<p>The U.S. State Department currently lists the following as “critical languages”:
Arabic
Azerbaijani
Bangla/Bengali
Chinese
Hindi
Indonesian
Japanese
Korean
Persian
Punjabi
Russian
Turkish
Urdu</p>
<p>The State Department sponsors fully-paid summer intensive institutes abroad in all its designated “critical languages” through a competitive application process. See: </p>
<p>[Critical</a> Language Scholarship Program](<a href=“http://www.clscholarship.org/institutes.html]Critical”>http://www.clscholarship.org/institutes.html)</p>
<p>It’s a great way to pick up a language or accelerate your education in a language you’ve already started. Successful completion of one of these institutes is no guarantee of a job, but the reason they offer this program is because various arms of the U.S. government, including the State Department itself, DoD, and various intelligence agencies, have a critical need for people with these languages. </p>
<p>Whether that translates into an advantage in private sector employment is more doubtful. English is now generally accepted as the language of international business, and most U.S.-based firms are content to conduct essentially all their overseas business in English. Where it might be helpful is if you land an overseas assignment; but having the language will be something that makes your life in the host country a little easier, and not necessarily something that gives you an inside track on the job or the assignment.</p>