Suggestions for a language to learn

[u/Acceptable_Hyena_759]

For someone who has English as first language and has learnt French and German to a fairly advanced level without achieving fluency, what would be a good language to learn?

I'm looking for a language that is:

-phonetically clear, unlike French where I feel the sounds are kinda swallowed and melding together, making it hard to understand aurally

-appreciated by the locals when you learn and speak it, actively encouraged (unlike most places in Western Europe where they'll just want to speak English to you as it's easier for them).

-spoken in a country where English tutors are in high demand.

[u/rosy_fingereddawn]

Spanish is extremely phonetic. It would feel like a breath of lovely fresh air after French. The spanish speakers (all from LatinAm I should mention) I’ve met all have been very friendly and enthusiastic about my learning. Your knowledge of French and to a lesser extent English would make learning it relatively easy as well. I can’t speak too much for the tutor aspect but it would unlock a massive region for you.

I hate to turn your post into a question for me, but how was learning German for you considering your knowledge of French and English? I’m native in English and intermediate in French and Spanish and lately have been thinking about trying to learn German down the line but I’ve been anxious about the difficulty. We could DM if you’d prefer

[u/Acceptable_Hyena_759 → u/rosy_fingereddawn]

I didn't find German any more difficult to learn than french. Listening comprehension is much easier. Grammar might be a little more complex, with cases, three genders and a different word order (verb at the end sometimes). But you feel really accomplished when you get into a rhythm with that.

[u/Upper_Grapefruit_521]

I think Spanish is good as it's phonetic and so widely spoken. Every Spanish speaking country typically has people who are interested in learning English. I did French and German at school but enjoy Spanish so much.

[u/Optimal-Stomach9453]

Spanish

[u/AdministrationNo2327]

mandarin

[u/creswitch]

Indonesian. Has the same word order as English, widely spoken (top 10), no conjugations, cases or genders. And the writing is mostly phonetic.

[u/banyanflashcardsapp]

Based on your description you could consider Japanese:

- Similar sounds to English, not too hard for an English speaker to pronounce and hear. Not tonal.

• Encouraging locals / English teachers in demand - wouldn’t surprise me if these were the case.

[u/StealthMischief]

Try Turkish

[u/FaithlessnessLazy236]

spanish, portuguese, italian, ukrainian, romanian, indonesian, turkish, vietnamese and a lot more ;-;

[u/ZumLernen]

r/thisorthatlanguage

[u/UntrustedProcess]

Filipino meets the first two, but not the third. They already mostly speak great English. 

[u/Top-Vacation-4429]

I'm glad I learned Dutch. It has opened so many doors!

[u/Acceptable_Hyena_759 → u/Top-Vacation-4429]

Has it really? How so? I love the comedian Derek Mitchell, if you know him and his observations on Dutch people

[u/asad100101]

for mental challenge I would recommend Russian . people say it is the hardest language with six cases and with a different writing alphabet which is not similar to English . I think you should try to learn something that also challenges your brain cells

[u/Ecstatic-Island-9778]

Spanish........................................................

[u/Solid-Potential4948]

Mandarin. It is just so cool.

[u/EchoWolf0711]

Brazilian Portuguese for sure. Maybe Spanish, but we're cooler 😎

[u/Time-Priority949]

Korean jibrish! You get to hobnob with the kpops

[u/SublimeRapier06]

Korean. You even TRY to speak Korean to them, and they are so appreciative. You speak Korean well, and they absolutely love you.

[u/SpeakDuo]

How about Arabic? If you can manage the gutteral sounds in German, I think you can also take on Arabic. The people will look upon you as a maverick and maybe even a peace-maker for having learned it.