I agree wholeheartedly with the benefits of learning a second language outlined in this article. I speak fluent Spanish and German and can safely say that learning these languages changed me significantly. Many times I have stopped people from passing judgment on someone by saying, "Hmm, that sounds like it could be a language mistake..."

Once you have been put in the position of groping in the dark for a word that you have forgotten - or perhaps never knew - but are forced to say SOMETHING, you will have infinite amounts of patience for anyone who struggles to communicate, even in their own language.

It is shameful that so few Americans are fluent in a foreign language. I am often confronted with wide-eyed Germans when I speak their language, as most Americans couldn't be bothered - after all, they all speak English, right?

Apart from all the benefits, there is sheer joy and fun in learning another language - including (or perhaps because of) all the little mistakes along the way.

My German boyfriend didn't know the word for fins, so he simply asked "What do you call wings on a fish?"

Just one of hundreds of little mistakes that make foreign language life worth living!