Besides English, which other language should I learn?

[Nessie]

Hi,

I open this thread to seek some advice: I'm a student who majors in Foreign Trade. I've been advised to study another language besides English but I can't decide which. Could you please give me a piece of advice?
By the way, I've also been advised that I should concerntrate on English and shouldn't spend time on any other languages (because I won't have much time)
What do you think?

Thank you very much,
Nessie.
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[Ralf]

I would base my decision on what countries you are likely to get in contact with. If you look at the world map of languages, however, Spanish looks like a natural choice.
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[Butterfly]

if I were you, I would study German. It's a tough language but a good command of it is highly valued in Europe.

[Ralf]

Hi Butterfly,

But German is not spoken or used in many European countries. And most Germans speak English (or some kind of it).
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[Torsten]

Hi Nessie,

Judging by your level of written English I'd say you are very capable of learning one or even two more languages in addition to English. It's not so much a question of time as it is a question of habits and having fun. If I were in your shoes I would try to learn some basic Chinese as well as Russian.

Let me know what you think.
Regards,
Torsten
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[Butterfly]

Yes, Ralf, I see your point, but I still think German is a good choice maybe because in my home country, Bulgaria, people with good a command of both English and German are really valued as employees. you ll make a difference if you know such a tough language and knowing it will benefit you in numerous ways i'm sure anyway the more languages you know, the better

[Jamie (K)]

Nessie, if I were you I'd learn the language of whatever country interests you. All languages are useful somewhere somehow, and if you learn the language of a country you're interested in and whose culture you enjoy, then you'll be that much more motivated.

The natural choices for a third language in your country would be Japanese, Korean and Chinese, and those could be practical, but French is also a practical language for the Vietnamese. However, you may also have opportunities if learn a language that's unusual in Vietnam. For example, Brazil is a very quickly developing country, but I'll bet very few Vietnamese can speak Brazilian Portuguese. India is also developing very fast, so what if you learned Hindi?

Another way you can look at it is this: What languages are related to other languages? If you learn Spanish, for example, it's very easy to add Portuguese and Italian also. If you learn French, it's then very easy to learn Italian. If you learn Russian, it's very easy to add Polish, Czech, Slovak, Bulgarian and several other languages. If you learn a language that's closely related to many others, you get more bang for your buck.

If you're one of a very few people in Vietnam who has a good command of a certain unusual language, then you become the go-to person for that language. If you know a couple of other common languages well, in addition to that one, you can greatly increase your employability.