Studying Foreign Languages in College

[Anonymous]

Agree that fluency is the key, not the major per se.

I am a grad of Georgetown's School of Foreign Service which has as a requirement for graduation that you pass an "Oral Proficiency" exam in at least one foreign language. I think SFS has it spot on. "Oral proficiency" is really useful in government and business. BTW, the oral proficiency exam does involves reading a text and answering questions about it. What it doesn't require is writing proficiency.

I studied 2 foreign languages, have used both of them extensively in my career in both government and private sector. I loved the "way" I studied them at Georgetown - with the aim of being able to communicate in the language on a professional level. To me, to major in foreign language is more akin to majoring in English - it is a literature degree.

BTW, I am not knocking an English or Foreign Language major per se. Just that if your main aim is to use the language in business, policy, etc. then I would study the language, go for a certificate program, but wouldn't advice it as a major.

[Anonymous]

Just a quick plug for Computational Linguistics - add that to a foreign language or two, and you can work for Google, Nuance (home of Siri and Dragon Naturally Speaking), and more. Lots of job growth, high-paying jobs.