When looking at ways to advance your career, one skill set you can develop is learning a foreign language. Knowing a second or even third language can give a big boost to your career, as well as improving your cognitive abilities and enhancing your perspective on the world. It can also improve your communication skills.
It has other benefits as well, such as enhancing creativity and problem-solving ability. It can also help you expand your network.
A second language will also give you an advantage in the job market, making you a more attractive job candidate. With advances in information technology and the globalization of the marketplace, knowing a foreign language has become more important than ever.
A second language also increases the various types of job opportunities open to you. For example, the number of jobs for interpreters and translators has been growing rapidly over the past decade.
Learning any foreign language will help your career prospects, but naturally, some are more advantageous to know because more people speak them; they are used more in the global marketplace. And these languages, for the same reasons, are more attractive to employers as well.
Best Languages to Know
Mandarin
It would probably come as no surprise to know that Mandarin Chinese is one of the best languages to know. China at this point has the second largest economy in the world, and in the coming years could overtake the United States to become the largest. More than one billion people speak Mandarin.
Arabic
Arabic Is also another influential language. This is because Arabic is the primary language of the major oil producing countries in the Middle East.
German
German is also a prominent language, in large part because Germany has the largest economy in the European Union. Another reason for the influence of the German language is Germany’s prominence in scientific research.
Spanish/French
Other important languages in the world economy are Spanish and French. They are prominent because they are the primary languages for many people throughout the world. Only English, Mandarin and Hindi are spoken by more people. More than 550 million people speak Spanish, and about 275 million speak French around the world.
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