportation, technology and the means of communication, the world that we live in today is one big village. People of one country can think in terms of settling down in another part of the world, in search of better employment and educational opportunities.
There is a tremendous amount of cultural exchanges between the peoples of the world today. As a globally accepted link language, English does play an important role. However, less than 10 per cent of people in the world speak the language. As a result, the scope of the language is limited.
The knowledge of a foreign language is a gateway into the culture and lifestyle of other people. Besides widening our horizons, a foreign language can also be beneficial in other more concrete terms.
With the growth in travel, tourism and foreign trade opportunities, there is an increase in demand for foreign language interpreters and teachers. If in the current context, one is interested to learn a foreign language, the first question that needs to be addressed is to what language to learn.
The question can be answered if you considered the part of the world that you are talking about. For example we might consider the Middle East. The language spoken by the majority of people here is Arabic. It is spoken by over 350 million people over 20 different countries. The US government provides financial incentives for Breaking the Arabic Code and learning the language. There are a number of potential trade opportunities with the Middle East. Learning the language makes good commercial sense.
Learning the language involves becoming familiar with the Arabic script. It involves effort. The effort pays off in rich dividends as Arab nations have a huge market for goods and financial services.
