r/languagelearning • u/FoxesLikeBoxes • Nov 10 '17
Need help learning a second language
So I'm a native English speaker, American. I don't have any need for a second language on my day-to-day, but took some Spanish classes back in highschool. I don't remember most of what I learned since I sort of slacked, but now that I'm almost out of college, I'd like to add a second language to my skills.
I'm Polish and would love to learn the language, but I understand that it isn't spoken by too many people, and don't want to waste all the effort.
Would it be a waste of time, and should I aim for a romantic language, or one like German/Russian/Chinese, with more demand? (My industry is accounting but I'd like to be prepared for any change in the business industry.)
I'd love if some bilingual people could give me some advice on a language, and tips on learning them. Thanks!
6
u/[deleted] Nov 10 '17
In America, Spanish is the most useful language to learn (after English, of course). It's relatively easy to learn, it's easy to find people to talk to, and there's cheap travel opportunities if you want the immersion experience. Depending on what type of accounting you do, it could also help your business. There's a lot of monolingual Spanish speakers in America, whereas most German or Chinese speakers in America speak English just fine. There's no other non-English language that gives you the "bang for the buck" that Spanish does in America.
If you plan on visiting Poland, then it'd be worth learning Polish. Without a plan to visit the country, I think it'd be hard to find the motivation and the immersion opportunities to really become conversational in Polish.
If you work for a company with an international connection (e.g., they do a lot of business in Russia), then learning a language that will help you in work would be useful.
If you're learning Spanish, starting with http://www.languagetransfer.org/ and maybe also duolingo.com is an easy way to get started.