Which Language Should I Learn?

Deciding which language to learn will depend on how you want to use the language. Are you thinking of moving abroad, going on holiday, or looking for an international career?  

If it’s for holiday purposes, you may go somewhere new each year and want a quick course in the basics of each language, or if you have a favourite destination and go back year after year, you may want to learn the local language in some depth.

As the European Union grows and more countries such as China open up to trade, the decision as to which language to learn for career purposes is a difficult one.

If you are already working in a specific industry, you are probably aware of the countries with which your organisation trades or intends to trade in the future. If you are just starting out in the labour market, you will need to decide which industry you want to work for and then do some research to work out which language would be the best bet.

If you are thinking of going to university to study languages, again some research is needed. Languages on their own are usually not enough – unless you specialise in more unusual languages. So look at courses which combine your interests.

New term new language

As the new academic year begins, many adults head back to college to learn a new skill, in many cases, a new language. Despite the popularity of language classes for adults, language learning is less popular amongst school children these days, to the extent that some university language departments are closing down.

Is this because we expect the rest of the world to learn English? Not a wise choice if we expect to compete for jobs and business with people from all over the world.  China is expected to produce approximately 40,000 young people with MBAs annually in the not too distant future – and they are being taught in English, which means that they will all speak at least two of the major world languages.

Are we English speakers going to be left behind?