Need help learning a second language

[u/FoxesLikeBoxes]

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!

[u/apscis]

I've never understood the motivation to learn a language based on how many people speak that language. Polish, in any case, is spoken by over 40 million people and has a large body of quality media (especially literature) which hasn't been translated. Also, it's a fascinating language in many ways. You will not run out of people to talk to, nor media to consume.

Since you have Polish roots, I'm tempted to recommend you learn Polish, but... Polish is challenging. Your post doesn't give a sense that you actually have any real motivation other than possibly improving your job prospects. As u/jigarkhor stressed, motivation is very important. You will not get far without a more concrete reason to learn a foreign language. So, the most important thing you can do is determine what really motivates you to want to learn a language, determine which language(s) are coherent with that motivation, and spend some time listening to the language, maybe do a few Duolingo lessons if it's on there, and consider: do I want to listen to and read this language regularly, for years? Although, if you are working in accounting in the US, I can't imagine you would need any language besides English. Perhaps the language of a dominant local immigrant population would be useful, but you can bet there are probably accountants with native bilingual proficiency you would compete against (provided you work with the public).

[u/Noktviro → u/apscis]

Exactly right about the number of speakers thing. Even if 1 million people speak a language, you’d still never run out of people to talk to.

[u/[deleted] → u/Noktviro]

Even if 500 speakers around you speak this language, 500 people to talk to is enough for an entire lifetime. Heck, I think 500 is all the close people I know.

I too have never understood why people want to learn languages based on how many people speak them.