{"id":4543,"date":"2022-10-26T08:57:51","date_gmt":"2022-10-26T07:57:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.alison.com\/?p=4543"},"modified":"2023-07-13T18:39:08","modified_gmt":"2023-07-13T17:39:08","slug":"the-top-7-languages-you-should-learn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alison.com\/blog\/the-top-7-languages-you-should-learn","title":{"rendered":"The Top 7 Languages You Should Learn"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2018Guten tag\u2019, \u2018Ol<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00e1<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2019, \u2018Konnichiwa\u2019,<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u2018Bonjour\u2019, \u2018N\u01d0 h\u01ceo\u2019, \u2018Ciao\u2019<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, and \u2018Hello\u2019. Just like that, you have learned how to say hello in seven languages. Learning a new language can seem daunting at first but if you can learn pottery, meditation, and how to play an instrument online, why not a new language? So, whether you want to travel, have dreams of working for an international conglomerate, or just enjoy learning something new, we\u2019re giving you the top seven languages you should learn and why.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Why you should learn a new language<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There are many good reasons why you should learn a new language. You can read more about the benefits and tips to learning a new language <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.alison.com\/european-day-of-languages\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">here<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. The top reasons we shared in this article are:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Improved career prospects<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Makes you a better multi-tasker<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Improves your memory<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Makes you a better communicator<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Helps you learn about and appreciate other cultures<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But which language do you start with? Keep reading. We\u2019ve outlined the top languages you can consider learning.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>The Top 7 Languages You Should Learn<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There are<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ethnologue.com\/guides\/how-many-languages\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">thousands of languages<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (over 7000) in the world. They are spoken among different continents, countries, nationalities, and tribes. Many of these languages are becoming endangered with fewer speakers remaining and not many people passing the language on to coming generations. However, about 23 languages are spoken by more than half of the world\u2019s population.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Mandarin Chinese<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">China is one of the world\u2019s top economies. It\u2019s a global powerhouse and given its reach across all corners of the globe, it\u2019s to be expected that it\u2019s a top language to learn.<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/alison.com\/tag\/chinese-language\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Mandarin Chinese<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is spoken by 1.3 billion (yes, with a \u201cb\u201d) native speakers. That means roughly one-in-seven of the world\u2019s population speaks Mandarin, a rather impressive statistic considering the size of the world. However, it\u2019s not an easy language to learn with the various<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/alison.com\/course\/chinese-language-pronunciation-and-tones?utm_source=alison-blog&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=blog-course-marketing\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">pronunciations and tones<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> you need to master to help you eliminate your accent. But if you want to explore international business opportunities, you\u2019ll be one up on many people also seeking global work opportunities.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>French<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">France isn\u2019t the only country in the world where<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/alison.com\/tag\/french-language\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">French<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">la langue officielle. <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is, in fact, the official language in 11 African countries. It\u2019s estimated that there are just under 240 million native French speakers today. <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Oui,<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> it is the language of love. And you\u2019ll love it even more as an English -native speaker because it\u2019s one of the easier languages to learn. In future, the number of people who can<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/alison.com\/course\/improving-your-french-language-skills-revised?utm_source=alison-blog&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=blog-course-marketing\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">speak French<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is expected to rise as this romantic language group&#8217;s tongue gains popularity.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Italian<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/alison.com\/tag\/italian-language\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Italian<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is the language of fashion, art, delectable cuisine, and music. It ticks all the right boxes in terms of the best foreign language to learn but for native English speakers, Italian is considered one of the easiest languages to learn. So, if you just want to know how to speak the language to help you as you travel and eat your way through its beautiful cities, you\u2019ll be proficient in no time. But, if you want to add that something extra to your repertoire in the design, luxury cars, culture and fine arts spaces,<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/alison.com\/course\/italian-for-english-speakers?utm_source=alison-blog&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=blog-course-marketing\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Italian is a great language<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> for you to learn.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Spanish<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you find yourself in Europe, or in any of the countries in South America, you can put your<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/alison.com\/tag\/spanish-language\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Spanish<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> language skills with the 480 million speakers globally. In fact, even if you venture into the United States, you will find over 35 million native-Spanish speakers from East to West. This will provide you with ample opportunity to practice your<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/alison.com\/course\/spanish-useful-everyday-phrases?utm_source=alison-blog&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=blog-course-marketing\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Spanish-speaking<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> skills.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Arabic<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/alison.com\/tag\/arabic-language\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Arabic<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is predominantly spoken in the Middle East and is the main, or co-official language in 23 countries. The World Economic Forum has named Arabic as the<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.weforum.org\/agenda\/2016\/12\/these-are-the-most-powerful-languages-in-the-world\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">fifth most powerful language<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in the world. Egypt and the United Arab Emirates are quickly becoming an economic force and therefore, learning Arabic and understanding the<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/alison.com\/course\/understanding-the-different-facets-of-everyday-conversations-in-arabic?utm_source=alison-blog&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=blog-course-marketing\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">different facets of everyday conversations<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> will give you an immeasurable ROI on the time you\u2019ll spend learning it.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But added to this, is how they are developing their countries to be holiday destinations for the wanderlust, those <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">strong desire to travel.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>German<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/alison.com\/tag\/german-language\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">German<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is the home language of six European countries (Germany, Austria, Belgium, Switzerland, Luxembourg, and Liechtenstein). It\u2019s spoken by an estimated 100 million people in the country and over 200 million collectively. Germany is Europe\u2019s largest economy, and this makes it an integral part of business, development, and diplomacy. If you\u2019re looking to break into the European market and<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/alison.com\/course\/german-for-customer-service-and-sales-positions?utm_source=alison-blog&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=blog-course-marketing\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">advance your career<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, learning German will take you a couple of steps closer to your goal.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Japanese<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And finally,<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/alison.com\/tag\/japanese-language\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Japanese<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Like China, it\u2019s an economic powerhouse in the automotive, technology, science, communication, and financial sectors but it also has a booming tourism industry. It can be a tad challenging to<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/alison.com\/course\/japanese-for-beginners?utm_source=alison-blog&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=blog-course-marketing\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">pick up the language<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, but you will be interested to discover that using gestures and body language is an important communication tool used among the Japanese people. It\u2019s a real phenomenon called <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">haragei.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<h2><b>Learning a new language<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When you decide to learn a new language, you\u2019re learning the basics, the rules, the culture, and so much more. And like any learning process, you will go from beginner, to intermediate, and the pinnacle, the advanced speaking level. Each phase builds on the last so it\u2019s important not to rush each level of learning, but to make sure you have fully grasped it as your next level of learning will build on it. Our<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/alison.com\/tag\/english-language?utm_source=alison-blog&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=blog-english-vertical\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">English Vertical<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> courses are a prime example of this learning process.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And there you have it. Our top languages you should learn. So, whether it\u2019s starting to learn a second language or your third or fourth, it\u2019s a win. Now it\u2019s up to you to decide where you want your future to take you. Visit our<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/alison.com\/tag\/languages?utm_source=alison-blog&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=blog-hubs\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">language hub<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> for all the help you need to get you there.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u2018Guten tag\u2019, \u2018Ol\u00e1\u2019, \u2018Konnichiwa\u2019, \u2018Bonjour\u2019, \u2018N\u01d0 h\u01ceo\u2019, \u2018Ciao\u2019, and \u2018Hello\u2019. Just like that, you have learned how to say hello in seven languages. Learning a new language can seem daunting at first but if you can learn pottery, meditation, and how to play an instrument online, why not a new language? So, whether you want [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":4548,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[760,327],"class_list":["post-4543","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alison-in-action","tag-english-vertical","tag-languages","match-height"],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/alison.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Blog_header_English_Vertical_and_Beyond.png","featured_category":"Alison in Action","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alison.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4543","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alison.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alison.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alison.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alison.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4543"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/alison.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4543\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5099,"href":"https:\/\/alison.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4543\/revisions\/5099"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alison.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4548"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alison.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4543"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alison.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4543"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alison.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4543"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}