What language would be the most helpful to learn for someone who wants to go into the International Development Sphere?
I want to apply to a language internship where I do an immersive language program and am having trouble choosing a language. There isn't really one that stands out to me, I just really want to be sure I choose a language that will be helpful in my future aspirations. I do not fully know what I want to do when I graduate, I am currently a 3rd year at UCLA, but my major is International Development. I definitely want to work in that area or maybe the state department? I am just not sure what languages would be helpful or that are used a lot abroad/ are well known. Thank you so much!
· Akan/Twi - AFLI*
· Albanian
· Amharic
· Arabic
· Armenian
· Azerbaijani
· Bambara
· Belarusian
· Bengali
· Bosnian
· Bulgarian
· Cantonese
· Croatian
· Czech
· Gan
· Georgian
· Haitian Creole
· Hausa
· Hebrew
· Hindi
· Hungarian
· Indonesian - SEAFLI*
· Japanese
· Javanese
· Kannada
· Kazakh
· Khmer (Cambodian)
· Korean
· Kurdish
· Kyrgyz
· Lingala
· Macedonian
· Malay
· Malayalam
· Mandarin
· Moldovan
· Nepali
· Pashto
· Persian
· Polish
· Portuguese
· Punjabi
· Romanian
· Russian
· Serbian
· Sinhala
· Slovak
· Slovenian
· Swahili - AFLI*
· Tagalog
· Tajik
· Tamil
· Telegu
· Thai - SEAFLI*
· Turkmen
· Turkish
· Uighur
· Ukrainian
· Urdu
· Uzbek
· Vietnamese - SEAFLI*
· Wolof - AFLI*
· Yoruba
· Zulu - AFLI*
2 answers
Karin P.
Karin’s Answer
I can't really answer your specific question because there is no ONE language that would be "useful" everywhere. It would totally depend where you want to go with that language.
Maybe a general consideration would be if you want a widely spoken language that would give you "access" to a large number of people, or if you want a language that's rare enough that you would be one of a few people outside of that country who speak it.
Another consideration would be which part of the world you are drawn to. South America? Spanish! Arab world? Arabic! Sub-saharan Africa? Lots of different languages, but Swahili is widely spoken. Asia? Cantonese and Japanese! Eastern Europe? Russian!
But if you want to work with a particular population somewhere, a more "rare" language would give you an advantage in that particular area, but not outside of it.
I hope this helps! All the best!
KP
Jennifer’s Answer
It's great to see you being so thoughtful about reaching your goals. There's no one-size-fits-all answer, but that's a good thing because it gives you choices. Here are some things to consider:
- Do you have a strong interest in any particular languages? Personal interest can make learning easier, especially with languages.
- Are you aiming to learn a language that allows you to connect with many people, or do you want to specialize in a less common language?
- Are you planning to learn one language or several? Some languages are easier to learn if they are related, like dialects.
- Is there a specific organization in the international development field you want to work for? Check their job listings now to see what language skills they require, even if you're not applying yet.
Good luck!