Help choosing a second language.

[cynicthnkr]

Actually it will be third. I am from India and I know hindi and English. In my college I have the option to study a foreign language as a subject. So I would need advice on which language should I choose. My options are French, German, English and Spanish. I know English fairly well but I know nothing about others.If I choose English I can pass the exams without studying which will make my life easier. So should I stick to English or choose one of others which I will have to learn from beginning. Also which among the other three will be best. HELP!

 

[Noetherian]

Of those options, I'd go with Spanish based on global popularity. It (or French) would also give you a working understanding of the other romance languages, which can be very useful. (I'm speaking from experience.) German, while interesting, has many similarities to English-- and almost everyone I met in Germany spoke English as well, so it's a less practical choice.

Whatever you pick, though, I wouldn't go with English. Take advantage of the opportunity to pick up another language while you have easy access to classes and other people to practice with! A little more knowledge can only ever help.

 

[hotdogoctopus]

Is this because it is a college requirement? Because, if so, you should be able to take a literacy test to test out of a second language requirement if you know one.

if not...

Take a sign language (ASL for instance) though not particularly a second language it's more of an addendum to a language you already know and it really makes you think about language from a different angle.

 

[Cakes]

My options are French, German, English and Spanish.

Spanish is definitely a global language - it opens up almost the whole of Central and South America for you, as well as Mexico. French is huge in much of Africa (and France obviously) and it's a great language to know in Canada, since bilingualism is hugely appreciated here.

This depends hugely on how you define "best". Do you mean "most useful"? Because we can't really determine that unless we know what your plans are for the future. If you just mean "most interesting"...well, French literature is magnificent.

I don't know about German.

I know English fairly well but I know nothing about others.If I choose English I can pass the exams without studying which will make my life easier. So should I stick to English or choose one of others which I will have to learn from beginning.

That depends, is school something you're just trying to get through, or are you genuinely interested in learning?

 

[Pfheonix]

What are your career interests? Will you need a third language for that career? If not, go with English. If so, go with Spanish.

 

[bluepilot]

Do you know what you want to do in the future? A second language could be very useful. Each language is quite widely spoken depending on the continent. Plus if you have already learned English as a second language, you have basically done a lot of the work needed to learn Spanish and French too. German is a bit more complicated with all the dem and den and all that jazz. A lot of people who I met at University speak at least three languages so I think you should go for one

 

[cynicthnkr]

This depends hugely on how you define "best". Do you mean "most useful"? Because we can't really determine that unless we know what your plans are for the future.

Currently I am doing engineering in computer science and I don't know much about future. I would like to do PhD and become a professor but I might also decide to join industrial sector. It all depends on opportunities, financial situation and my mood at that time. So I am not really sure.

As for defining best I have to consider both your points. Beautiful and interesting to learn literature wise (slightly more important for me). No. of speakers or popularity or usefulness in employment.

That depends, is school something you're just trying to get through, or are you genuinely interested in learning?

I am genuinely interested in learning. Its just that some people said learning a new language is very difficult and it will affect my studies for other subjects and it won't be worth it. That's why I added the English option but I would prefer to learn a third language.

 

[Galletea]

It depends on how you look at things.
If your main focus is your studies, then you should do English, and try to pick something else up later.

Are you in India? Because if you aren't then all your studies will be done in English, and it is much harder to learn a new language when you are being taught it through a language which is not your mother tongue.
So it might be worthwhile to perfect your English. If not, then I'd go for French personally, but only because I like it best.

 

[Living_Brain]

English originats from German, so both are gone. Spanish or French? I'd go with French, because I don't like spanish. Also, it will be interesting for people to hear a Hindu speak French. Make a vid!!

 

[Batou667]

To repeat what others have said - if you have any kind of preference, just choose the one that you like the sound of the most, or will have more use for in the future.

All things being equal, and given that you're required to take an extra language, I'd say go for Spanish. The pronouciation is simple and doesn't have the silent consonants of French or the harsh guttural sounds of German that all foreigners (except for the Scottish) find impossible to form. German also has an ungodly convoluted grammar that even Germans find difficult to learn. As a bonus, Spanish is the second-most widely spoken language on the planet (albeit mostly in South America, so it's less useful than English in business).

Why not find some basic tutorials for French, Spanish and German online and have a go at each - one of them might "click" with you better than the others.

 

[Living_Brain]

Professional language teacher here:

Choose the one that is either of the most benefit to you personally or the most interesting for you personally.

So basically, don't choose a language you don't have a reason to study. Don't choose a language for the sake of choosing a language.

That said, English is the present world default Lingua Franca. Pretty much everywhere in the world, someone speaks English. German is not spoken in many countries outside Europe but it was for some time the international language of science. French is spoken in more countries, most of them former French colonies. Spanish is widely spoken in the Americas and not so much anywhere else.

Basically, my advice is to choose the language you most want to learn. If you don't want to learn any, choose the one easiest to learn. While there are many cognitive benefits to multilingualism, there's little less productive than studying a language you don't actually want to learn.

This.

 

[Zaik]

It's a geographical thing more than anything.

In the area I live, you can make something like 10k more a year on average just for knowing Spanish. Also, there are a lot of asian transfer students at the local college who don't know English at all and have a local student translator on call pretty much 24/7, I'd hope said translator isn't just doing it out of the kindness of their hearts.

Pretty much I'd just look into what would be most useful in the area you live/intend to live and get that.