How learning languages helps me become a better scientist

Exposure to different languages can redefine how we see the world. As a chemistry student who minored in English language and literature and studied at a multicultural university, I discovered that life is not only about collaborating with peers on assignments, projects or experiments; it is a much richer experience, especially when we realise that we share many similarities despite cultural differences.

At every group lunch I had with my peers, I learned a new word. Learning languages was like a gateway to new cultures; it made us realise how differently we dress, what we eat, how we talk, and how we celebrate different occasions. It helped us to see how unique each culture is and encouraged respect for different cultures.

I realised that learning a language is sometimes a prerequisite for learning about cultures when my friends told me about some South Asian dishes. One example is a dish called aloo gobi, which I did not understand until I learned that aloo means potato and gobi means cauliflower.

Aside from learning about cultures, another benefit of learning languages is how this improves our professional experience. The scientific world is built on collaborations. Exploring different languages strengthens our ability to work with diverse people and enables strong, effective collaborations built on mutual respect and support, fostering innovation and creative outcomes.

It is not perfection that creates cultural experiences

Not only did I get to learn about different cultures, but I was also asked questions about my culture – not all of which I immediately knew how to answer. This encouraged me to explore my own culture more. Other people’s questions and curiosity help you to know more about yourself. This applies to learning chemistry too. Sometimes we might think we understand a chemical process until we give a presentation and get asked about its underlying concepts. Then, we realise that with every question we get to discover more.

Learning a new language takes a lot of effort and time, and this helps to shape our persistence to achieve our educational and scientific goals. However, when learning languages, it is not perfection that creates cultural experiences; it is the small efforts that count and enable us to foster respect and stronger bonds with our peers. Always remember that collaborations do more than allow us to complete our work and studies; they are opportunities to learn from each other’s experiences.