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STUDYING THE LANGUAGE MAKES FRENCH CULTURE MORE ACCESSIBLE AND COULD IMPROVE YOUR BRAIN FUNCTION While French remains one of the most popular foreign languages to learn around the world, the

numbers of students opting for French in countries such as the UK and US are dwindling.  There are still many reasons why it is worth learning French. Read more: Is French still a popular

language to learn? IT IS A WORLD LANGUAGE  Over 300 million people speak French around the world, so learning French is useful for travelling and working abroad. It is an official language

in 29 countries including Belgium, Switzerland, Cameroon, Senegal and Canada.  French is the only language, other than English, that is taught in every country in the world, according to

France’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.  Read more: How long should it take to learn French for everyday use? IMPROVE BRAIN HEALTH  Learning a language can improve our brain health, according

to experts. The process of learning a language uses lots of different parts of your brain and improves the connectivity between them, thus improving general cognitive performance.  Studies

have also suggested that learning a second language could delay the onset of dementia by up to five years.  TO INTEGRATE  Anyone planning to spend time in France, especially those planning

to move there, will have a much richer experience if they make the effort to learn French.  Also trying to get anything done, from renovations on a house to the paperwork that comes with

moving to France, will be so much easier if you speak at least half-decent French.  Read more: Seven tips to help you integrate in France IT IS THE LANGUAGE OF CULTURE  French is the

language of culture, from the writings of Baudelaire and Flaubert to the films of Céline Sciamma and Justine Triet.  French is the language of fashion - think Chanel, Yves Saint Laurent and

Christian Dior, as well as food - most chefs learn the classical French style of cooking and many French terms continue to be used in professional kitchens around the world.  Learning French

means you can experience French literature and film in its original form, without relying on a translation.  WORLD’S MOST ROMANTIC LANGUAGE French has long been dubbed the language of love,

and it was voted the world’s most romantic language in a poll in February 2024. Unfortunately, while it used to be the world’s sexiest, this year it has been beaten into second place by

Italian.  Read more: Five tips for dating and finding love in France TO APPRECIATE FRENCH TV Thanks to the growing number of streaming services, it has never been easier to discover some of

the best French TV series of the past few years. From Dix pour Cent (Call My Agent), a comedy set in the cutthroat world of agents with some excellent cameos from France’s most famous

actors, to Lupin, the Netflix series that follows the exploits of ‘gentleman thief’ Arsène Lupin.  Watching series in the original French helps you pick up on cultural subtleties you would

never have caught in a dubbed version. Plus watching TV in French will only improve your language skills.  Read more: Five Netflix TV shows to help improve your French IT IS FUN There have

never been so many different ways to learn French. If sitting in a classroom is not for you, try podcasts, YouTube videos and language-learning apps that can make learning French a fun

experience.  Read more: Five podcasts to help your French listening skills: films, news, Olympics IT WILL HELP YOU IMPROVE YOUR ENGLISH It is estimated that almost half of all English words

have a French origin, so learning French will help to widen your English vocabulary.  IT MAKES IT EASIER TO LEARN OTHER LANGUAGES  Once you have learned French, it will help you learn other

romance languages such as Spanish and Italian, which all have a basis in Latin.  Read more: Use French expressions to say what you mean in English