| Why
study a language abroad?
Learning or upgrading a language in a place where it is used by
everyone around you all day long is more fun and a LOT more effective than
in 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 will probably 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,
the attractiveness of the countries in which you can study
it and the possibility of working there - for example as an English teacher - to support your studies. 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.
Note that Spanish people are quite sniffy about their mainland pronunciation compared to that of Latin America.
*Not recommended as violence and thievery are rampant.
See:
Cuba Pictures
| Mexico Pictures
| Peru Pictures
| Argentina Pictures | Chile Pictures | Costa Rica Pictures | Guatemala Pictures | Spain Pictures | Madrid Pictures | Barcelona Pictures
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 Pictures | Switzerland Pictures | South Pacific Pictures
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 Pictures | Italy Pictures | Switzerland Pictures
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 - a language of command rather than discussion - and
not particularly useful for world travel. But...Vienna is gorgeous!
See:
Berlin Travel
| Heidelberg
Travel | Vienna Pictures
Russian in Russia.
Unfortunately
not as good a language for business as the Russians would like,
nevertheless the Russian Bear is now a free market economy and
has some wonderful cities to explore, with St Petersburg
and Moscow at the top of the list, though Moscow is now one of the most expensive cities in the world. Russian is a difficult language and uses a different alphabet.
See: Russia Pictures
Arabic in
Egypt, Morocco, UAE, Oman or Yemen.
Fascinating cultures - though respect for both Islam and the local government 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 gargling
sounds necessary. Difficult, but not impossible, and easier than Chinese or japanese. Arab men can be aggressive
towards single girls, so these places may be
a problem unless you're prepared to wrap up your assets.
See: Egypt Pictures | Morocco
Pictures | Oman
Pictures | Yemen 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 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, and 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 | Tokyo 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 Latin America and Spanish is ubiquitous
apart from Brazil where Portuguese is the mother tongue and a fairly easy language to master but not much use for either
worldwide business or travel.
See: Brazil
Pictures | Portugal Pictures
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