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While the cognitive value of learning a language has been indicated by various tests and studies time and time again, it is still the case that foreign language units are among the first to be axed when schools, universities and institutes are faced with funding cuts. The benefits of learning a new language should be recognized by all, at a basic level of education, but the way things are going it will soon be only those able to afford study abroad programs who gain the international edge to their life, learning, and career.

Studying at a Spanish course in Spain, an English course in Canada, or a French course in France should not just be the option of the elite few. The teaching of foreign languages should be maintained as an essential feature of the education system, with the opportunity to study at a German course in Switzerland or Italian course in Italy being a bonus, rather than the only available opportunity to progress in a language.

This is because the benefit of learning a new language is more than linguistic. According to the President of the National Network for Early Language Learning (NNELL), Therese Sullivan Caccavale, students who learn new languages in early childhood display cognitive problem solving advantages over their peers. She writes that "studies have shown repeatedly that foreign language learning increases critical thinking skills, creativity, and flexibility of mind in young children. Students who are learning a foreign language out-score their non-foreign language learning peers in the verbal and, surprisingly to some, the math sections of standardized tests." It is fascinating to consider that there is a link between language study and increased mathematical skill, and this shows that cuts in language learning nationwide will be to the detriment of learning as a whole.

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