3 answers
Siddhi
Student
Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
3
Questions
Asked
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Language learning?
Hi all, since learning a new foreign language is important, i have decided to start with one. Y'all have any suggestions
-which language will help me even in future
-how to precisely take notes at beginner level?
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3 answers
Wong Loke Yuen
Head of Programme cum Senior Lecturer
760
Answers
Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia
Updated
Wong’s Answer
If your goal is to choose a language that will be useful in the future, consider where you want to work, travel, or study. There isn't one language that is best for everyone. Here are some widely spoken languages you could consider:
Spanish – Very widely spoken and useful for travel, business, healthcare, and international communication.
Mandarin Chinese – Useful for international business, trade, and communication with one of the world's largest economies.
French – Valuable for international organizations, business, and travel across many countries.
German – Useful for engineering, business, technology, and studying or working in Germany and parts of Europe.
Since you're starting at beginner level, don't worry about taking perfect notes. Keep your notes simple and useful. For each new word, write the word, meaning, pronunciation, and one simple example sentence.
Most importantly, you should spend more time using the language than making notes. Listen to beginner videos, repeat sentences aloud, learn common phrases, and practice speaking from the beginning.
Spanish – Very widely spoken and useful for travel, business, healthcare, and international communication.
Mandarin Chinese – Useful for international business, trade, and communication with one of the world's largest economies.
French – Valuable for international organizations, business, and travel across many countries.
German – Useful for engineering, business, technology, and studying or working in Germany and parts of Europe.
Since you're starting at beginner level, don't worry about taking perfect notes. Keep your notes simple and useful. For each new word, write the word, meaning, pronunciation, and one simple example sentence.
Most importantly, you should spend more time using the language than making notes. Listen to beginner videos, repeat sentences aloud, learn common phrases, and practice speaking from the beginning.
Karin P.
Lecturer, Academic Advisor, Career Coach, Mentor
1231
Answers
Göttingen, Lower Saxony, Germany
Updated
Karin’s Answer
Hi Siddhi,
People decide to learn a particular language for all kinds of reasons: family/ancestry connections, professional needs, vacation plans, romantic interests, similarity to home language (because it's easier), living in a country with many official languages, "interest" in a culture or a language for no particular reason at all, etc.
If you want to learn a language that will be "useful" to you in the future, think about your life plans and which language might be most beneficial. For example, if you plan to study or work abroad in a particular country, you would learn that language. If you want to work for an international organization or company look up their main languages. If you plan to be in international business, learn one of the languages spoken by many people around the world. If your business interest is in a particular (or a few) countries, learn their language. If you just want to travel to different countries, look for languages that are spoken by many people around the world. If you have an interest to study language and culture in a particular part of the world, a more rare language might be what you need for that.
Many people around the world, including yourself, speak English, so it works well as a "lingua franca" in many parts of the world.
In other parts of the world, French is spoken much more, e.g. parts of Africa that were colonized by the French.
Spanish is spoken by many people around the world. Speaking Spanish opens up the whole continent of South and Central America as well as Spain, of course. Spanish is also a language commonly spoken in the US, especially in areas with many immigrants.
Arabic is also a language spoken by many people around the world and opens up the Muslim world and a whole different culture. Learning a whole different alphabet has it's own challenges, of course, but also might add interest.
Similarly, Chinese is spoken by many people around the world and mastering Chinese characters might be difficult but interesting. If you are thinking about professional opportunities, many people decide to study in China and you find Chinese companies all over the world.
Whatever you decide on, having an interest in a language always makes it easier to study. Also, not all languages might be equally accessible to you. Check out what kind of courses are available to you and for which languages you might find study partners. Of course, there are online resources but going it all alone and online is hard to keep up.
I hope this helps! All the best to you!
KP
People decide to learn a particular language for all kinds of reasons: family/ancestry connections, professional needs, vacation plans, romantic interests, similarity to home language (because it's easier), living in a country with many official languages, "interest" in a culture or a language for no particular reason at all, etc.
If you want to learn a language that will be "useful" to you in the future, think about your life plans and which language might be most beneficial. For example, if you plan to study or work abroad in a particular country, you would learn that language. If you want to work for an international organization or company look up their main languages. If you plan to be in international business, learn one of the languages spoken by many people around the world. If your business interest is in a particular (or a few) countries, learn their language. If you just want to travel to different countries, look for languages that are spoken by many people around the world. If you have an interest to study language and culture in a particular part of the world, a more rare language might be what you need for that.
Many people around the world, including yourself, speak English, so it works well as a "lingua franca" in many parts of the world.
In other parts of the world, French is spoken much more, e.g. parts of Africa that were colonized by the French.
Spanish is spoken by many people around the world. Speaking Spanish opens up the whole continent of South and Central America as well as Spain, of course. Spanish is also a language commonly spoken in the US, especially in areas with many immigrants.
Arabic is also a language spoken by many people around the world and opens up the Muslim world and a whole different culture. Learning a whole different alphabet has it's own challenges, of course, but also might add interest.
Similarly, Chinese is spoken by many people around the world and mastering Chinese characters might be difficult but interesting. If you are thinking about professional opportunities, many people decide to study in China and you find Chinese companies all over the world.
Whatever you decide on, having an interest in a language always makes it easier to study. Also, not all languages might be equally accessible to you. Check out what kind of courses are available to you and for which languages you might find study partners. Of course, there are online resources but going it all alone and online is hard to keep up.
I hope this helps! All the best to you!
KP
Rebecca Tang
Banking
2672
Answers
Hong Kong
Updated
Rebecca’s Answer
Thank you for your question. Much appreciate you have the passion to learn another foreign language. I assume your 1st language is English. Apart from English, Chinese and Spanish are the most widely used languages in the world. You can also consider to learn French, German, Italian, Japanese, etc.
Below are my suggestions :
1. Select the foreign language you would like to learn
2. Attend in person or online course to learn the language
3. Explore opportunities to practise the language both verbal and written. Practise makes perfect.
4. Consider working holidays in the country. It will offer you a lot of opportunities to use the language.
Hope this helps! Good Luck!
May Almighty God bless you!
Below are my suggestions :
1. Select the foreign language you would like to learn
2. Attend in person or online course to learn the language
3. Explore opportunities to practise the language both verbal and written. Practise makes perfect.
4. Consider working holidays in the country. It will offer you a lot of opportunities to use the language.
Hope this helps! Good Luck!
May Almighty God bless you!