What language should I take?

[firefly85]

I'm starting grad school in International Communications at American University in the fall. I'm most interested in international education and international journalism. I want to take a language class, but I'm not sure what to take. I took Italian in college and studied abroad there. I love it, but I know its not the most useful language. Does anyone have any suggestions on what European language I should take? I'm looking mostly at French or Spanish (took Spanish in high school but have forgotten a lot, probably would come back if I studied), but I'm open to suggestions. Thanks!

[Green Star]

Language choice would mainly depend upon what region of the world you're planning to focus on. Here's what I would recommend based on region:

Latin America - Spanish

Europe - French

Africa - French

Middle East - Arabic

SW Asia - Pashto/Dari

East Asia - Mandarin

Russia/Former Soviet Republics - Russian

Again, it really depends what region you intend to focus on. If you're unsure then I would personally go with French as it is used by large number of international organizations as an official language. Also, you already have a background in Spanish so it wouldn't take too much effort to re-learn it in the future if needed.

[twoedge]

As the previous poster stated, it really depends on what region you're interested in. Personally I would recommend French, as it is used as the official language of numerous international organizations, is very widespread (Europe, Africa, North America), and relatively easy to learn. If you're planned focus is, for example, Latin America, Russia, or China, then I would most definitely go with another language. The answer to what foreign language to study is not clear cut at all, unless of course English is one of the options.

[carpecc]

I'd say take French. If you can speak French and Italian then it will pretty easy to pick up Spanish if you decide to take your career Latin. From what I hear French is harder to just pick up then Spanish, so having some formal training would be helpful. As twoedge says, this is the language of many intl organizations and is one of the official languages of the UN.

I definitely wouldn't take something overly difficult (Chinese, Arabic) just for the hell of it. It might distract from your other classes and would be tough to gain proficiency in in two years. But it doesn't sound like your going that route anyways, I just thought I'd throw that out there.