Your “why” will guide the way because it\u00a0gives you an attainable goal. When studying gets tough and it feels like you aren’t making any progress, having a “why” will help keep you motivated and on track.<\/p>\n
Finding your “why” may not be easy\u2014in fact, you may have multiple reasons to learn a second language. To figure it out, you should ask yourself questions:<\/strong><\/p>\n It’s also important to think about what kind of language you want to learn:<\/strong><\/p>\n Once you find out your “why,” choosing a language should be easy.<\/p>\n Something to keep in mind, though: When deciding which language you want to learn, you should also consider how difficult the language will be for you to learn.<\/strong> The more difficult the language, the more challenges you’ll face and the bigger time commitment you’ll need.<\/p>\n Okay, this is somewhat flippant\u2014we all know that no foreign language is\u00a0easy<\/em>\u00a0to learn. However, it can be extra motivating if you can see quick progress, especially if this is your first time learning a foreign language.<\/p>\n The key point is to pick something that\u2019s not too dissimilar from your native language. Here are a couple examples if your native language is English.<\/p>\n Similar languages: <\/strong>Italian, Portuguese, French<\/p>\n Its popularity is one of the reasons Spanish is such a great choice\u2014and the language isn’t too incredibly difficult to pick up.<\/p>\n Even if you didn’t take Spanish lessons in school, it isn’t hard to find someone nearby<\/a>\u00a0who speaks the second most-spoken tongue on the planet.<\/strong> This will make it a whole lot easier to practice.<\/p>\n Aside from access to a huge pool of\u00a0hispanohablantes\u00a0<\/em>(Spanish speakers), the language itself lends itself to fast learning.<\/strong> Unlike the irregularity of English phonology and orthography, Spanish has a very straightforward\u00a0pronunciation system.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, thanks to the\u00a0Latin roots<\/a>\u00a0of Spanish, there\u2019s a wealth of vocabulary already at your fingertips.<\/strong> Nation =\u00a0naci\u00f3n<\/em>, music =\u00a0m\u00fasica<\/em>, flower =\u00a0flor,\u00a0<\/em>and so on\u2014<\/em>not to mention the numerous\u00a0English loan words in Spanish<\/a>\u00a0(email, catering, f\u00fatbol).<\/em><\/p>\n That\u2019s not to say that Spanish is without its challenges. A lot of the\u00a0grammar is very different from English <\/strong>and Spanish learners have to deal with the infamous\u00a0subjunctive<\/a>. However, these challenges can be overcome, and once you\u2019ve gotten there, you\u2019ll be ordering tapas<\/em>\u00a0like a pro.<\/p>\n Similar languages:<\/strong> Dutch, Afrikaans<\/p>\n If you\u2019re looking to move away from the Romance languages,\u00a0German should be your first stop.<\/p>\n Despite having a huge amount of Latin influence, English is actually a Germanic language. The vocabulary can be quite similar<\/strong> and\u00a0there are a number of cognates<\/a>. German pronunciation<\/a>\u00a0is also quite straightforward.<\/p>\n Due to the history of English, which involved Germanic Anglo-Saxons working the land while being mostly separated from the French-speaking aristocrats, lots of simple language has kept its Germanic roots.<\/strong><\/p>\n This includes religious terminology (God =\u00a0Gott<\/em>, church = k<\/em>irche<\/em>), language for animals (cow =\u00a0k<\/em>uh<\/em>, cat = k<\/em>atze<\/em>) and words for family members (father, mother, brother and sister are v<\/em>ater, mutter, bruder und schwester<\/em>).<\/p>\n Again, German also has its challenges. Due to the German way of creating compound words<\/a>, much of its vocabulary can be intimidating.<\/strong> It also results in some curiosities, such as the triple F in s<\/em>chifffahrt<\/em>. (“boat travel,” a compound of the words s<\/em>chiff\u00a0<\/em>and f<\/em>ahrt<\/em>\u2014”ship” and “journey.”)<\/p>\n Another challenge is that German, like Latin, has numerous grammatical cases<\/a> to get your head around,<\/strong> as well as three genders to learn.<\/strong> Not to mention the fact that many Germans speak fantastic English, and\u00a0it can be hard to persuade them to let you practice<\/a>!<\/p>\n English and Spanish are the best languages for travel due to their near-ubiquity. Nevertheless, there are a few others we can usefully add to the armory.<\/p>\n If you plan to travel short term, it’s good to know a “survival level” of that language. If you plan on traveling long-term, meaning your trip will last longer than a month, learning beyond the survival level of the language would be beneficial.\u00a0<\/p>\n Getting a higher level in your target language will allow you to really connect with a place, its culture and its people. You might even make some good friends!\u00a0<\/p>\n If you’re planning on learning a language for travel, another way to narrow down the answer to “What language should I learn?” is to take a few lessons or watch a few videos on language learning apps or programs like FluentU<\/a>, for example. FluentU<\/strong> takes authentic videos\u2014like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks\u2014and turns them into personalized language learning lessons.<\/p>\r\n <\/p>\r\n You can try FluentU for free for 2 weeks. Check out the website or download the iOS app<\/a> or Android app.<\/a><\/p>\r\n\n
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Learning a Language That’s “Easy” for English Speakers<\/h2>\n
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<\/p>\nSpanish<\/strong><\/h3>\n
German<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Learning a Language for Travel<\/h2>\n
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![\"FluentU](\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/try-fluentu-for-free.jpg\")
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