| Why
Study a Language Abroad?
Learning or improving a language in a place where it is used by
everyone around you is more fun and a LOT more effective than
the classroom.
Language graduates have an outstanding employment rate, but even
if you you don't do a degree in it, another language will still
look very good on your CV [resumé] and may help on holidays
throughout your life.
What
to Study in Which Country:
There are thousands of languages in use throughout the world
but when deciding which one to study you need to consider the
usefulness of the language if it is to further your career prospects,
and the attractiveness of the countries in which you can study
it. Here are some options:
Spanish
in Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic,
Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Peru, Puerto
Rico, Spain [and its islands], Uruguay or Venezuela*.
The third most spoken language in the world, and the second
most spoken in the USA where Spanish is considered to be an important
language for business.
Other than Spain it is the official language of countries in Central
and South America except for Brazil and some islands.
Spanish is one of the easier languages too [in the early stages],
and related to French and English in many ways.
*Not recommended as violence and thievery are currently rampant.
See:
Cuba Pictures
| Mexico Pictures
| Peru Pictures
| Madrid
Travel | Barcelona
Travel
French
in Canada, France, Belgium, Switzerland, Madagascar, Morocco,
Tunisia, some Pacific islands ++.
If you have ever travelled to France and tried to get
the natives to speak in English, you will realise how useful it
is to know French to penetrate the social scene.
It's also an important language within the EU and useful for travelling
in some exotic places.
French is also the sexiest language in the world with a sound
that turns the average English speaker weak at the knees. 'Voulez-vous
coucher avec moi?' etc.
See:
Morocco Pictures
| Tunisia
Pictures | Madagascar
Pictures | Canada
Pictures | Paris
Travel
Italian
in Italy or Switzerland.
For true Mediterranean culture you could happily study
in Italy with lots of sun, good food and wine, world class art
and architecture and a very relaxed life. Or go for the Italian
Alps and adjacent Italian speaking parts of the Swiss Alps.
This is also quite a sexy tongue, with lots of arm waving, and
not too difficult as its related to English. But it's not a useful
travel language.
See:
Rome Travel
| Venice Travel
| Italy Walking Tours
German
in Germany or Austria.
Germany is the most populous country in the European Union and
the language the most spoken in the EU overall, where its popularity
as a foreign language is second only to English.
Germany is important economically, so it's tops for business and
Austria is gorgeous.
The language, however, is famously harsh and unattractive and
not particularly useful for world travel.
See:
Berlin Travel
| Heidelberg
Travel | Vienna
Travel
|
|
Russian
in Russia.
Unfortunately
not as good a language for business as the Russians would like,
nevertheless the old superpower is now a free market economy and
has some wonderful cities to explore at a low price, with St Petersburg
way top of the list.
A difficult language and different alphabet.
See:
St Petersburg
Travel
Arabic
in
Egypt, Morocco, UAE, Oman or Yemen*.
Fascinating cultures - though respect for Islam is imperative
- and warm, hospitable people, combine with low cost of living
to make these destinations of great interest - if Arabic wasn't
so difficult, what with the funny alphabet and strange throat
sounds. Difficult, but not impossible... Arab men can be aggressive
towards single girls who dress in less, so these places may be
a problem unless you're prepared to wrap up your assets.
*Not recommended as anti-Christian feelings currently exist.
See:
Egypt Pictures
| Morocco
Pictures | Oman
Pictures
Chinese
in China or Taiwan.
Chinese is the most spoken first language in the world,
and it's forecast to be big for future business as this old socialist
paradise moves more and more towards capitalism.
Mandarin
Chinese is what you need to learn for business, but Cantonese
is the less formal version you tend to hear. Both are written
in the same way, a non-Roman alphabet that is a memory nightmare,
as are the variable tones essential for comprehensible communication.
So, cheap living, great food, great sights, and a language with
a future, but very difficult to master and not useful for travel.
See:
China Pictures
Japanese
in Japan.
Somewhat
a fallen star economically speaking, but the Japanese are still
business giants in the car and electronics industries and Tokyo
is still a global financial centre.
What's more the culture combines tradition with an eclectic and
wacky modern day mix of oriental and western. It is very, very
safe.
The language is tricky, being totally unrelated to Romance languages
[English, French, Spanish, Italian], but worse is the writing,
which requires memorisation of thousands of characters. The characters
[ideograms] are fascinating but you'll need 5,000 to read a newspaper.
So, a very safe and interesting country with wonderful food, but
a dog of a language and high accommodation costs.
See:
Japan
Pictures
Portuguese
in Portugal or Brazil.
Not
much of an EU business powerhouse, but Portugal is a good place
to head for sunshine in Europe and cheap too.
Cross over to South America and you can speak Spanish all over,
until that is, you hit Brazil where you'll find you can simply
no longer find the words to describe your frustrations at not
knowing Portuguese.
So, in truth, a fairly easy language but not much use for either
business or travel.
See:
Brazil
Pictures
|
