Explore Foreign Languages

What is Foreign Language?

A foreign language can be defined as a language that is not officially spoken by the people born and raised in a particular country. Thus, non-native speakers must actively or consciously learn that language. In other words, a foreign language may refer to a language that is not the official language (also referred to as the native language or mother tongue) of a country or to the people that live in that country. The term may also be used when referring to the fact that a person is living in a country where they were not born, and the language spoken in that country is not the same as what the person speaks.

For example, an American, who has English as their first language, is currently living in Spain, where Spanish is the official language. This person may say that Spanish is a foreign language to them. Sometimes kids learn various languages when they are young. In this case, any languages that they learn are their official languages, and none are said to be foreign languages to them.

The study of a foreign language allows people to communicate with others verbally or in writing. Foreign language studies include grammar, speech, hearing, and reading a new language.

Being able to speak two or more languages has become increasingly important in today's world. It is currently an extremely useful skill to have in the workforce. However, it has other useful purposes, such as being able to communicate with native speakers while traveling to different countries around the world.