Most useful foreign language for a BAC major?

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Wisconsin
1

<p>Hey fellow Badgers and Wisconsinites!</p>

<p>So, I've finally decided to major in Biological Aspects of Conservation - conservation biology just seems like such an awesome field. I still need that "3rd level or higher" foreign language for my B.S. degree though, and was wondering just which one to take; basically, which foreign language will be most useful to me in the field of conservation biology?</p>

<p>The three main ones I'm already looking into are Spanish, French, and German. </p>

<p>Spanish - immensely useful for living in the USA and studying abroad in Spain/South America/etc. Very practical, but, at least for me, slightly boring since it's "nothing new and interesting", as I had taken it in middle school. Still, there's a study abroad program in Ecuador related to conservation biology that looks very, very interesting.</p>

<p>French - very useful language for traveling to many parts of Africa, could be useful in such a field since it is such a biologically diverse continent. Still, it's apparently a little harder than Spanish, or so I've heard, and not as immediately useful.</p>

<p>German - arguably the least useful among the three for this particular field, but of great personal interest to myself. My favorite band, best friend, etc. are all German, and there's a pretty cool environmentally-related study abroad program in Freiburg, Germany. It would be something different and interesting. </p>

<p>What do you all think? I took Latin as part of my FIG first semester, so I should do pretty well in Spanish or French, and I'm pretty sure I'd do well in German because of my own personal interests motivating me + having a best friend as a tutor.</p>

2

<p>Spanish probably. Lots more people speak it.</p>

3

<p>Thanks… I suppose that helps a bit.</p>

4

<p>Of the romance languages, you may find Spanish to be the most useful.</p>

5

<p>Of those three, Spanish is by far the most useful.</p>

<p>If I could put in my own opinion, though, Chinese is the language to learn at the moment.</p>

6

<p>Thanks for the opinions guys! I’ve pretty much entirely decided on Spanish. I’ve decided that if I really want to learn German it’ll be on my own during my free time =)</p>

<p>Kudryavka, Chinese is definitely important, but it’s very challenging - and I don’t think it’ll be as relevant to my particular field.</p>

7

<p>Spanish may be your best bet overall due to the current US population. I took college German (after HS French) and it is not Latin based so may be more interesting for you, especially with your interest in it. Most scientists will publish in English so language and research are not a current issue. Throw out the concept of which language is more useful and go with the one you want. College is a time to explore fields you won’t otherwise. There are more opportunities to pick up Spanish outside of college.</p>