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The appeal of multilingualism is increasing in the modern world. New technologies allow countries to communicate on a higher level than ever before. Now more than ever it is imperative to learn a second or even a third language. Reasons to become multilingual include being more competitive in the workforce or college applications, to broaden travel horizons, and to do missionary work overseas. According to The Telegraph, the best languages in order to be successful in the changing world are listed below, in no particular order.

Japanese

Japanese has always been a great language to learn, due to the powerful Japanese economy and technological industry. For those interested in the automotive industry, Japanese is a perfect language to learn. Honda, Mitsubishi, Mazda, Nissan, Subaru, Isuzu, and Toyota are all corporations looking for employees fluent in Japanese. Other major companies include Canon and Toshiba.

Arabic

Unknown to most, Arabic is the 5th most spoken language of the world. Arabic is important because of the Middle Eastern economy and large oil deposits. Not only is Arabic important for business, but also for understanding different parts of the rapidly growing Islamic culture. In addition, American-Middle Eastern relations are sometimes strained. This is when it comes in handy to know Arabic in order to smooth over conflicts.

Mandarin

The official language of China – the world’s most populous and economically dynamic nation – is highly sought after by employers. In 2006, Brighton College became the first school in the United Kingdom to mandate the study of Mandarin for all 13 year-olds. Clearly, Mandarin is a priority for other nations educational systems. Once again, Chinese is extremely valuable to business employers because of the strong trading partnership between the United States and China.

Spanish

Spanish is rising in America and as Latin America grows, Spanish grows with it.

According to a Pew Research Center report, an estimated 37.6 million people in the U.S. speak Spanish as their first language and analysts predict the Latino population will reach approximately 128.8 million by 2060, likely making it the largest Spanish speaking country in the world. Proportionally, Hispanics will rise from around 16% of the U.S. population in 2010 to 30% by 2050 (Macias, A., & Lubin, G.).

Those interested in nursing, construction management, and media, among many other positions, should learn Spanish in order to gain a competitive edge in the workforce.

Big corporations are realizing the importance of reaching a market that will represent $1.5 trillion in purchasing power in the U.S. by 2015. Meanwhile, Latin America received a record $174 billion of foreign investment in 2012, and companies everywhere are expanding there, such as PepsiCo announcing a $5 billion investment in Mexico (Macias, A., & Lubin, G.).

Yet another upside to learning Spanish is that it opens up travel destinations that are a little closer to home.

French

Chinese corporations have begun to flood into Africa, where deals are cheap and resources are abundant. French speaking countries, Algeria top among them, comprise a significant chunk of that investment. Half of the top-10 fastest growing countries in Africa have French as an official language. We can thus expect Africa to be an increasing focus of global trade and international relations (Wile, R.).

Not only is French such a great language for business but it opens the door for those interested in humanities, missionary, and other volunteer work in parts of Africa.

German

Germany, Europe’s largest economy – with a GDP of more than €2.4 trillion – continues to defy the European recession. German is the most spoken language in Europe and for those interested especially in Automotive business. German is a huge asset when working with corporations such as BMW, VW, Audi, Opal, etc.

Works Cited

Macias, A., & Lubin, G. (2014, February 13). 6 Reasons Why Everyone Should Learn Spanish. Business Insider.

Wile, R. (2014, February 5). Why We Still Need French. Business Insider.

Graduate Jobs: Best Languages to study. The Telegraph.