learning a language is like putting together a puzzle. you are faced with a multitude of pieces and you have to try to make them fit together. it's a mental challenge like fdmaxey and 李汉伦 say, so when you begin to master any aspect of learning a language (mine is the rolled spanish rr's), you feel pretty good about yourself. :) for me, sometimes i can't find the right expression in one language and can use words from another language to express myself. for example, 鸡婆 is something my parents use copiously (and i know it's not the nicest word to use in chinese). i never knew the english name until someone said the word "officious." so, for a long time, i used to call people "chicken's grandmothers" until i learned the english word. i think language certainly does make life more colorful, don't you?

Opens up opportunity, both personally and economically :-) By speaking another language you open yourself up to a whole new world of people, places, understanding and knowledge. It also puts you in better line for a lot of jobs since globalization is certainly the way of the future. fdmaxey is right wit the brain exercise too. In my opinion, you can never know enough.

At the very least, if you travel, it gives you a good feeling to be able to talk to people in their own language. If I travel to a country where I'm going to stay for more than a week, I try to learn some simple words and phrases - "please", "thank you", "good day", how to count, etc. It is almost always well-received by the people I talk to. I can speak German and a little Chinese (I'm working on that). Knowing those two languages has enabled me to meet people and make friends that I never would have had otherwise. Also, it's good exercise for the brain - sort of like jogging or swimming. When you get older, that matters more.

i love optimistic and enthusiastic people. but in my experience knowing languages helped me to realize that people talk stupid things every where most of the times. and the problem is that you NOW understand it. When i was young i had the frenzy to study languages, now i wish i had studied music.

The most beautiful thing is that you hear words and phrases of foreign language and you feel that you understand it. When you communicate, when you read books, listen to music and understand it - this is a very big pleasure. Forget about financial benefits because if you study because of money you will not be satisfied and your studies will not go well. But if you really want study any language and you feel bery big desire, when you are eager you will master it and then you will dare say that you have something achieved in your life/.