Freestyla

I'm only a senior in high school, but I think I would like to study abroad in Japan or China once I get into college.

I want to major in something involving business or economics, but I don't know how I could tie that with Japan or China. I don't know anything about asian languages and I heard they are very difficult to learn, so I don't know if it would be smart to even go to either country.

Can anyone enlighten me?

Twirlonwater

You could always consider learning one of those languages. Yes, they are very hard. But, it could help you years later once you are in the business world. It is always a good thing to speak addtional languages.

Freestyla

I know it's good... I'm currently taking Spanish in high school. I wish Japanese was offered. I really have no interest in Spanish so I don't know really what I should do. I feel like I would be so far behind everyone if I only started learning Japanese or Chinese as a freshman in college. Gah... I need guidance!

Twirlonwater

Ok, here is a real-life example. I worked a camp last year that has a variety of international staff members. One of the people started college her freshman year of college. She was currently at her beginning of her junior year. So, she learned an entire language to fluency in two years from scratch and thats English, with all of our weird sayings and everything. Tons of people start languages in college at first. In the business world, oriental languages are really important. If you want to learn it, you can do it! My friend picked up enough Japan in a year to study abroad. If there is a will, there is a way. You can do it!

tehlikeli ask

omg you will definitely learn it if you go abroad for a year, I think Turkish is probably just as foreign as Japanese, as far as speaking goes, and I learned it in a year without any prior knowledge. Its not about how "smart" you are, but how dedicated you are to learning the language. If you insist on speaking English, of course you will not learn, but if you really push and immerse yourself, I'm sure you'll succeed

tehlikeli ask

also I think, as a business major, going to China or Japan would add wonders. I don't know where I heard this, but apparently Chinese is the most important language to know in the business world, as so much of our manufacturing, production, and business dealings take place there. (apologies if this is not accurate, I'm kind of ignorant when it comes to business)

BillZheng

Many people think it is so difficult to learn another country's languange before they just want to know it . Actually they are not really interested in it . Because before you decide to learn another language , you will go to collect this country's any information and you will get some ways to learn this language . I am from China . It is very happy to share something with you .

Freestyla

I know this topic is extremely old, but I'm bumping it back up because I'd like to know more about this subject. I'm attending Bentley College next year and it offers beginners classes in both Japanese and Chinese, but I don't know what I should do. Is it a waste of time and effort to begin Chinese when I'm already pretty good at spanish? I don't find spanish very interesting though and I don't know how it could benefit my business career.

boho_girl

I've been studying italian for 7 years because I basically had no choice (only lingo offered) and I realized it's completely useless unless I want to study art history or eventually plan to live in italy (nay and nay).
So I want to take French and if at all possible, Chinese, once I get into college since I need French in my future desired career and I have a desire to speak Chinese. But all of this applies if my future school offers those lingos.

My point is, why studying something you're not interested in?
I hear Spanish is very useful in the business world since there is a whole Latin-American market, but if you're already pretty good in it, why not try something new? You can always refresh your memory if you need it later in life.
Posters above had mentioned that learning a language in college is very much possible and that Chinese might be the next important language to know in business world. There's also a saying "The more languages you know, you worth more."

Could you talk about it with your (college) counselor or someone who knows about careers?
Or if you want to wait until you start college, would it be possible to talk about this topic with your college adviser once you start signing up for classes?

Freestyla

I think once the registration of classes at my new school comes a bit nearer, I'll probably meet with someone at my college. However, for now, I e-mailed the foreign language department for information on their Chinese courses.