5 Tips for Choosing a Foreign Language in College

5 Tips for Choosing a Foreign Language in College Tips from an Irvine Foreign Language Tutor: 5 Tips for Choosing a Foreign Language in College Tips from an Irvine Foreign Language Tutor: 5 Tips for Choosing a Foreign Language in College The majority of students will have to take a year of foreign language in college, but some students are unsure which language to take.  Many students studying at a US university forget their foreign language skills relatively quickly. Whether this is because of the way they are taught or the fact that American students dont really have a chance to use their foreign language skills as much as people in geographically smaller countries, is contrary to the fact that each student should be strategic when making their foreign language credit decision. Students can choose to take a class in a language that they feel they will actually learn and be able to use in business or travel, or they can choose a course they can achieve a good grade in. 1. Do you speak a second language already? Some students already speak two or more languages by the time theyre in college. They may have been paying extra close attention when taking their high school courses, they may come from a family background that spoke multiple languages within the home, or they may simply have a knack for languages.  Either way, a strategic way to get an A in a foreign language course is to take the course in a language youre already well versed in.  If you aced French in high school, and got a 5 on your AP French exam, why not continue to perfect your fluency at the college level while earning an excellent grade? Alternately, students who speak Japanese because that is how they generally converse with extended family will likely do very well in a college level Japanese course (READ: 5 Tips When Making a Final Decision About College). 2. Do you plan on traveling internationally on a regular basis? Students who are thinking about doing a lot of traveling after college should consider where they might like to spend the majority of their time.  For example, students who plan to spend a year traveling South America would probably benefit from classes in Spanish or Portuguese. On the other hand, students who are thinking about spending a good amount of time in Northwestern Europe may wish to look into French or German. It’s much easier to be a world traveler if you speak more than one language. 3. Do you plan to work for a large corporation with offices all over the world? Some students have aspirations to work for a large corporation that may eventually move them to a variety of different offices. Although most American employees will probably be somewhere within the large geography of the United States, there may also be offices in Tokyo, Paris, Berlin, Geneva and so on. Students who have specific corporations in mind are encouraged to do some research or talk with a current manager to find out if foreign language skills might help them get hired (READ: 5 Campus Resources You Shouldnt Miss). 4. Do you find that you have a knack for languages? Some people simply have a knack for languages, meaning they can pick up on the intricacies of foreign language skills more easily than most people. Students who are naturally gifted with languages should consider taking more than one language in college and using the third language as one of their elective credits. This may sound crazy to students who struggle with languages, but might be a great idea for their peers. Students who want to pick up a second and third language while in college may consider sticking to one category of languages, either the Germanic languages or the Romance languages for example, as they tend to be similar and follow the same basic grammar rules and sentence structure (READ: 5 Ways to Make New Friends as a Transfer Student). Once youve decided on a foreign language, dont hesitate to book a private Irvine foreign language tutor! Call us today for details. All blog entries, with the exception of guest bloggers, are written by Tutor Nerds. Are you an education professional? If so, email us at pr@tutornerds.com for guest blogging and collaborations. We want to make this the best free education resource in SoCal, so feel free to suggest what you would like to see us write.