What Is The Best Language To Learn? (How To Decide What One To Learn)

I am often asked by people who are desperate to start their first language “What is the best language to learn?”

This is a question that only you can answer. To ask for my advice on this, or any ones, is just crazy. It’s like asking me what you should eat for dinner or when you should go to bed? Why would you ask me!

You need to learn the language that is right for you, but of course I understand that is not an easy thing to work out, which is why will go through questions you can ask yourself and help work out what is actually going to be best for you.

Are There Any Languages That Might Have A Better Advantage To Learning?

Before you start asking yourself what language you want to learn, it can be wise to look if there are any languages that actually might be advantageous to you.

It’s often said that English is the “international language” which is maybe true; it is a very common second language around the world and is certainly the language of the internet …Although if you are reading this, you can probably already can speak it.

A large part of the world speaks Spanish, so maybe this chould be the best language you can learn? Then we must think about the economic rise of China in the business world. Maybe you should learn mandarin as this could be very lucrative for you, so maybe this the best language to learn?

To be honest, you can probably find an excuse to why any language is the “best one” to learn, they all have their advantages.  I am sure if you looked hard enough you could even find reasons why learning a dead language like Latin is the best one to learn.

Maybe there is an advantage to learning certain languages over others, but really, unless you are being told to learn one of these (by your employee) I don’t think it matters.

The language that will give you the best advantage is the one you decide to learn and want to actually use.

(You can read more about – The Importance Of Learning English)

How To Work Out What Language You Should Learn?

To work out what language you should learn, you just need to ask yourself what one you want to learn.

It sounds stupidly simple, but the one you want to learn, is going to be the best one for you.  

Learning a language is real commitment and it can take a lot of effort. It is a lot easier if you actually want to do it. The second you have to force yourself, you are going to get nowhere.

Perhaps you have asked yourself this question already, but you can’t come up with an answer or maybe you are trying to narrow a few options down as it’s just not too clear. That is totally fine. If this is the case then, the follow questions should help your narrow things down.

What Has Made You Want To Learn A Language?

If you have been thinking about starting to learn a language, this is has clearly been for a reason. What has triggered this sudden interest?

You need to work out what has motivated you to get this idea of learning a language going. If you know what has motivated you, it can help to make your decision a lot easier.

The initial motivation is usually going to be linked to something. It could be for business, pleasure or just simple curiosity in a language.

Once you know why you started thinking about learning languages, you can start to narrow down it down to what one you are actually interested in.

If it is for business for example, then you can narrow your choices down to something that is going to be related to the work you do and the likely markets you could trade in.

Is There A Certain Language That You Seem Drawn To?

Sometimes we are just drawn to a language for no real reason. We might have just heard it and thought it sounded cool.

This can seems pretty shallow, but it may be enough to make it the best language for you. Having that little bit more interest in one language over another can often be the difference in you wanting to keep studying it or not.

What Do You Enjoy In Life?

You may also be drawn to a certain language through something that you enjoy in your life.

If you have a partner who speaks Russian, you may be drawn to lean this, so that you can share a language with them.

If you hobby is reading Manga, then you are probably going to be more drawn towards learning Japanese.

I personally ended up learning French over Spanish simply as I prefer French movies. This drew me in more than Spanish. Spanish is probably more widely spoken around the world, but I’m not travelling the world …I’m sat at home watching French movies.   

Where Do You Want To Visit Or Live?

If you often think about moving to another country to live, then this is pretty much telling you what language is going to be best for you. It just makes sense to learn that language and actually try and move there.

The same goes for if you have a strong connection to somewhere culture. Anime, manga and computer games often draw people into Japan. They start looking at other areas of the culture and the next thing they know they want to visit the count and speak the language.  

If you feel a connection to somewhere you should definitely look into learning their language, you clearly have an interest there that you should explore.

What Job Do You Want?

Sometimes the best language to learn comes down to just wanting a certain job.

You will often see programmers from all around the world learn English, just so they can go and work for the big tech companies in America.

Perhaps it’s a specific job, or you just want to work in a certain country, or work with people from this country, then this language is something you should start.

If the only way you can get your dream job is through that language, then it’s the right one for you.  

(You can read more about How To Get a Job With Your Second Language)

What Language Feels Right?

When it comes to picking a language to learn, only you are going to know which one is the best. Use the above points to help you figure it out, but really it should just feel right.

It doesn’t matter what anyone else says, or what they think of your decision, if its feel right to you, then it’s the one.

As soon as you have that feeling, just go for it. It really doesn’t matter what one you pick, or why. If it is something you feel interested in and think you would get value from, just start learning it.

If you are just doing it because you think it will be good for you, but deep down you are not interested, you will fail. You will not stick to it and you are only wasting your time. It needs to feel right and actually something you want to do.

Conclusion

Now you are prepared to go out and find the language that is right for YOU.

Just the above points to help give you some direction and you should be able to work out what to do pretty quickly. You will find that one language will just make more sense. It will just feel right.

Make sure you listen to that feeling, don’t be swayed by anything else. It really is important that your heart is into this project as it is going to be a long and difficult journey, but one that will certainly be worthwhile and fulfilling.  

Once you decide on a language, you will want to read – The Only Study Plan You Need To learn A Language (For Complete Beginners)