Hey…I'm going to college Fall of 2007 and majoring in Music Education and German. I am also going to learn a second language, since most better-paying jobs in interpreting require two languages…German is for sure, but I'm trying to decide between French and Japanese.

1. I'm leaning toward Japanese because it is something a little more different; it would be very interesting to learn another set of charcters and to explore a culture so unlike our own. Also, it's quite important in Hawai'I!
2. senior year turned me into a mercenary… everything is ka-ching now!!!
3. I think you should learn Mandarin (chinese) because the China market is going to be HUGE in the years to come. Mandarin is also the most commonly spoken language in Asia, so it will be useful someday. However, I think that you should choose a language that YOU like rather than one that you feel you are forced to learn.

   BTW: I'm taking french right now, and I think you will have no problem with it if you speak English really well

4. So help me decide! Thanks!
5. Mandarin Chinese probably would be a better bet than Japanese, considering that Mandarin is the most spoken language in the world. Still, Japanese might be good for any future business endeavors, especially in electronics. And there are many similarities among the Japanese and Korean languages. But let's not forget Spanish! Spanish will become a vital key to business in the United States and the western hemisphere in the next 30 years.

   However, although French is a beautiful language, its use is very limited. To work in France, one has to be a French citizen, and this is not an easy process. French might be useful in identifying old texts from Claude Debussy (who, by the way is my favorite composer!), but its practicality in the business world is going to be very limited. According to recent projections of population growth, the French are not reproducing nearly as quickly as the Spanish or the Chinese; thus, the need for Spanish and Chinese speakers will only increase in the next three decades.

6. But French seems a little more practical…if I knew French, German, and English, then I'd have most of the major languages in Europe…it'd be a very good combination in Europe. But I've been to France, and it doesn't really seem near as interesting to me than Japanese…the language is sort of interesting, but being so much like English (as compared to Japanese and English…haha), I'm not sure I'd enjoy learning to speak it.
7. I'm doing french and it's useful and everything, but if I was starting again and not a senior, I would do chinese, even instead of japanes. The way the world economy is going there are going to be lots of jobs for chinese-speakers who also speak english and have another european language… if you speak english and chinese you'll have the 2 most-spoken languages in the world so cool. So if I were you I would do chinese. if your choices are fixed between french and japanese… french is more practical but japanese would get you a niche in some company that does a lot of trade with japan so you'll also be a little more marketable and better paid.

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