 If you think you need to learn another foreign language, this article will help you to make a reasonable choice.
Tips to choose a language to learn:
1. To decide correctly what language you need to learn, you have to answer several questions:
- what language you would like to learn;
- why you think so.
2. Look through some analytical information on world languages, including their popularity, diffusion, difficulty of learning etc.
3. Think thoroughly and compare your new decision and the recent one. Choose the best one.
4. While thinking, consider where you can use your knowledge of the language you study. For example, you can learn Mandarin, but never go to China, where it is preferably spoken. Firstly, your knowledge must be useful.
How you can use the language after you learned it.
You can use some languages every day (for example Spanish if you live in Texas, or English if you live in Geneva). There are several languages: English, Spanish, French, German, Russian, and Japanese that are the most used in media (Internet, radio, TV, news-papers and magazines). There is a lot of scientific literature in English.
Other languages will need special circumstances for you to be able to practice them. If you want to learn language just to watch foreign TV programs or read newspapers in that language in your free time, let it be your third or fourth language, but not first foreign language. The first foreign language can be much more beneficial. If you use language every day, this will encourage you to learn another language.
Before starting, find out first what learning material exist for your target language. For some language there is a wealth of books, tapes, programs, websites, classes, to choose from. For others you are all alone with a dictionary and a grammar book.
If it is your first foreign language, it is recommended to go for an easy language with a lot of learning material available and plenty of opportunities for you to practice it. If you want to learn Arabic or Russian, keep them for later. An "easy language" can be mastered in 6 months. A difficult one can take years. If you have learned at least one language it will encourage you and give you more strength and inspiration to continue. Then you can get down to difficult one.
Learning two languages at the same time is impossible. It is great to be enthusiastic about language learning, but if you spread time and efforts across two languages, you will most probably never speak any of them correctly, unless languages are closely related.
It is an important decision, so think thoroughly. Learning a language takes time and dedication. It is important for you to choose a language that you will be able to learn with the time and willpower you have available. As a general advice, a language that will be both useful and easy to practice is advisable.
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