Hola, me llamo Deanna y yo creo que ustedes sean perezosos. Some of you may be wondering what I just said. I opened with a simple hello and told you my name, but what you may not have caught is me calling you all lazy. Now, I do not believe you all are lazy, but this proves my point that language is very important. Without an understanding and knowledge of other languages, communication is hindered between cultures. We are all required to take at least two school years of foreign language courses to graduate because of the importance of communication in the world. Communication is how humans connect. For example, during ancient Egyptian times the Rosetta Stone was created so people could communicate through their language barriers, and today it is the key to understanding Egyptian hieroglyphs. For these reasons, learning another language is important to today’s society. Learning another language is important for travel, in the workplace, and it increases intelligence.
     First, it is important to learn another language for travelling. Language is the bridge between different cultures (metaphor). Travelling to another place where the language is different and not knowing the language is like having an impairment because you cannot communicate clearly. Not understanding the native dialect leads to miscommunications and misunderstandings; however, learning another language can decrease the mistranslations between cultures as well as allow for easier travelling. What if your phone died and you need directions back to your hotel, but you do not know how to speak the native language? You could try to follow the signs written in the language you cannot understand, or you could try to remember buildings you passed near the hotel. Having learned another language would greatly help in situations like this hypothetical example. “Translation apps are helpful, but only to a certain extent. They enable you to decipher a menu, but not necessarily to spark up a conversation with your server” (Szypulski 1). For these reasons, learning another language is important for travel. Learning another language is beneficial because you will be able to communicate with the locals and the language barrier will not hinder the experience. Simple questions, directions, or conversations can occur by learning another language before travelling.
     Also, learning another language is helpful in the workplace. Building better bonds in business brings (alliteration) more partnerships and profit to a company, so learning the language of a possible new client or company is “one of the first steps to founding a lasting, stable international business relationship” (De Valoes 1). Being able to communicate with clients in their native dialect shows trust, reliability, and interest which will increase the opportunity to create more business deals. According to NBC News, in the past five years the demand for bilingual employees has doubled. With international commerce increasing, clientele ethnicity is broadening, so the workforce must be able to accommodate them. The chairman of New American Economy, John Feinblatt, states, “businesses require employees who can serve customers in a variety of languages” (Cusido 1). Learning another language makes a prospective employee more valuable to a company and prospective boss because of the increase in global marketing and wide variety of consumers. When looking to hire, the business is going to pick the person that will help their company succeed, so learning another language can increase the likelihood of being hired over someone who is not bilingual. You become like a treasure the businesses want to obtain (simile).
     Additionally, studying another language can increase intelligence. To analyze intelligence, it is important to look at the brain and spinal cord which are in the central nervous system. In the brain, there is grey matter and white matter; however, we will be focusing on grey matter for increased intelligence. Grey matter “contains cell bodies, dendrites, and axon terminals of neurons, so it is where all synapses are” (“Grey Matter” 1). Dendrites are the thin, branch-like part of the neuron that receives information from other neurons, and axon terminals are at the opposite end of the neuron that sends information to other neurons (“Grey Matter” 1). The synapse is the connection between neurons which are the “cell type responsible for communication and integration (“Grey Matter” 1). To clarify, grey matter contains neurons that are made up of dendrites and axons that receive and send information through the synapses that connect neurons. Grey matter is where information transfer, memory, decision making, perception, and executive functions occur (Dovey 1). Therefore, with grey matter containing neurons in charge of high-level functions and being an information center, having more would increase the efficiency of the brain. Thus, to state in simple terminology, more grey matter leads to increased intelligence. A study led by Sylvanne Desrivieres at the Institute of Psychiatry at London’s King’s College found a “genetic variation...linked to synaptic plasticity—how neurons communicate” (Kelland 1). This genetic variation gives insight into the neurological aspect of communication in the brain, showing teens in the study “with...a thinner cortex in the left half of their brains...performed less well on the tests for intellectual ability” (Kelland 1). Therefore, the teens with thicker grey matter scored higher on the intelligence tests.
     One way to increase grey matter is learning another language. A study by Guinevere Eden and Olumide Olulade—both have PhD’s and are directors at the Georgetown University Medical Center—was done comparing American sign language and English speakers with Spanish and English speakers to analyze how bilingual people have increased grey matter. They observed more grey matter in “frontal and parietal brain regions that are involved in executive control” in bilinguals showing that learning two separate languages increases grey matter in key regions that increase intelligence (“Bilinguals” 1). Learning another language requires the brain to focus on one language at a time while communicating, but the brain still contains knowledge of the other language. The brain is like an information center (simile), and the process of separation of information into different folders, or lobes of the brain, increases the brain’s grey matter which in turn increases intelligence.
     Our schools are setting up students for more success by requiring them to study foreign language. Learning another language is beneficial because it helps with travel, leads to greater success in the workplace, and increases intelligence.
     Gracias.

Works Cited
“Bilinguals of Two Spoken Languages Have More Gray Matter Than Monolinguals.”
     Georgetown University, 16 July 2015, gumc.georgetown.edu/news/Bilinguals-of-Two-       Spoken-Languages-Have-More-Gray-Matter-Than-Monolinguals
Cusido, Carmen. “Report: Want the Job? Be Able to Say So in More than One Language.”
     NBC News, 13 March 2017, nbcnews.com/news/latino/report-want-be-able-say-       so-more-one-language-n732486
De Valoes, Leonardo. “Importance of Language—Why Learning a Second Language is
     Important.” Trinity Washington University, 26 Feb. 2014,     

     trinitydc.edu/continuing-education/2014/02/26/importance-of-lanuage-why-           learning-a-second-language-is-important/
Dovey, Dana. “How Brain’s Grey Matter, Linked With Intelligence, Changes Depending On
     Your Age and Sex.” Medical Daily, 30 May 2017, medicaldaily.com/how-brains-       grey-matter-linked-intelligence-changes-depending-your-age-and-sex-418198
“Grey Matter and White Matter.” Indiana University, 06 July 2015,
     www.indiana.edu/~p1013447/dictionary/greywhit.htm
Kelland, Kate. “Scientists Find Gene Linking Brain’s Grey Matter to Intelligence.” Reuters:
     Science News, 11 Feb. 2014, reuters.com//article/us-intelligence/scientists-find-

     gene-linking-brains-grey-matter-to-intelligence-idUSBREA1A0CR20140211
Szypulski, Richelle. “5 Unexpected Benefits of Learning Another Language.” Business Insider,
     06 Feb. 2017, businessinsider.com/benefits-of-learning-another-language-2017-

     2