The (0) LINGUISTIC (LINGUIST) benefits of learning a second language are obvious enough, but the wider advantages are less often appreciated. Reaching any real degree of 1FLUENT takes years of patient effort, and along the way learners acquire a great deal more than vocabulary and 2PRONOUNCE. For a start, the experience of being understood by a native speaker for the first time is a powerful boost to 3CONFIDENT, and this often carries over into other areas of life. Language learning also deepens one's 4CULTURE awareness: grammar and idiom are tightly bound up with ways of thinking, and a learner is obliged to enter another habit of mind. For professional purposes, effective 5COMMUNICATE in more than one language is an increasingly valuable asset, and studies consistently show that bilingual candidates enjoy better 6EMPLOY in international industries. Beyond the workplace, travelling abroad becomes a far richer experience when even basic conversation is possible. The process itself encourages learners to 7BROAD their horizons and cultivates the kind of 8PATIENT that any long project requires.