New research and infographic has revealed that Americans could earn 20 percent more per hour by learning another language as research suggests that bilingual people not only earn more money but also, are better able to multitask in their everyday lives.

Emerging economies such as China, India and Brazil continue to grow at an ever-increasing rate, so has the rise in foreign language studies. In 2009 results have shown that the study of Japanese, Chinese, Portuguese and Korean all grew by approximately 15 percent in just five years.

It’s estimated that by 2050, countries such as China and Brazil, which are part of the E7, (the seven most emerging markets in the world) will have economies approximately 50 percent larger than the current G7, which includes the USA, UK and France.

However, despite the growing significance of non-English speaking countries, just 9.3 percent of Americans are bilingual, compared to over half of all Europeans.

This shift into addressing the growth in emerging markets is reflected within social media as an estimated 48 percent of social network advertising spending in 2011 will be in international markets. At present 62 percent of social network users worldwide still have English as their preferred language but the strongest language preference was seen in China, where 86% percent content in simplified Chinese.

The study was released by Stroll, retailers of the Pimsleur Approach, a leading audio-based language learning system, which has launched its Foreign Language Study Scholarship that is now open for applicants seeking a four-year college or university degree related to language study or study abroad programs.

Developed by Dr. Paul Pimsleur, a specialist in the field of applied linguistics, Pimsleur courses feature over 40 different languages and are designed to enhance the speed and ease of language retention.

Dan Roitman, CEO at Stroll commented: “In keeping with Dr. Pimsleur’s vision of learning new languages in a real-world context, our goal is to help students naturally attain language skills by easing the financial burden. We strive to make language retention affordable and easy through our products, so we’re now extending that philosophy to highly motivated college students seeking immersive experiences.”