Answers
Apr 12, 2013 - 03:25 AM
If you are a young person you might consider Mandarin for its potential to help you in a professional career. There are lots of Francophone Canadians who can fill the niche between English and French; I am led to believe many Germans speak English. The rarer combination seems to be English and Chinese. Of course with English, Dutch, Spanish, and French you would be well ahead of many. But that's very Eurocentric.
Apr 12, 2013 - 11:38 AM
The Spanish I learned in school was practically worthless compared to the Latin American Spanish I speak on a regular basis with my South Floridian clients. I'm in the finance industry and the German I've learned, and expanded on since, with Fluenz has been invaluable. It's true that many/most Germans speak English and most don't expect an American to understand German, but the negotiations and partnerships take a pleasant turn when I'm conversing in their language. :-) Hope this helps.