<p>I teach both French and Spanish. They are both easy and they are both hard, despite the myth that Spanish is easier. Believe me, it's not. As for "which would be better," it doesn't matter. Do the one you like and the one that works for you. Each one has wonderful literature, art, culture, and tradition. Each one is widely spoken, and colleges want to see what is/was right for you. If German is right, do German. Don't tailor your program depending on what you think colleges want to see. Tailor it according to who you are. That's what colleges really want to see. Bonne chance! ¡Buena suerte!</p>
<p>Thanks for the replies! My mother would really prefer I took Spanish because it's widely spoken where I live, but I would love to take French I think. I've had some trouble with Spanish (I simply CANNOT roll my R's), but overall it's been enjoyable (for the most part). The German program at my school isn't fantastic, and I would only want to take it because of the scientific aspect.</p>
<p>I really appreciate everyone replying and would love to hear even more responses.</p>
<p>I had to make this choice too when I was in middle school. I went with Spanish, and absolutely loved it. I took AP my junior year, which was my 5th year with the language. Unfortunetly, there was nothing left for me to take senior year. Now, as a freshman in college, I placed into a 6th semester Spanish class and plan on pursuing a minor. Spanish is such a great language, and it's been my favorite class for quite some time. Granted, I'd love to study some other foreign languages as well - I think it'd be awesome to be fluent in a variety of different tongues. Take whatever you think interests you most, and best of luck to you!</p>
<p>
[quote]
Sorry to go off topic, but how come they have an SAT 2 for like French, German etc. but NOT Hindi. So many people in the US speak it and it's becoming famous. I think within the next decade they'll have one.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I forsee the opposite. I think as India's economy improves, it will become nearly all English-speaking. It already has a really high concentration of English speakers because of its history. Further, I've never heard of anyone in the US that speaks Hindi other than first-generation immigrants from India. I don't think there will ever be an SAT II for Hindi.</p>
<p>As for the OP, I think you should stick with Spanish. Yeah, French is cool and all, and I've dabbled myself, but Spanish is just way better. Don't take German. It's virtually useless, and I think that German will be a dead language before long. [Sorry if you don't like my language predictions] German is easier than Spanish or French, but it's just not that important. The only reason to take German would be for the novelty of learning it. </p>
<p>It was easy for me to choose since my school has only Spanish, but I think it's the best language to learn. The culture is way more interesting as well.</p>
<p>@ JBVirtuoso</p>
<p>Actually, you may be on to something concerning German becoming a dead language. Every time I speak with a native German, they always seem to be able to speak English. EVERY single child in Germany starts learning English as soon as they start school; however, German is saved for informal conversation among friends and family. German is not going to die out as it is spoken all over Europe in rural villages and the like. English is just becoming the lingua franca so quickly that it may cause some language extinction within this century.</p>
<p>All in all, German will still be around, but English will dominate.</p>
<p>Is it possible to take both? I'm taking French II and Spanish I as a freshman and probably adding Chinese or Latin next year. My school has 7 periods in a day. (semesters..)</p>
<p>
[quote]
On the difficulty scale for English speakers, it probably goes something like this:</p>
<p>Spanish -> German -> French</p>
<p>Although some would say, due to English being a low-Germanic tongue, it would go:</p>
<p>German -> Spanish -> French
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I disagree.. Spanish and French are about the same regarding difficulty. Like I said above I'm taking French II and Spanish I, and I wish I would've tried to learn Spanish I over the summer (like I did with French at Andover Summer Session). Once you know the basics of French, you could probably learn first year Spanish in a month. It's really easy. </p>
<p>What career do you what to have? If you want to do it in immigration for the US, you should probably take Spanish. If you want to live in Paris or Berlin, take French or German.</p>
<p>@ Jonathan1</p>
<p>I find French to be more difficult than Spanish. Perhaps my scales are biased in this regard, hence why I rated French more difficult than Spanish. Reading Spanish and French are on the same level; however, I find it more difficult to understand spoken French compared to spoken Spanish. I can understand Spanish a lot easier than French even though I really don't have any formal training in those languages; as I said, I take German. German suits my interests better and it is more pleasant to my ears compared to Spanish (which I find annoying and I dislike the way French is spoken; they both get on my nerves.) Nevertheless, German is pretty disgusting being spoken, but I like languages that use guttural phonetics, such as English. English has a lot of French influence, however. </p>
<p>Also, I don't take Spanish on the grounds that there is so much pressure to learn Spanish because of all of the immigrants here. You came to my country, you learn my language. That is my opinion. I sure do love Mexican restaurants, though! ;-)</p>
<p>Sligh you've obviously never chatted with a Puerto Rican or Cuban in Spanish before :P</p>
<p>The immigrants don't have to learn the language here; they're backed by their fellow Latinos that speak both English and Spanish fluently, our economy is strong enough to support each other without out ever having to speak English, there are translators everywhere, and quite frankly, businesses are looking more and more for bilingual people.</p>
<p>
[quote]
All in all, German will still be around, but English will dominate.
[/quote]
Maybe some people (not the ones on CC) that THINK they speak English, should actually learn it. (How does anyone expect immigrants to learn English when most people here don't speak it decently?)</p>
<p>
[quote]
The immigrants don't have to learn the language here; they're backed by their fellow Latinos that speak both English and Spanish fluently, our economy is strong enough to support each other without out ever having to speak English, there are translators everywhere, and quite frankly, businesses are looking more and more for bilingual people.
[/quote]
True, to an extent. Immigrants do not have to speak English to a certain point. An Immigrant can be work in several jobs (and so can natives) without being able to speak English very well, however most of these jobs that deal with other people would rather hire English speaking people, or ones who speak English and Spanish. However, you cannot expect anyone to get a college degree here, and therefore what some people would consider a "decent job" without speaking English or learning English. </p>
<p>We have all heard of the people who come here and earn high level college degrees and get great jobs, however you really won't get anywhere (on average) by coming to the United States and not learning English.</p>
<p>I agree with that, but I don't think it will be so true say about 10-20 years from now once the population and children of these immigrants have grown, most likely to be bilingual who will be able to support their parents and create a lot more things for Spanish speakers. </p>
<p>But all in all, not all good jobs require a college education. There are so many opportunities, especially in business, which is why so many people covet America.</p>
<p>And I'm speaking as the son of what was an illegal immigrant.</p>
<p>Well here is my story. When I was in 4th grade, our school let us choose if we wanted to take spanish or french. i chose spanish. In the 7th grade, they asked me if i could switch because there were too many spanish students!!!!!!!!! I wanted to say no! but i gave it a chance.</p>
<p>now, as a freshman, i have signed up for AP next year. I want to be a French major and my teacher thinks i definitely could!</p>
<p>French is a beautiful language and i love it! I take online quizzes for fun all the time!!! I would definitely suggest it. =]</p>