STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

blink · Coach

what foreign language

squishy · Coach

spanish seems more practical, but i think chinese (especially in international relations) will be more useful. arabic seems interesting, too.

Kelly · Hermes

spanish does seem awfully practical. I got a minor in Latin and loved every minute of it, but I'm well aware that it's completely useless and I'll probably take Spanish in the very near future. My dad always jumps to hire anyone who can speak spanish. I guess it would really depend on where you live, too - for example, there are a ton of Bosnian immigrants where I live right now so knowing Bosnian is important to employers.

bex · Chanel

I took 5 years of French and lived in Paris for 6 months during a study abroad and I would have to say that I think Spanish is a better language to learn. Unless you plan on working abroad and then I would suggest Chinese.

Lilykind · Hermes

here in LA, Spanish is always good to know. I took 5 years of Spanish and while I don't remember all of it, I can still watch Spanish TV without getting completely lost.

If I had the choice again, I would learn Chinese (Mandarin) and then French. French is a fun language, but Chinese is more practical. It's also way more difficult to learn as a 2nd language, but really valuable.

halleybird · Hermes

I say Spanish. No matter where you live, I think we are going to become a bilingual (English/Spanish) nation. I had a college friend who was an Intl Studies major. He learned Spanish first, and then picked up Italian, Portugese and French pretty easily.

blink · Coach

yeah. these are all my thoughts too, thanks for the confirmations. I think it will be Spanish. Any more posts are still helpful though.

Halleybird, I like your quote, I think I will use that one elsewhere. smile

littlebean · Kate Spade

Since you say that you're doing international studies, I will actually dissent and say that Spanish may or may not be your best option. It's obviously a fantastic language to learn -- especially in terms of US-based careers -- but depending on your interests, you might want to consider other languages. Mandarin Chinese would be especially great if you're interested in international business. If you're interested in more diplomatic/international security/government types of careers, Arabic would be great. There are a lot of professional payoffs associated with learning "hard" languages that relatively few people know how to speak and read. Even picking something "random" like Japanese, Urdu, Korean, etc. if you're interested in those countries could be beneficial. Also, about French -- I'm actually in the process of learning French right now because professionally I'm interested in Africa and the Middle East, as well as international diplomacy, and it's actually quite commonly spoken in many of those countries plus the UN, etc., so it might be something good to learn if you have similar interests.

relrel · Marc Jacobs

littlebean wrote:

Since you say that you're doing international studies, I will actually dissent and say that Spanish may or may not be your best option. It's obviously a fantastic language to learn -- especially in terms of US-based careers -- but depending on your interests, you might want to consider other languages. Mandarin Chinese would be especially great if you're interested in international business. If you're interested in more diplomatic/international security/government types of careers, Arabic would be great. There are a lot of professional payoffs associated with learning "hard" languages that relatively few people know how to speak and read. Even picking something "random" like Japanese, Urdu, Korean, etc. if you're interested in those countries could be beneficial. Also, about French -- I'm actually in the process of learning French right now because professionally I'm interested in Africa and the Middle East, as well as international diplomacy, and it's actually quite commonly spoken in many of those countries plus the UN, etc., so it might be something good to learn if you have similar interests.

I'm gonna be a dissenter too. If you are thinking international studies, then Spanish probably isn't your best bet. It's a great language for domestic studies but there are more important languages to learn for international work. Depending on what your definition of international studies is, the language will change. If you want to do politics, Arabic is a good choice. Healthcare, French is good. Business, Chinese or Japanese would be good.

Also, it really also depends on what area of the world you want to focus on. If you want to focus on Latin and South America, then Spanish is great. But anywhere else, and Spanish could very well be useless. I'm sure you've already thought about all this, but decide on the area of the world you want to focus on first and then work from there. That's the more important decision in my opinion.

But since you're asking...I would learn either Chinese or French so that I could work in Asia. And then from there, I would go on to the various SE countries' languages. But that's me, that's the area of the world I'm interested in.

cahabo · Kate Spade

Where I live being bilingual in English and Spanish really puts you ahead of the competition. Spanish and languages similar to Spanish are spoken in so many countries.

XtinaStyles · Marc Jacobs

What do you plan on doing with your degree in international studies? I think that is the most important thing to consider. In my mind, if you were studying politics, I would try Arabic, if you were studying trade I would try Chinese, etc etc.

I don't think Spanish is a smart choice... hasn't everyone taken at least like 7 years of the language in America? I would try to branch out on such a great opportunity that will make you stand above the others in your field.

zeitgeist4 · Gucci

I agree with what others are saying. Although Spanish would be the most practical language (at least in the Bay Area) for day-to-day, it might not be the best one for actually doing business with other countries.

I've taken Italian and German before, which were both fun, but probably not that practical.

Maddie · Coach

Is there a region that you are particularly interested in? If so it seems like it makes the most sense to take that languse, obviously. If not, I would vote for French. The UN and many, many other international organiztions operate in French and it is often a job requirement to be competent in both English and French. Also, many ex-French colonies still use the language a lot.

If you aren't particularly passionate about it I wouldn't study Chinese or Arabic. I did an intensive Arabic program this semester and it is an incredibly difficult language. I realized that it would involve many years of serious work before I would be able to use my skills for much else besides directing cabs and bargaining. I have heard the same of Chinese.

berryahou35 · Dooney & Bourke

Chinese
I hear so many people saying the 21st century belongs to Asia.. Like how earlier centuries were "white men's" or whatever. So many people speak Spanish these days.. funny I'm saying this because I'm currently learning Spanish too :?

NCshopper · Hermes

Spanish is a great language to learn and really helpful, but there are SO many people that know Spanish. I think in terms of a career decision, you'd be an extremely marketable job candidate at this point in time if you knew Chinese or Arabic.

kenzie · Chanel

I agree with those that said Spanish isn't the best choice for business. It's useful, but in the business world, it may not be.

I would lean toward German, Japanese or Mandarin Chinese for business. Japan is huge in the business world and Germany is fairly large player in Europe.

Misty · Dooney & Bourke

Mandarin Chinese, for all of the reasons stated above by other posters