Knowing one or two foreign languages today is prestigious and simply necessary. But language is different. And knowing, for example, the Pashto language does not provide an advantage. In addition, there are certain trends that need to be taken into account when choosing a language to study. After all, you gain this knowledge not just once, but over long time. Therefore, you should consider which languages will be needed in the next, say, ten years.
English. English is the most popular language in the world and is unlikely to significantly lose its position. Currently, the study of English is included in all school and university programs. In addition, there are many courses and schools where you can master it to the extent or for the purposes that you personally need. Oral, written, business... The cost of courses depends on the direction and number of classes. On average, you will have to spend 8,000 rubles.
German. This language is the second most popular. However, it is studied extremely rarely. At school and university, as a rule, German is an additional subject, or even completely absent as a subject. Therefore, the courses are real opportunity for those who want to learn the language at a good level. German studied, as a rule, by those who work in companies collaborating or founded in Germany, as well as by those who like to read the works of great writers and philosophers in the original. German courses will cost about 6,000 rubles.
Spanish and Italian. The study of these languages is gaining great popularity in our country. The main factors are their simplicity and beauty. Indeed, mastering Italian or Spanish will not take you much time, but it will add one more to your asset foreign language, and will also help you stand out among applicants on the labor market. And the fact that Spanish is the main language of Latin American countries makes it more and more in demand. A Spanish or Italian language course in a group costs about 5,000 rubles.
Arab. According to experts, the importance of Arabic language proficiency will increase significantly in the next ten years. Which means now is the time to start studying it. Already in many foreign language schools you can find programs for studying Arabic. The cost of the courses is approximately 4500-5000 rubles.
Chinese. Chinese is the second language in the world in terms of the number of people speaking it. This is largely due to the large number of residents in the country itself. However modern tendencies are such that in the next twenty years it may well supplant English and, despite its complexity, become a language of international communication. In addition, China is now quite active in the field of economic relations and cooperates with many companies around the world. Courses Chinese language Now there are quite a lot, so you can easily choose the ones that suit you. Programs are usually designed for a long time. The cost of classes will be approximately 3,000 rubles per month.
In addition, Russians are actively studying related Slavic languages: Czech, Polish, Serbian, Slovenian. French is also in demand. Also, schools and foreign language courses offer their students to master Romanian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Turkish, Finnish, Persian, as well as Hebrew and Esperanto.
If you choose a second foreign language, remember that English is easier to learn after German or French, Italian and Spanish after French, Polish or Slovak after Czech, Hebrew or Persian after Arabic, Korean or Japanese after Chinese.
Currently, when applying for a job, people are primarily interested in their level of knowledge of the English language and only secondarily in their knowledge of any additional language. However, it all depends on the partners from which countries the company cooperates. In any case, knowledge of one, or better yet two, of the popular foreign languages will not be superfluous and will expand your career opportunities.
Angelina Lanskaya, website
Briefly: Chinese (Mandarin), Spanish and Hindi, based on the projected number of native speakers. Arabic and Portuguese will be next.
If we consider the benefits of learning a particular language for the future, then here we need to go into detail. Rating of countries identified as "high growth markets" or with rapidly developing economies, and their languages: Argentina (Spanish), Brazil (Portuguese), China (Chinese), Chile and Colombia (Spanish), Egypt (Arabic).
However, predictions can be distorted by political interference and a number of other circumstances, as happened with Egypt. Predictions that judge the most useful languages for economic purposes: German, French, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese in descending order.
It would not be superfluous to add that if in many countries knowledge of the local language can be replaced by knowledge of English, then in some of them the national language is a necessity. For example, in Chile, Kuwait, Brazil, Egypt, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia, knowledge of the English language is rated at the “very low” level. And in Singapore, Malaysia, Norway, Sweden, which are no less promising for cooperation, the “very high” level of English has made learning the local language optional.
Moreover, it will be promising to learn a language in which this moment few specialists. Thus, the most popular language for learning is French (15%), followed by German (6%), Spanish (4%), Italian (2%). This means that it will be much more effective to study non-European languages, for example, Arabic (1%), Chinese (1%), Japanese (1%). Although, in any case, 75% of the population does not speak any of the languages listed.
Finally, my personal opinion is that the most useful decision a couple of years ago might have been to learn Chinese. However, since at the moment everyone has vehemently rushed to learn Chinese Mandarin in connection with the rapid development of Russian-Chinese relations, more rational choice is Arabic. First, the population of Arabic speakers, although large, remains among those who speak English at a minimal level. In turn, our country lacks specialists with knowledge of Arabic. Secondly, the development of political-economic relations Arab world with all the parts of the globe and the acute dependence of the powerful economies of the planet on the main resources of the Arab countries will provide you high paying job and long-term career opportunities.
5 languages that a modern person needs to know!Now in the education system, in addition to the common ones - English, German and French - a great variety of languages are offered for study. Let's look at 5 of them that are worth learning.
1. Portuguese
While Portuguese may not seem like a widely spoken language, it is the official language of Brazil's growing population of 200 million. Brazil - promising emerging market. Thanks to imperialism, Portuguese is also the official language of a number of African states, some of which may have great market value in the long term (China is already investing in some of them). In addition, Portuguese, of course, is the official language of Portugal, where investors can obtain a second citizenship.
Where do they speak Portuguese? In Europe: Portugal, small communities in Spain, France and Luxembourg
In Africa: Angola, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, Mozambique, Sao Tome and Principe
In America: Brazil
In Asia: East Timor, Macau
2. Russian
While Russia is not exactly a fast-growing economic superpower (given its very slow population growth), it does have a number of wealthy oligarchs who spend a lot of money abroad. I have friends who made a lot of money selling Western real estate to Russians because they knew their language and understood how they did business. The first step to this is to speak Russian, and this is relative easy language compared to some of the others on this list. Russian is a popular language in a number of developing countries CIS and Eastern Europe.
Where do they speak Russian? Russia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Moldova, rebel regions of Georgia; popular language in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Serbia, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan.
3. Spanish
Spanish has long been popular in North America as a language to be taught in schools. Spanish is the easiest language on our list and is useful for those who want to live or do business in the growing Latin American world. Countries like Mexico are experiencing economic growth. Several South American countries have emerging markets, and countries such as Paraguay and Ecuador offer cheap agricultural land for those seeking business or subsistence farming opportunities. Living in both South and Central America is cheap.
Where do they speak Spanish? In Europe: Spain
In America: Colombia, Peru, Venezuela, Ecuador, Guatemala, Cuba, Bolivia, Honduras, Paraguay, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Panama, Equatorial Guinea, Puerto Rico, second language in the USA.
4. Arabic
Arabic - main language in many up-and-coming countries, wealthy centers and frontier markets. The Middle East is becoming an important player in global finance and investment, and those who speak Arabic will have an advantage in this closed market. Places like Dubai and Abu Dhabi have become emerging international financial centers. Besides rich oil countries, Arabic is also state language in Iraq and most of North Africa. Countries like Tunisia are examples of more developed markets where Arabic is spoken.
Where is Arabic spoken? In the Middle East: Bahrain, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, UAE, Yemen
Africa: Algeria, Chad, Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania, Tunisia
5. Chinese
It is no secret that China is making inroads into the global market. Only 10 million Chinese speak English, a very small number compared to the 1.4 billion people living in mainland China. Chinese influence has spread to Africa and beyond, and the Chinese consumer needs energy and other resources - which will require communication with Chinese buyers and investors. Chinese businessmen are pragmatic and have made great strides in learning English, but I think that as they grow purchasing power, they will become more demanding. Someone who speaks their language will definitely have a competitive advantage.
The reason for writing this article was a trip to the Belgian linguistic school Ceran Lingua, which organized a working meeting in October with representatives of agencies from all over the world. During the meeting, the school administration announced interesting data about the popularity of certain languages and their use for various purposes.
Before we move on to analytics, it would be appropriate to say a few words about the school itself. Ceran Lingua is kind of unique educational institution, where the teaching of foreign languages is put on a serious scientific basis. The teaching methodology developed and patented by Ceran Lingua is based on Socratic maieutics. Just as Socrates helped a person to come to the truth himself through leading questions and actions, so Ceran Lingua teachers ask leading questions, check the answer and correct intonation. During training, speech is corrected, new language elements are introduced, grammatical skills are structured, and vocabulary develops.
Students study 66 hours a week. Every day from eight in the morning to ten in the evening, immersion takes place in one of the four languages (the school teaches English, French, German and Dutch) chosen for study. Study groups consist of a maximum of four people of the same linguistic level. In addition to the main teachers teaching lessons (6-7 lessons are taught daily), schools employ teaching assistants and event organizers. Teaching assistants are responsible for interacting with students during breakfast, lunch and dinner. In general, for every three students studying here, there is one representative on the school staff.
Due to the fact that the school seeks to strengthen its position in the foreign language teaching market, it has carried out a serious marketing research, related to the prospects of teaching and learning various languages.
Despite the presence huge amount languages and language groups, Europeans choose to study a limited number of them. According to Eurydice, a network for collecting and monitoring information on education in EU member states, English, French, German, Spanish and Russian represent 95% of the foreign languages studied by European schoolchildren. Russian language is included in this list as a traditionally studied language in the Baltic countries, Finland, Poland and Bulgaria.
The study of English predominates in all countries of the Old World, and its position is strengthening primarily in the new states of Eastern Europe. According to Eurydice, 90% of high school students learn English as a second language.
European countries largely artificially push schoolchildren to learn English. Over 60% of courses paid for under joint EU programs, such as Socrates or Kamensky, are taught in English language. Therefore, in the summer, British and Irish language schools are heavily loaded with Italian, Spanish and French groups of schoolchildren who come to study English through EU-funded programs.
Other languages used by these programs are French (17%), German and Spanish (both 5%).
German and French are studied in European secondary schools in approximately equal proportions. According to the historical division into Germanic and Romance groups of languages, German is more popular among northerners (Scandinavia, the Netherlands), and French among southerners (Italy, Spain).
According to a survey conducted by the European Commission in 2002, Europeans indicated English (41%), French (19%), German (10%), Spanish (7%) and Italian (3%) as their second languages. Slightly less than half (47%) of those surveyed noted that they do not know any other language other than their native one.
When asked which two languages other than their native one Europeans find most useful to learn, 75% noted English, 40% French, 23% German, 18% Spanish.
Proficiency in English and Spanish was most frequently reported by students, managers, and white-collar workers.
And French, oddly enough, was mentioned as the language of choice for workers and housewives.
Students and entrepreneurs running their own businesses would like to study German.
In the report "Europeans and Languages", prepared by the Association international studies(INRA), several groups were identified, indicating different motivations as the main reasons for learning foreign languages.
Persons having higher education, businessmen and entrepreneurs chose phrases such as “to spend holidays abroad”, “to be able to communicate at work”, “to read at work”, and “for business trips” as answers.
The second group consisted of schoolchildren and students. They learn a foreign language in order to search for the necessary information on the Internet and to study in another country.
The third group, which included young unemployed people, housewives and workers, chose interesting answers. They noted that they needed a second language to “talk with friends,” “watch movies,” and “listen to the radio.”
As a method of learning a foreign language, Europeans note learning in groups under the guidance of a teacher (46%), communication with native speakers (17%), frequent trips to the country of the language they are learning (15%), and independently (12%).
Table 1 In what cases do Europeans use a foreign language
