<p>The IR major at UMich requires 3rd year proficiency in a foreign language... and I really can't decide what to do... so here's my dilemma:</p>
<p>Originally I was going to do French because it's one of the languages of diplomacy... but then idk. I was born in China so I'm already relatively fluent in Mandarin so I was thinking do I really need to tackle French if I've already got English and Mandarin down? I mean is it ever going to be useful - don't most people in France/the rest of Europe basically speak English? Is knowing English, Mandarin, AND French really going to put me at an advantage employment-wise compared to someone who only knows English and Mandarin? Do you think that French is becoming less useful/relevant on the international stage, especially for someone like me going into int'l political economy?</p>
<p>So that got me thinking that maybe I should just take the placement test for Mandarin and then only have to take like one or two semesters to fulfill the foreign language requirement... which would really free up my schedule for other classes. </p>
<p>I guess I'm still not sure whether I should take French because is 3 years (= 6 semesters) of learning a foreign language in a classroom setting really worth it? Would it be easier to just spend a year in a foreign country after undergrad? Because I mean, to really master a foreign language, you have to really immerse yourself in the language and culture...?</p>
<p>So at this point, I still want to learn a European language, but I'm not sure whether I should "spend" my undergrad credits on taking language classes or just wait till I can travel to that country to immerse myself to begin learning the language. </p>
<p>And I still don't know which European language to learn... I mean, being fluent in English and Mandarin, is it important for me to learn another useful language or do you think I have to room to just learn a less useful language just for fun? For example, I think the Swedish language sounds really beautiful so I'd love to be able to learn that (and I love Swedish pop music lol) but as an IR major Swedish would basically be useless to me. My original plan was French as I said but idk about that any more because I don't have any particular interest in the language itself nor French history/literature/etc. I guess Polish or Russian could also be interesting to learn because of their history and slightly useful too... Oh, and another thing, I have absolutely no idea what kind of career I want in the future/which region I want to specialize in... I just know I'm interested in int'l economics and maybe security... god I am the most indecisive person lol.</p>
<p>Anyway, I started writing here thinking I would just ask a simple question but this is like the entire story of my life... lol. Well at least my thoughts are all out there. I'd be interested and appreciative if anyone had any advice for me... thanks!</p>
<p>
That’s the approach you could take to learning any language. Just because the rest of the world is making the effort to learn English, it doesn’t mean we shouldn’t learn their language(s) as well. </p>
<p>If you already have English and Mandarin, which are arguably the two most important languages to know, then I think you would be fine choosing a less practical third language. French is definitely an asset with IR, so I don’t think you can go wrong there. But if your interest lies in Swedish or Russian, go for it.</p>
<p>I agree that learning a language comes down to your personal motivation, and the classes are largely irrelevant. So if you feel like taking 6 semesters of a foreign language is a waste, just study on your own and, hopefully, abroad. </p>
<p>If you don’t have much interest in French, you won’t learn it. Or at least well. I don’t think the typically optimistic “follow your heart” is unreasonable here, because as I mentioned above, you already speak two very useful languages. Go with whatever language you’re passionate about and you’ll learn it best. Plus, Mandarin and Swedish is a pretty bad ass combo.</p>
<p>If you’re interested in working with the UN at all, you have to speak French. So learning French would be pretty useful. I’m in a similar scenario to you- speak English, learning Spanish, going to learn French in college, interested in IR.</p>
<p>A lot depends on whether a particular country or region interests you. Don’t take a particular language if you’re not really interested in it.
[The</a> Twelve Most Useful Second Languages for English Speakers](<a href=“http://www.buzzle.com/articles/the-twelve-most-useful-second-languages-for-english-speakers.html]The”>http://www.buzzle.com/articles/the-twelve-most-useful-second-languages-for-english-speakers.html)
I agree the best way to learn a language is immersion in a country where it is spoken; if you can’t or won’t do this, the classroom is an alternative. I also agree that knowing Mandarin definitely counts, unless you’re interested in some region where it is not spoken. Of course, it may even be useful if you are interested in Africa, where French and English are the languages to know. However, the Chinese are becoming more and more involved in several African countries due to the natural resources found there.
Finally, if you have an affinity for Swedish, go ahead and study it. Though most Swedes learn English, and it’ll have limited usefulness in that respect, everything doesn’t have to be directly useful to one’s major.</p>
<p>I’d advise you to take the placement test for Mandarin. It will give you more flexibility. Then see if you like French. If you don’t, you can still easily fulfil the foreign lang requirement with Mandarin. If you’re fluent/native, you’ve certainly got a lot more facility in the language than somebody would who’d studied it in college for a few years.</p>
<p>First of all:
“I mean is it ever going to be useful - don’t most people in France/the rest of Europe basically speak English?”</p>
<p>Really? Did you really just type that? You go to UMich. Slap yourself, you should know better. Assuming you were to get a job in France, or job that involved French (that’s why you would get the proficiency, isn’t it?) do you really think the process involves hiring non French speaking employees? This is one of the reasons why other countries have such an issue with the U.S. </p>
<p>The majority of Europe speaks their national language, with another majority bi or trilingual. They do this because it’s an important skill. While it’s fantastic that you have both English and Mandarin under your belt, having another language, specifically one that you really like, makes you look better. It works well for international jobs, if that’s what you’re looking for. You should take the Mandarin test, just in case you really don’t want to take those six semesters of a European language, but keep your options open. I can’t see a downside to having the ability to speak three languages.</p>
<p>You’re massively overestimating the usefulness and importance of Mandarin. French is of course a very important language in Europe, Africa, the EU and the UN. If you want to learn a European language, seriously consider German. If you learnt Swedish you would also understand Danish and Norwegian, so it’s a good choice if you’re interested in Scandinavia.</p>
<p>Do what you enjoy most; you’re far more likely to achieve fluency if you like the language you’re learning.</p>