The world is more connected than it has ever been before in history, but learning a new perspective still requires dedication and pursuit. “Gaining a new perspective” is a phrase we are all familiar with from the time we begin to grasp our own language and perspective of the world. Growing up, books from a wide variety of genres opened me up to new worlds I had never seen, and by the time I graduated from college I had traveled quite a bit and experienced several other cultures – enough to feel like I had gained this “new perspective” everyone talked about. But it wasn’t until the last couple of years that I discovered how much more there is to the world, how much more room there was for my perspective to broaden – and it came in learning a new language.

 

Learning language exchanges a narrow lens for a broader, fuller picture of the world.”

Learning language exchanges a narrow lens for a broader, fuller picture of the world. It can happen steadily over time as you learn to navigate new grammar and vocabulary, but it can also happen in a moment.

For me, this moment happened one day when I was introduced to phrases, idioms, and proverbs in the new language. As I began to absorb these phrases, I realized I wasn’t just learning a new set of vocabulary or a way of connecting words. I was learning a new way of seeing a situation; a new way of approaching a problem. I was learning to see how a different culture interprets the circumstances that all humans share, but responds to those circumstances with that culture’s specific viewpoint on life.

Learning a language was offering me a completely new way to interpret familiar circumstances.”

Learning a language was offering me a completely new way to interpret familiar circumstances. It changed how I saw the world and gave me a new perspective that I didn’t even know existed.

Language learning unlocks the door to new worlds. When you walk through that door by beginning to learn a new language, you suddenly realize that the old world you knew so well from the inside looks different from the outside – not less beautiful or important, but also not the only beautiful and important world out there. There is so much more.

As you learn English, we are excited about the new perspective you will gain along the way!

Here are some example phrases in English for you to explore: Which proverbs and phrases have an equivalent in Turkish and which open you up to a new perspective?

“The pen is mightier than the sword.”

“People who live in glass houses should not throw stones.”

“A picture is worth a thousand words.”

“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.”

“Necessity is the mother of invention.”