Which language is the most popular one except English? Why should I learn it as a second/foreign language?

Answer 1

there are different ways of measuring the 'popularity' of a language. spanish has more native speakers than french, but french is spoken in more countries than spanish.

mandarin has more native speakers than english, but english has more fluent speakers (when you include all the people who have learned it) than mandarin.

the language you should learn as a second language is the one you will have most use for. if you try to learn a language which you will never use you are likely to find it very difficult.

Answer 2

At my old school you had several choices: Chinese, French, Spanish, German, and Italian. Spanish was the most popular, but it really depends where you're going to use it. Do you like countries like Spain/Argentina? Chinese and German are quite good if you like technology and the markets....French and Italian are nice to speak, and many people learn french as a second language.
Spanish is more widely spoken. And it's easier than the others- you can look at most of the words and pronounce them exactly as they look. Employment opportunities can be opened by knowing a second language, and spanish isn't greatly difficult.

It's also very fun in other countries if you can understand the language, but pretend you don't so you can hear what people really think!

Answer 3

In my opinion Spanish, French, and Mandarin Chinese are all good choices.

Like others have said. If you live in America, then it will be very helpful to learn Spanish. A lot of jobs specifically seeks potential employees who will be able to communicate with their Spanish-speaking customers. You will also be able to travel throughout a very good-sized portion of Central and South America if you can speak it.

While Spanish seems to be the most influential language on this side of the globe, I'd say you're better off with French if you plan to live/travel to Europe. Aside from Spain and the Canary Islands there aren't many countries that speak Spanish natively there. With French however, there's France, Switzerland, San Marino, Luxembourg, and Belgium. Additionally, the number of students in Europe who learn French as a foreign language is higher than those who learn Spanish. Along with Europe there are a ton of countries in Africa with French as an official language. Along with English, French is probably the most important language a person could know if they were to go there.

Last but not least, the number of people learning Mandarin Chinese is increasing greatly. With the Chinese economy taking off people are realizing how important learning the language for the near future will be. Plus there are more native speakers of Chinese than any other language in the world.

So, my suggestions for you is to check out all of the languages that interest you as well and then choose which you want to learn. I helps tremendously when your learning a language that actually interests you. Good Luck!

Answer 4

Mandarin Chinese is actually the most used language. However, most of the people that speak it live in China which has over 1 billion people. If youre going to live in America, Spanish would probably be the best second language to learn with the way the country is going.

Answer 5

If you are in America, I suggest you learn spanish because half of that continent speaks some form of spanish. However, if you are in Europe, I should try French or Spanish. If you are in Asia, I suggest Chinese, Manderin because China is a growing country both in military and economy. It's best to know about 3 languages if you can, helps a lot when you apply for work abroad or in a business which you may deal with people from other country.

Answer 6

I'm almost 100% positive that Spanish is the most popular foreign language. Most of the kids at my school take Spanish.

However, I take Latin and you may want to choose that as a foreign language. It's not as conversational as Spanish; you don't have to pronounce the words aloud that much. Also, Latin helps you understand English EVEN MORE and extend your vocabulary for better standardized test scores. For example:

ambulare in Latin means "to walk"
so if I saw the English word "ambulate" and didn't know what it meant, I would know from Latin that it has something to do with walking.

from Merriam-Webster's Dictionary:

ambulate

Main Entry: am·bu·late
Function: intransitive verb
Inflected Form(s): am·bu·lat·ed; am·bu·lat·ing
Etymology: Latin ambulatus, past participle of ambulare
Date: circa 1623
: to move from place to place : walk


So, if you're a shy person or just don't like speaking aloud very often, and want to improve your vocabulary/standardized test scores, Latin is your best bet. =]

Answer 7

English is not easy. It is hard to pronounce, has complex grammar rules with many exceptions, and the spelling is horrendous. For an English speaker, German seems easy at first, but becomes harder as you go further into it. Spanish and Italian are relatively easy. The problem would be to find any Spaniards or Italians who speak it. Many of them speak dialects or other languages. They would probably understand you though.

Answer 8

I think someone asked a similar question before.

The reason behind your question is probably you're wondering which language you should pick to learn coz you think you have limited time for language learning.

In actuality, languages isn't such a hard nut to crack as thought by most people. You can check out Pimsleur or Rosetta Stone. Or if you prefer a more cost effective solution, check out http://www.ultimatelanguagesecrets.com (I think that's how it's spelled) which offers an fabulous course on rapid language acquisition.

Answer 9

We discussed this same question amongst friends a few nights ago. One of our guests spoke 4 languages (English, French, German & Spanish) fluently and his partner 3 (English, German and French) . They both travel the world regularly; they said after English, Spanish is the most useful language to learn and the one that they have benefited most from knowing in their travels & business communications.
Definately learn it if you have the opportunity.

Answer 10

The next upcoming language is actually Mandarin Chinese. More and more people around the world everyday are picking up Mandarin Chinese as the second language. From Canada to Argentina, U.K. to south Africa, even from Russia to New Zealand, more and more people are learning Chinese (Yes, even the rival Japanese!).