<p>I am currently a freshman in community college. I plan on majoring in international relations when I transfer to a university. What would be a good foreign language to learn? Obviously there are the languages that are "critical to national security" such as several Asian languages, Arabic, and Russian. </p>
<p>However, those are all places in the world in which I would never want to visit, and thus my knowledge of that country's language would be useless (except in finding a job). Even though they aren't "critical to national security" would a European language such as French or German still be useful with an IR degree? </p>
<p>I envision myself working for the government or an international organization in some capacity. </p>
<p>German would be a useful language if you’re interested in Central and Eastern Europe. Germany also is an economically important country.
French would be a useful language if you’re interested in France, Switzerland, Belgium (headquarters of NATO and the EU), parts of Canada, numerous countries in sub-Saharan Africa, and parts of North Africa/Middle East. It is an official language of the UN.
Other languages to consider: Spanish (for an interest in Spain and Central & South America); Portuguese (for an interest in Portugal, parts of Africa, and, of course, Brazil); Turkish (for an interest in Turkey, Central Asia, parts of the Balkans, and the Turkish diaspora in several European countries, especially in Germany; Turkey is a NATO member, in a geo-politically important region, and its language uses a Roman alphabet); Indonesian (if interested in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore; it’s not too difficult and uses a Roman alphabet); Swahaili (if interested in Africa).</p>
<p>Thanks for the reply. French or German would also allow me to teach as a last resort. I’m considering Russian too, for that would be useful in working for intelligence agencies. </p>