8 Great Foreign Languages to Learn ...

With the world getting smaller and smaller all the time (thanks, globalization and Facebook!) more and more of my online colleagues and friends are from other countries, and I’ve found it very useful to know another language (je parle un peu francais!). If you’re working in a business that has clients or co-workers around the world, or if you just want to add something to your resume that will make you stand out from the crowd, here’s a list of great foreign languages to learn…

Thanks for sharing your thoughts!

Please subscribe for your personalized newsletter:

French

French Photo Credit: Lady Vervaine

I listed French first because if I can learn it, anyone can! It’s one of the Romance languages, so if you become fluent in French, you’ll also have a rough knowledge of Spanish and Italian. And it’s a gorgeous language, with a lovely accent, too!

Spanish

Spanish Photo Credit: Sara Grace Photography

Spanish is the fastest-growing and already the most popular language spoken at home other than English here in the States, so it’s a fabulous idea to learn Spanish if you can. Most children begin to learn it in elementary school, so if you need to practice, try out your new language skills by watching an episode or two of Dora the Explorer with your nieces!

Related: 8 Places to Visit in Italy ...

Frequently asked questions

Arabic

Arabic Photo Credit: cagedbird1

This is such a beautiful language, especially the alphabet and accent. It calls to mind all of the interesting aspects of this rich culture — the cuisine, the focus on family, the courtesy and hospitality. Don’t be intimidated by the idea of having to learn a new alphabet — it could be fun!

German

German Photo Credit: ganesha.isis

If you work in the automotive or technology industries, then you probably already know at least a little German. It’s another fascinating language, one with an accent it’s not easy to master. When you do, though, you’ll be so accomplished!

Related: 8 Places to Visit in Spain ...

Japanese

Japanese Photo Credit: Crazy Princess

If I could learn any language right now, it would have to be Japanese! It’s almost necessary to do business, and it’s such a beautiful language! I love the characters and the way it sounds… my friend Masami has taught me a little, but I want to know more!

Russian

Russian Photo Credit: H.A n k ♥ Coming back!!!

Russian would be another interesting foreign language to learn, if for no other reason than to sound incredibly sexy! All the gorgeous spies in movies are Russian, and I’d love to acquire that accent! And te body for wearing a slinky black cat-suit, too…

Related: 8 Top Universities ...

Chinese

Chinese Photo Credit: e m ♥ i l y

This is another language that’s on the rise, as China becomes a superpower in its own right. Again, it might be intimidating to learn a language that’s so different from our own English, but it would be so amazing to speak Chinese!

Related: 8 Cities to Visit in Spain ...

Italian

Italian Photo Credit: FotoRita [Allstar maniac]

Is there anything more romantic than the idea of strolling the streets of Italy with a hot Italian man? If you don’t speak Italian, though, how can you expect the romance to progress?

If I could, I’d learn all of these marvelous foreign languages. Do you speak another language besides English? How did you learn it? Is there a language you’d love to learn that’s not on my list? Please let me know… arigato!

Top Photo Credit: tolis*

Feedback Junction

Where Thoughts and Opinions Converge

According to your list I think I am a linguist!*Patting own back*. I know each of them but chinese which i am just learning. I know Greek also and would recommend here. I am also fluent in Nepali, Hindi, Urdu, Bengali(mother tongue) and other 4 Indian Languages.I would suggest you to learn Sanskrit and Latin to have essence of many other languages including the listed one. Lastly as Bengali is first love I wish it enlisted, it is really a romantic language.

Haha I actually speak three of those languages (and one more)! Living in luxembourg means you learn french AND german in school, so my love for french obviously lessened over the years, although with the right teacher, I've managed to like it again. German...not so much.It's the grammar which puts me off. The accent is not the most difficult thing, trust me. It's the articles, because instead of always having 'the', you have 'der, die, das' sometimes 'dem, den, dessen' etc, it all depends. My third language is Chinese which I speak very little of and which is also insanely difficult. Add Luxembourgish to that, which is basically a bit like german, and thart's a lot of languages haha Although I think I might be tempted to learn Italian next cause it is incredibly beautiful, judging by what I hear from my neighbours. A language I think would be great is greek, because it's got a whole new alphabet as well and so many words we use come from greek!

I speak fluent French and I'm doing good in Arabic(: The litterature is so rich and diversified, and it sounds gorgeous in songs. French is also a lovely language to listen to(:

Alexandra, Haha thank you, I thought it said that, although i wasn't sure. Just checking! ;) I'm learning Greek very slowly...

@jelly - the language in the cover photo is Greek, actually! It says I love you (s'agapo) @nat - if you think German is difficult, I'm afraid you'll be disappointed to hear that Greek is much harder to learn.. it's worth trying, though! I am Greek, so the more people speaking our language, the better!!

wow...so you mentioned Russian, but you skipped Ukrainian, which is such a melodious language, and it's alphabet is Cyrillic, similar to Greek and Russian. I speak, read and write in Ukrainian, Polish, Russian and English. I was studying German in High School for 3 years, and was pretty good at it, but now that I have not been using it "for ages" it really "evaporated". I encourage everyone to learn at least one more language besides their native one.

I did study French briefly back in school but I doubt I remember it now. Would love to get back to it. Italian sounds pretty romantic too! Reminds me of the movie, Under the Tuscan Sun :)

wow i'm surprised arabic is up there :) i'm an arab originally from palestine, i speak arabic and english fluently and good enough french lol :)

Categories