10 best languages to learn right now

This is an interesting list of languages, compiled on the basis of the numbers of community speakers of these languages in the USA - and also the prospects of using these languages in international business. The list of 10 best languages to learn right now comprises:

1. Spanish
2. Chinese
3. French
4. German
5. Tagalog
6. Vietnamese
7. Korean
8. Polish
9. Russian
10. Italian

What would such a list look like from a UK point of view? We often talk about the "best" foreign language for us to learn, but weighing up the various reasons for learning a particular foreign language is not easy. As native speakers of English we find life far too easy travelling around a world where English is so widely spoken both as a first and as a second language.

French is currently the No. 1 language that is taught in UK schools, mainly for historical reasons and because France is our nearest neighbour, but strong arguments have been put forward for learning Spanish, German, Chinese and Japanese too.

And what about our community languages? Polish or Panjabi might be the first choice in the area where I live.

What do you think?

Top 25 world languages blogs

We are delighted to announce that the ICT4LT blog has been listed at No. 15 in the Top 25 languages blogs.

No. 1 on the list is Lisa Stevens' blog ¡Vámonos! - a useful and entertaining blog for primary school language teachers. We list Lisa's blog - and many others - in Section 12.2.2 of Module 1.5 at the ICT4LT site under the heading Useful blogs created by and for language teachers.