Everybody knows that it’s beneficial to be multilingual – but it’s a little difficult to quantify it.  I found this little tidbit on The Bilingual Edge, which is the best read I’ve found on this general topic.  It tells us that the vast majority of top executives in major trade hubs in the World are bilingual.  How vast?  The percentage is actually 100% in Hong Kong.  How fluent?  Enough to successfully negotiate business deals with international partners.

Let’s put it another way.  If you’re not multilingual in a small, trade-focused country, you have virtually no chance significantly elevate yourself at a large business enterprise (or create one for that matter.)

Why does the size of the country matter?  In countries with large populations (think France, Germany, Mexico), your business can get by without interacting with other countries and cultures.  Not so in smaller ones.

Knowledge in multiple languages will open more opportunities for your child to be effective at what they do.  And effective people, whether they’re musicians, attorneys, programmers or artists, usually earn a better income than most.