Learn French as a Second Language for a World of Opportunities

As an Englishman living and working in France I'm one of those people who had to learn French as a second language and I have to say it's been of huge benefit both from a business and personal point of view.

But why French, you might ask. People say that Chinese is the most spoken language in the world, English second and Spanish third, why do I suggest learning French - apart from the fact I'm quite obviously biased!

Well Chinese may be the most spoken language but that's simply a population thing - it's not spoken much outside China and its dependents. Unless your business is specifically with China there isn't much commercial advantage. You probably won't visit many Chinese speaking countries on holiday either.

English is obviously very useful and probably the world's first second language, by which I mean if you're Chinese you learn English, if you're Russian you learn English, if you're German, Moroccan, etc.

Spanish is spoken in Spain, is common in a lot of the southern US and all but one of the countries in South America speak it. Very useful if you're on holiday but limited commercial possibilities.

It might surprise you to know that French is the sole official language of 33 different countries. It's additionally the official language of another 16 countries which have two official languages like Belgium and Canada.

You can add another couple of dozen where French is important because of significant French-speaking populations from Brazil to Vietnam, from Egypt to Trinidad. In all, something in the region of 200 million people speak French every day.

If that wasn't enough incentive to learn French as a second language there are many well-known international organizations that have French as their official language. Interpol, Amnesty International, The Red Cross (and Red Crescent), The United Nations, The International Olympic Committee, The World Health organization...

So if you're looking for a language that's useful in business, consider learning French. It's not only useful in France itself but Belgium and Switzerland in Europe. It's an official Canadian language of course and it's used in many countries in North Africa. It's also frequently used in the Middle East and Asia and several of the south sea or Polynesian islands like Hawaii. It's even used in the Arctic!

Obviously the same goes if you're going on holiday. If you learn French as a second language you're going to be understood - and dare I say it, better treated - in literally dozens of countries. You might even like one of them so much you end up living there like I did!

Learning a second language isn't ever easy, but modern language systems like the ones you can download use immersion techniques and entertaining interactive lessons and games to make learning French faster and with better retention. Some claim, with justification, to be able to get you to a competent level of French in just a couple of months.

So how about a business trip to Burundi or a layover in Luxembourg? How about a sojourn in Senegal or a trip to Togo? Learning French as a second language literally opens up a whole world of possibilities.

Get free, independent advice on how to learn French as a second language plus six free professional French lessons at How 2 Learn French.