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French

200 million people in over 50 countries across 5 continents speak French. France is one of the world’s largest economies, and French-speaking European countries include Belgium, Switzerland, Luxembourg and Monaco.

French is the official language of business and trade in over two dozen African countries.

It is also an official language of Canada, a major U.S. trading partner. Montreal is the second largest French-speaking city in the world, and U.S.-Canadian trade is the largest two-way trade in the world. Over 2,400 French companies employ nearly 650,000 workers throughout the U.S.

France and the U.S. have long shared aerospace technology. French astronauts participate in U.S. space flights and the French Ariane rocket has launched American satellites. France has the world’s second largest aeronautics industry, and all U.S. Coast Guard helicopters are made by Aerospatiale in Toulouse.

France plays a major international role in medicine and science. The greater Paris area has the highest concentration of mathematicians in the world. The Human Genome Project is located in Paris.

German

German is the most widely spoken language in the European Union. As a world leader in green technologies, Germany is a major contributor to research and development in many STEM fields: a significant reason why German is the second most commonly used scientific language worldwide.

Ranked fourth by number of language learners worldwide, German trails only English, Chinese and French, and has about the same number of language learners as Spanish. German provides a path of entry into business, the military, government agencies and the arts, as well as graduate, law and medical schools.

Even with its global reach, Germany maintains a strong economic relationship with the United States, and is the largest European trading partner of the U.S. Further, the Germans, Austrians and Swiss spend more on tourism than any other nationalities. Wherever they travel, they appreciate being welcomed by German speakers in hospitality and travel, opening numerous career opportunities in these sectors.

Romance Languages

Speakers of more than one language often have linguistic, cognitive, and cultural advantages over monolingual speakers. Italy is one of the seven most industrialized countries, making knowledge of Italian language and culture advantageous in a broad range of careers, such as international business, journalism, politics and tourism.

Italian is a principal language of the arts, including opera, cuisine, cinema, and fashion. Italy is the cradle of Western civilization, and a recent UNESCO report states that over 60% of the world’s art treasures are found in Italy. Musicians and opera singers consider Italian a key professional skill.

Italy has the eighth largest economy in the world, and is a leader in the manufacture of high-end products. Over 7,000 American firms do business with Italy and over 1,000 U.S. firms (Chrysler, General Electric, AT&T, Motorola, IBM, Citibank) have offices in Italy. Milan is a fashion hub (Versace, Gucci, Armani, Prada), and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations has its headquarters in Rome.

Sixty percent of English vocabulary is Latin-based, and learning one or more Romance languages enhances English-language skills.

Spanish

Spanish is the second language of the U.S., the second most-spoken language by native speakers in the world, and one of the five diplomatic languages of the United Nations. Spanish is also an official language of the European Union, and of the World Trade Organization. Four G20 countries are Spanish speaking.

From Thomas Jefferson to today, diplomats, politicians and global commercial interests have recognized the importance of existing and emerging markets in the Spanish-speaking Americas. In a recent report on languages, the British Council states that demand for Spanish in all areas of human activity exceeds that for any other language. For postgraduate studies in medicine, law, or any other field, Spanish bilingualism is an advantage for your application.

The cultures of Spain and Spanish-speaking countries have enriched the world for centuries. The U.S. founding fathers used imagery from Miguel de Cervantes’ Don Quijote – specifically, tilting at windmills – to describe their efforts to write the U. S. Constitution. Why not read the first modern novel in the original Spanish, as Jefferson did and as he encouraged his family members to do?

The U.S. government has consistent openings for Spanish-speaking diplomats, attachés, translators, and interpreters. Commercial banks, internet providers, travel agencies, the hospitality sector: all employers find Spanish bilingualism an advantage on a job application.

Travel to the beaches of Cancún or Ibiza, climb the pyramids of Chichen Iztá or Teotihuacan, dance the tango in Buenos Aires, ascend to the 15th century Inca citadel at Machu Picchu, visit Patagonia and the Galapagos Islands. Or, use your mastery of English and Spanish to work in those Spanish-speaking places. In every conceivable field of endeavor, Spanish improves your chances of success.