Now I must admit, I am a bit biased in my list of the best languages to learn for the future simply because these are the four languages that I speak in very degrees of fluency.
So I’m going to tell you why I think each of these languages are the best languages to learn for the future, especially as an expat.
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Here is my list of the best languages to learn for the future.
I have been studying languages since high school. So let’s say I’ve got many, many years of experience in using different languages in different situations throughout my life.
But languages become even more important when you are an expat. In my opinion, if you know these four languages, you will be able to get by in many countries in the world. More countries than where they originate from.
Let’s start with the most important language to learn, not only for your present but for your future. Some of you, in fact most of you probably already know this language either fluently as a native speaker or as a second language.
I may not be able to convince those of you who speak English as a second language, how important English is because you probably already know better than I do.
But for you native English speakers out there, you really need to understand why English is the most important language in the world.
English: The benefits of speaking English.
First, I’m going to go down a list of all the obvious benefits of speaking English. Then at the end, I will give you my personal thoughts based on my own experience of being a native English speaker abroad.
- Currently the world’s lingua franca and most popular and widely spoken language for travel and business.
- The number one language of the internet. More websites and digital properties are in English, than in any other language in the world.
- Computer programming as well as other IT lingo are all in English.
- English is the or an official language for many countries totaling over a 1.5 billion people.
- English is the most popular second language in the world.
- Modern culture, Music, literature, etc. are rich in English.
- English is the most studied foreign language in the world.
- Did you know that English is the official language of worldwide aviation?
Spanish: The benefits of learning Spanish.
Spanish was the first foreign language that I had learned and studied. I began learning Spanish back in high school through the typical high school Spanish classes.
Needless to say, I wasn’t a very good student. However, I did learn the basics of Spanish. From there I took a couple of classes at University and along with some practice and trips to Spanish speaking countries, I wasn’t half bad.
Here are some of the benefits of speaking and learning Spanish. TThe Spanish language is spoken as a mother tongue by 300–400 million people, the majority of whom live in the 21 countries around the world where Spanish is the primary language. Source: Hispanic Latin America, Spain and the Spanish-speaking Caribbean: A rich source of reference material for public health, epidemiology and tropical medicine.”
- Mexico is a major trading partner of the US and is part of NAFTA.
- Many immigrants to the USA come from Spanish speaking countries in Latin America.
- Food and local cuisine in Spanish speaking countries are rich and diverse.
- Job opportunities, travel and insights into local Spanish speaking cultures, non Spanish speakers will never have access to.
- One of the top 3 most popular languages spoken in the Wester Hemisphere.
- It’s a relatively easy language to pick up.
- The most popular second language spoken in the USA.
French: The benefits of learning French.
French was actually the second foreign language which I studied. French has actually enriched my own life more than any other foreign language. French is actually my favorite, shhhh.
I originally learned French because I met a very beautiful German girl who spoke French fluently.
I was so impressed by her ability to speak three languages fluently that it encouraged me to study an additional language as well, so I chose French.
I chose French not only because this very beautiful girl who I was enamored by spoke it, but with further research, I realized that there are quite a lot of people who speak French in this world.
The Francophone world is quite wide indeed. There are many countries in Africa for example that were former French colonies where, French is either the official language or an official language.
Let’s not forget that French is also a very popular language in Europe. You have France, Belgium and Switzerland where French is an or the official language.
My first trip to Europe was actually to Germany. However, my situation had changed and I had to change what I had planned.
I was a few hours away from the French border and so I decided, “Why not go to France?” I had studied French and it was time that I practiced it.
So I drove across the border into Alsace and was greeted with such warmth by the locals. I ended up staying in a nice town and meant some really great people. In fact, I started going back to the same town year after year.
Flash forward 25 years or so, I’ve been to a couple weddings and I even have a French godson. I haven’t even needed to stay in a hotel for years since I have very good friends there that always have a room for me.
I can go on and on about all the wonderful experiences I’ve had in France and with French people.
But here are some additional benefits that you might have that might encourage you to study French as well.
Here are some additional benefits of learning French:
- Over 275 million people speak French worldwide.
- France is the most popular tourist destination in the world. Approximately 75 million tourists visit each year.
- About a third to a half of basic English words come from French, including pedigree, surf, view, strive, challenge, pride, staunch and war.
- In the US, half of foreign films watched, and 30% of foreign books read are in French.
Source: 40 FACTS ABOUT FRENCH
IF YOU THINK YOU KNOW FRENCH – THINK AGAIN!
from The Story of French
by Julie Barlow and Jean-Benoît Nadeau* Normandale Community College.
Russian: The benefits of learning Russian.
Russian was the last foreign language I had studied and learned. However, learning Russian was not a pre-planned goal for me.
In fact, I kind of had to learn Russian more or less as a necessity, rather than as a chosen language that I wanted to speak.
However, I think the reasons that compelled me to learn Russian only enhanced my thoughts on the benefits of learning Russian.
On a spur of the moment trip to Ukraine many years ago, I met a very special person. Although she spoke fluent English, her family didn’t.
In fact, that’s a trip I took while I was living in France. I was with a French group who had organized a humanitarian trip and so I went along. We had a local Ukrainian-French translator and I was introduced to this person from her.
However, I quickly found out that although Ukrainian is the official language of Ukraine, over half the population speaks Russian as their first language.
I was also advised that learning Russian would probably be better for me than learning Ukrainian since I would be able to communicate with not only Russian speaking Ukrainians, but with Russian speakers throughout the former Soviet Union.
This has proven to be very true, at least for me even to this day.
Because of my romantic nature, I decided I wanted to be close to this person and move to Ukraine.
I had since spent over 20 years living in Ukraine, before moving on to another Post Soviet country where Russian is also widely spoken.
The following is a list of the benefits of learning Russian:
- The US Government needs more Russian-language specialists.
- Russia is a regional power and is returning as a world power.
- Speak Russian to engage in the Russian economy.
- Russian is an important language for science and technology.
- Russian is spoken by hundreds of millions of people.
- Learn about one of the world’s most fascinating cultures.
- Studying Russian helps you enter post-graduate programs.
Source: Top 10 Reasons to study Russian
DEPARTMENT OF MODERN LANGUAGES AND LINGUISTICS
Florida State University.
I can’t overemphasize enough, how valuable out of all the languages I have learned, that Russian has meant to me.
The best languages to learn for the future as an Expat. Conclusion.
Well, those are my listed four best languages to learn for the future as an Expat. Of course, there are many languages in the world that are worth learning. So I guess when it comes down to it, you need to decide for yourself.
What cultures are you most fascinated by? Where in the world would you like to travel to and possibly live in?
Your choice of languages will depend basically upon all those and of course, if you have any blood or family ties to a certain area of the world as well.
Perhaps your grandparents or great grandparents had immigrated from a part of the world you’ve always wanted to visit and have been intrigued by their language and culture.
In any case, those were my top four best languages to learn for the future as an Expat.
Interestingly enough, I am half Italian and I’ve been to Italy a couple times. I had always wanted to learn Italian. My grandmother tried teaching me some, but I was too young and she wasn’t a teacher.
But when it comes down to it, if you’re going to spend the time making the effort and learning a language, at least for me, I need to know that the language is useful and spoken widely by a lot of people in the world.
That’s why I had chosen three of the four languages above. Of course English is my native language so I had no choice and that one.