Which "world language" would you steer your child toward?

[Anonymous]

Spanish, French, Chinese or Japanese?

Assume child A is likely to gravitate toward engineering or computer programming.

Assume child B is likely to gravitate toward humanities (especially writing), but not in an outgoing-kind-of-way.


I had always assumed I'd encourage Spanish b/c of how valuable it would be as the Latino population increases. But... I wasn't really thinking that Japanese or Chinese were options (found out they are). I can also see how Chinese or Japanese could be very useful in a global marketplace.

So, which would you encourage your children to pursue? (yes, I realize they have a voice too. Just wondering about my position.)

[Anonymous]

I've heard German is pretty good for business.

[Anonymous]

language teacher here. i'd steer my children to the language they were interested in. it does no good to force or steer to one you think might be practical (Spanish for local speaking, Chinese for computer science, for example), if they're not feeling it. it's a little bit like music or playing an instrument -- learning the language is going to take time so they'd better like the sound of it.

the good news is that once a person has mastered one language, they're often eager to try another. the key is not having them turned off early on.

[Anonymous]

You will need English for child b so they can say "Do you want fries with that"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You will need English for child b so they can say "Do you want fries with that"

Wow, did you come up with that witty response all by yourself?

[Anonymous]

Do you know where your child will be going to high school, and have you heard anything about the relative strength of the language instruction there?

I'd have thought I want my kids to learn Spanish, but at our high school, the Spanish classes aren't as good as French and Latin, so I'd rather my kids learned one language well and added another (or others) in college.

[Anonymous]

Do you know where your child will be going to high school, and have you heard anything about the relative strength of the language instruction there?

I'd have thought I want my kids to learn Spanish, but at our high school, the Spanish classes aren't as good as French and Latin, so I'd rather my kids learned one language well and added another (or others) in college.

+1 This is a good insight. The Spanish dept. at our HS is also weak.

[Anonymous]

Probably German or Spanish.

Chinese or Japanese will only useful for business if you're going to operate and live in those countries. They'll never be the global language of business.

[Anonymous]

Spanish

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Probably German or Spanish.

Chinese or Japanese will only useful for business if you're going to operate and live in those countries. They'll never be the global language of business.

This is the dumbest comment ever for US students. The "global language" is currently English. US students have English. We are talking about what speciality niche language will be helpful. Lots of businesses trade with China and Japan or source their factories there. They need Chinese and Japanese language speakers for those parts of their business. Same thing with German and Spanish.

A good friend of mine was a French major. She ended up getting a masters in French at a no-name state school. Dumbest, most useless major ever? Nope. She was hired into a sales position for a company that was doing a lot of business in Quebec and from there she was moved into management. When she had her kids, she left and started a consulting company.

OP, any of those languages are useful. Let your kids pick what they find interesting.

[Anonymous]

I'd choose Chinese. Even a passing knowledge of the language and culture will put you above most American/English-speaking candidates.

[Anonymous]

French

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Probably German or Spanish.

Chinese or Japanese will only useful for business if you're going to operate and live in those countries. They'll never be the global language of business.

This is the dumbest comment ever for US students. The "global language" is currently English. US students have English. We are talking about what speciality niche language will be helpful. Lots of businesses trade with China and Japan or source their factories there. They need Chinese and Japanese language speakers for those parts of their business. Same thing with German and Spanish.

A good friend of mine was a French major. She ended up getting a masters in French at a no-name state school. Dumbest, most useless major ever? Nope. She was hired into a sales position for a company that was doing a lot of business in Quebec and from there she was moved into management. When she had her kids, she left and started a consulting company.

OP, any of those languages are useful. Let your kids pick what they find interesting.

Really? The comment you just completely validated with your anecdote about your good friend?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Probably German or Spanish.

Chinese or Japanese will only useful for business if you're going to operate and live in those countries. They'll never be the global language of business.

This is the dumbest comment ever for US students. The "global language" is currently English. US students have English. We are talking about what speciality niche language will be helpful. Lots of businesses trade with China and Japan or source their factories there. They need Chinese and Japanese language speakers for those parts of their business. Same thing with German and Spanish.

A good friend of mine was a French major. She ended up getting a masters in French at a no-name state school. Dumbest, most useless major ever? Nope. She was hired into a sales position for a company that was doing a lot of business in Quebec and from there she was moved into management. When she had her kids, she left and started a consulting company.

OP, any of those languages are useful. Let your kids pick what they find interesting.

I know many many modern language students and very few of them found a job that made any use of their language.

Studying a foreign language is helpful for brain development. Some languages are useful in a few jobs, and many languages are useful for vacations etc., and some, like Spanish, are useful in every day life.
but to assume that your child should study japanese now because they should end up in one of the 0.0001% of US jobs that require Japanese in 20 years time, is ridiculous.

[Anonymous]

Spanish. It is rapidly becoming a necessity in the US.