45 Reasons Why People Want to Learn Languages

Do you think it’s possible to learn a language without a desire to learn it?

My husband and I were recently discussing this during one of our weekly Sunday night existential crises about where we want to live. 

We keep going back and forth about whether or not we want to stay in the UK, and the question we keep coming back to is… where next?

He’s desperate for us to move to Greece.  

I’m determined to go somewhere I want to learn the language. 

And I can’t explain why, but I just don’t want to learn Greek. 

I even (unsuccessfully) tried it once — can’t remember a word. And if you ask me, that proves my very unofficial hypothesis that you NEED a reason and a desire to learn a language to, well, actually learn it. 

But I’m not here to tell you about my living arrangement woes… 

I’m here to talk about why people choose to learn languages and what that means for you, as a language teaching business owner. 

Because here’s a truthbomb: no one is buying your language courses just because they’re great. 

In fact, no one is buying language, full stop. 

There are TONS of reasons why someone might want to learn a language. But it’s never simply because of a teacher, a course, an offer (or a husband). 

If you want to position yourself and your services as THE solution to your ideal students’ language learning challenges, you need to understand what’s motivating them to study. And that means going deeper than ‘work’, ‘education’ or ‘interest’.

Don’t get me wrong, these reasons serve as a good starting point. But if you want to write super specific, effective copy, you shouldn’t stop there.  

Because the language learning market is crowded, and you need to work hard to stand out.

This all comes back to the idea of niching down. Before you start building or marketing your courses, you need to have a clear idea of who they’re for and what they help your students achieve — which is directly linked to their reasons for wanting to learning the language. 

And that information should form the basis of everything you write – from your emails to your sales pages. The more relevant your copy is to your audience’s needs, the higher your chances of catching their attention, forming a connection and proving that you’re the perfect teacher to help them reach their goals.

Which takes a liiiittle more detail than ‘learning for work’, don’t you think?

Here are 45 different reasons why people want to learn languages

Professional reasons 

Believe it or not, a 2016 survey by Babbel listed job or career advancement among the least common reasons for learning a language. 

Surprised? Me too. I’ve worked with several teachers whose clients want to learn English and French for professional reasons. Some of those reasons include:

1. To get a promotion 
2. To get a higher paying job
3. To build a better life 
4. To gain a competitive edge
5. To connect with colleagues 
6. To work abroad
7. To fulfil job seekers requirements in host country
8. To relocate with their company 
9. To get a specific job in a specific company 
10. To work in a certain industry 
11. To get a job they’re qualified for 
12. To communicate more effectively with clients 

Personal motivations 

I know, I know — this category is broad as hell. But so too are our motivations for learning a new tongue…

13. To make connect with people in a new place
14. To fit in with their peers 
15. To navigate daily life in their home country
16. To understand bi-lingual children 
17. To communicate with a romantic partner
18. To understand their in-laws
19. To make travelling easier and more rewarding
20. To better oneself and expand their horizons
21. To fulfil a personal goal and challenge themselves
22. To understand their heritage
23. To pursue volunteer opportunities
24. To apply for citizenship or residency 
25. To keep their heritage alive 
26. To improve their brain health 
27. To be able to move abroad and settle into a place

Educational motivations 

When we think of education, we typically think of young people learning at school or university — but that’s not necessarily true. 

From passing school exams to conducting academic research, there are a host of educational motivations that could be driving your people to seek support. 

28. To study a particular degree
29. To go to a certain university 
30. To get extra credit (harsh but true!)
31. To study abroad
32. To pass an exam 
33. To join a language exchange program
34. To gain a competitive edge
35. Because they have to!
36. To access a wider range of educational research resources
37. To pursue a particular research field 

Miscellaneous motivations 

Last month, I ran a copywriting workshop with a small group of teachers, and they were adamant that their students don’t have tangible reasons for learning — they’re just learning out of curiosity! 

I get that. Heck, I’ve been there myself — I started learning Chinese just because it intrigued me. But by the time I decided to invest in a Mandarin language course, I clearly understood WHY I was learning: because I wanted to better understand the country and the culture.  

My point? While it’s true that many people learn a language out of curiosity, there’s almost always a more specific reason behind it. For example… 

38. To understand the history and culture of a place
39. To broaden horizons and gain a new perspective
40. To better understand a place and its people 
41. To experience a different way of life 
42. To enjoy literature or media in a language 
43. To discover connections between languages
44. To add another language to their list 
45. Because they like the sound of the language!

What if your students don’t know why they’re learning?

Chances are that if you’re already teaching someone, they do know why they’re learning a new language. It might just be that they haven’t given it much thought. But dig a little deeper, and I bet they’ll be able to explain why.

And if they actually don’t know? These people probably aren’t your ideal students. 

You know better than anyone that learning a language takes hard work and persistence, and for that, we need to keep our big goal in mind. So, if they don’t know what that goal is, chances are they’ll give up when things get hard.  

Plus, let’s face it — language learners who don’t know why they’re learning or what they want to achieve are the least likely to invest in a teacher. 

Chances are they downloaded Duolingo a while ago and stopped after an initial week-long streak.

People always learn languages for a reason

And as a language teaching business owner, it’s super important you understand this reason. Because when you know WHO you want to work with, WHY they want to learn the target language and HOW your offer will help them get there. 

This won’t only save you the stress of trying to instil motivation, but it’ll also make it far easier to attract the right students to you.