<p>I plan to study Biochemistry at undergrad level then pursue a career in research. I feel that learning some foreign languages will be helpful if I go to conferences and meet up with researchers from all over the world. In addition, I will be able to read there papers and such.</p>
<p>Should I pick up French or German ? I am currently do Spanish, which I enjoy very much but I might have to sacrifice it for French an German</p>
<p>Most of the academic world publishes in English these days. Don’t worry too much about learning another language.</p>
<p>But how about opportunities for research and stuffs ? I know that France and Germany have many Nobel Prize winners so they must have strong research facilities</p>
<p>Here in NY HS students are forced to graduate with a second language before entering college, otherwise they have to take at least two semesters of foreign language. I don’t know about other states.</p>
<p>Business major usually gets a second language degree, and the most popular one would be Spanish, because the Hispanics population is the largest among the other ethnicity.</p>
<p>Going aboard does not require knowing the language the country you go to, because we assume that people there know basic English. However, knowing a second language engages interpersonal life while at aboard. </p>
<p>There are many advantages knowing a second language, for example you might want to read a literature that is originally written in German. My English professor teaches Russian at West Point, and he said English translation sometime destroyed the original meaning. As a Chinese immigrant, I concur with him.</p>
<p>German is probably the better option between the two, because Germany is probably the leading European nation in STEM (and business of course) after United States. Many students choose to study aboard at one of those famous German institution. The government in Germany is very generous with STEM people. </p>
<p>Although most researchers and scientists in Germany know English very well (apparently this is a nature in countries where English is not a primary language), they would enjoy the conversion more if you speak with them in German. But you have to learn those technical terms on your own, since you don’t learn them in those courses.</p>
<p>Whatever it is, knowing a second language is helpful. If you have the time, and you are determined enough, by all means go for it. I actually want to learn Latin, or German.
I personally know three written languages, and five dialects, but only two really counts lol… it’s because of my family’s nature.</p>
<p>If you want to go live in Germany, by all means go ahead and learn German. It would be rather rare though for an American researcher to move to Germany. Usually it’s the other way round. The US has a lot more research funding and much less red tape to deal with.</p>
<p>If you just want to be able to communicate with German researchers, don’t bother learning German. They all know English. They started learning English in 5th grade, some of their college courses were taught in English and they probably wrote their dissertation in English as well. </p>
<p>When I was still living in Germany, there was this sentiment among Americans (military families and diplomats, mostly) that the Germans insisted on talking to them in English and never gave them a chance to try their German. There are probably two reasons for that: (1) Germans are very enthusiastic about the opportunity to speak English with a native speaker and (2) it is <em>extremely</em> painful to listen to broken German. (Personally, I can deal with a foreign accent but foreigners who keep mismatching the endings of adjectives and verbs drive me nuts. If they also speak at half the pace of a native speaker, I would much rather continue the conversation in English.)</p>
<p>Re Nobel Laureates: Germany historically has a lot of Nobel Laureates, but most of them are from the early days of the award. The recent track record of German universities looks meager in comparison.</p>
<p>Nobel Laureates by country since 1990:</p>
<p>Germany: 15
UK: 26
US: 150</p>
<p>One approach to this question might be to investigate where potential employers have their international headquarters. I know from personal experience that there are many chemical and pharmaceutical companies with international headquarters in Germany or German-speaking Switzerland (where my family lived due to my husband’s job transfer). The official language of my husband’s company is English, not German. All official papers are written in English, and all business meetings are conducted in English (unless they agree otherwise because everyone in the room is a native German speaker).</p>
<p>Schoolchildren in German-speaking Switzerland learn English beginning in the sixth grade (after learning High German and French in earlier years). As a result, even those who don’t go to college have had some English.</p>
<p>When we first moved to Switzerland (and I had had two months of German tutoring), I was looking for a soccer team for my son. I asked a soccer coach, “Do you speak English?” He said no. I then told him in my basic terrible German: “I have a son. He is ten years old. He is a goalkeeper. Do you have a team?” All of a sudden, the coach spoke English! Of course, he realized that his English was much better than my pitiful German. </p>
<p>B@r!um makes some excellent points. I agree–if you are merely going to speak to researchers, there is no need to learn German. If you think you might live in a German-speaking country, it would be great to learn German now (and if you want to do so, knowing German could help you get a position.) It is certainly a lot easier to learn while you’re young than when you are, say, 44, as I was. Or if you’d like to learn German for the fun of it and the challenge, feel free! I certainly enjoyed studying German, difficult though I found it.</p>
<p>I don’t know where you stand in your education, but I have heard repeatedly that admissions officers prefer to see years of study in one language. Therefore, it might be best to continue studying Spanish throughout high school and learn a new language (if you are still interested) in college. </p>
<p>You could always take a semester of German and see how you liked it. My husband had had either a semester or a year of German in college when we moved to Switzerland, and he was able to learn it much faster than I was because he had had some background in it.</p>
<p>I have been to conferences in Europe and collaborated with Dutch and French scientists. The fact is that science is done almost exclusively in English. Papers are written and published in English, conferences are conducted in English, even Indians are taught science in English. No doubt learning a foreign language would enrich your life and make you a more well rounded person, but it probably won’t have an effect on your career.</p>
<p>Thanks for all of the contribution. Actually, English is not my mother tongue. However, it can be considered as my 2nd mother tongue now giving that I have spent 3 years going to high school in America. I am going to be a college freshman in a week so I am thinking of what language to take in college. I have studied Spanish for the last 2 years and I can speak and write decently.</p>
<p>The reason I ask about studying either French or German is because of the newest event in the scientific community, the Fields Medal award. One recipient is from my home country, Vietnam but he has been studying and working in France for the last 15 years or so. He is going to be a professor at UChicago this fall. This event makes me thinking about having a term abroad in either Germany and France, where I can connect with many talented scientists. I don’t mean that American researchers or researchers in America are not talented. You guys know that it all comes to connection and networking because no on can discover the cure for AIDS by himself and networking with researchers in America is not enough, right ?</p>
<p>I work all over the world, have done sabbaticals and have taught in numerous countries, my coauthors are from everywhere, I go to conferences throughout the world. A very typical academic life. I’ve never once felt I needed anything but English. Absolutely has had zero impact on my academic career whatsoever and I can not imagine how it would have aided it in anyway. I wish I spoke 4-5 languages like my European colleagues- I envy such ability!- but everyone is so very versed in English that it hasn’t mattered in a practical sense.</p>
<p>Well, I haven’t read all the comments. But as far as a second language for someone in science I think both are quite good. Although you might find along the way more opportunities for exchange/study abroad programs in Germany. Not that you need to be super proficient in it to attend these programs, because most are taught in English. But it will help you, and be a plus if you’re trying to network with people from the region.</p>
<p>For this question, I think you should take the advice of those that actually work as scientists in an academic community over students’ perceptions of what they imagine. Anyone worth networking with with have a very high command of English. If you love languages and need an elective or its an experience you would enjoy or you like the intellectual challenge, go for it. But don’t kid yourself its going to make a difference professionally speaking.</p>
<p>Anyone who’s anyone knows English these days. It’s the international language of science, business, and transportation. Those with power who don’t speak English are most likely nationalist politicians who fear English dominance.</p>
<p>I’d go with either Chinese or Japanese. I know in my engineering field I see a lot more papers I wish I could read in either of those two languages than in any European one.</p>
<p>That said, the quality of research coming out of China can be…questionable, and if the research isn’t good enough of quality to be published in an English journal that makes me even more wary about it.</p>