More Than Money 4 of the Most Profitable Languages to Learn

More Than Money 4 of the Most Profitable Languages to Learn More Than Money: 4 of the Most Profitable Languages to Learn As youre reading this, I can assume you want to learn a language.But why do you want to?There are as many reasons for learning languages as there are languages themselves.Theres travel, food, peopleâ€"and money.Yes, money is most often the chief reason cited for someone being interested in languages.But there really is no single language thats a perfect moneymaker.If youre in a small and isolated community, you might speak all the languages of the EU for nothing because you cant even buy lunch without the local language.Even rarer languages that are mostly spoken by bilinguals can be profitable if you find your niche.In addition, we can look at profitability in a broader sense. The language that will be personally profitable to you varies depending on what you want to do with it and what your goals are.With that in mind, lets look at some of the most profitable languages on a global scaleâ€"taking more than just money into account. Why Its Still Worth It to Learn LanguagesYou might have read something about how machine translation or the spread of English means that language learning is a waste of time these days.That couldnt be further from the truth. Many speakers of the languages on the list below dont have the best English skills. Even in Western countries with widespread English education, people will always understandably prefer to speak their own native languages because its simply more comfortable for them. And if youre doing business overseas, youll certainly want your clients to be as comfortable as possible!Furthermore, executives and decision-makers in many countries fully expect foreign investors to use an interpreter. When you show up speaking their language on your own, you send an incredibly strong signal that youre willing to put in the time and effort to connect with their culture.More Than Money: 4 of the Most Profitable Languages to LearnMandarinMandarin Chinese is spoken as a lingua franca all across China and Taiwan, as well as in the Chi nese communities of Singapore and Malaysia. Many overseas Chinese people in other parts of the world also use Mandarin to communicate.Why Its ValuablePerhaps youve seen the little phrase Made in China?Any supply chain in the world is likely somehow connected to China, whether its sourcing products directly from the country, or relying on a particular machine part or packaging produced in China.In addition to manufacturing and logistics, though, tourism is actually another great industry where you can use Mandarin. Chinas population and economy has been booming for years, and every year millions of Mandarin speakers go abroad to see the rest of the world. If your hotel, resort or tour agency has a Mandarin speaker on staff, youre likely to get a lot of repeat business.How You Can LearnMandarin grammar is relatively easy for English speakers to pick up, as theres no conjugation or declension.However, youll have to pay a lot of attention to pronunciation, so find a good course with aud io and lay a strong foundation in mastering those tricky tones. FluentU is a great option for this, as it allows you to learn with authentic native speech from the very beginning. FluentU takes real-world videosâ€"like movie trailers, music videos, news and inspiring talksâ€"and turns them into personalized language lessons. Check it out for our next language (Russian), too!RussianRussian is spoken all over Russia (no surprise), Central Asia, Eastern Europe and in large and thriving diaspora communities worldwide.Russian is actually the second most represented language on the internet  after English.Why Its ValuableMuch like with Mandarin, Russian speakers are going abroad now more than ever, ready and willing to pay for tourist amenities wherever they go. Unlike many tourists from other countries, Russians often dont speak fluent English, which creates a market for Russian-language services in English-speaking countries (as well as other countries where Russian isnt commonly spoken ).And any company, regardless of industry, with eyes on Russia is going to need speakers of Russian to help them close their deals.How You Can LearnRussian might be one of the hardest European languages for English speakers to learn. Its grammar is quite complex and thanks to a long literary tradition there are all kinds of idioms and colloquialisms in common use. But that doesnt mean it cant be done, and the challenge makes the reward all the greater.The best way to tackle Russian is by first getting a strong handle on the grammar, and then doing a lot of reading and listening to absorb the natural patterns as best you can.ArabicArabic is spoken in more than 20 countries across the Middle East and North Africa. The situation with learning Arabic is a little complicated as there are dozens of different vernacular dialects as well as a standardized formal language used in news and writing.So if youre looking for a challenge, look no further!Why Its ValuableThe first thing a lot of pe ople in Western countries likely think of when they think of Arabic and money is oil. And its true, theres a lot of oil in a lot of Arabic-speaking countries.But have you considered marketing?The Middle East is developing at an astonishing pace. More and more people are finding themselves with spending moneyâ€"and foreign businesses are rushing to take it. With knowledge of Arabic languages and cultures, you can position yourself as a valuable go-between for brands looking to break into a particular up-and-coming market.How You Can LearnArabic presents a number of challenges to the foreign learner, but more and more good resources are coming out.Generally, people looking to make connections with locals will want to learn a spoken dialect in addition to the standardized formal language. But you dont have to worry about learning every dialectâ€"most speakers can understand Modern Standard Arabic and the dialects of their neighboring countries.PortuguesePortuguese is spoken mainly in P ortugal and Brazil, though the Brazilian variety is most commonly learned by foreigners because of its massive population of speakersâ€"more than 200 million.Apart from those two countries, its also an official language in six African countries, bringing its total speaker count over 250 million.Why Its ValuableBrazil is an enormous place teeming with diversity. You can find luxury high-rises, beautiful beaches, dense rainforests and uncontacted indigenous tribes all in the same country.Financially and historically, Brazils natural resources have been its largest draws. Lumber from the rare trees in the immense forests is prized worldwide, and huge swathes of land are dedicated to raising animals and plants.However, these industries competing with the natural world have made Brazil an important place for  organizations dedicated to preserving the untouched rainforest. And anyone interested in being a part of these organizations will likely need to speak Portuguese (or at least greatl y benefit from doing so).But dont forget, although the focus in business Portuguese is on Brazil, theres an entire Lusophone world out there to explore.Any country with business in South America, Central Africa and Europe likely has a need for Portuguese speakersâ€"and that could be you.How You Can LearnPortuguese might be one of the easiest languages for English speakers on this list as its a closely related European language.Surprisingly, its often relatively difficult to find classes or courses in Portuguese because it kind of lives in the shadow of its cousin Spanish. However, there are some great apps you can use to learn Brazilian Portuguese. And if youre interested in European Portuguese, check out this awesome resource guide.Portuguese speakers, incidentally, are known to be extremely appreciative of people putting in the effort to learn their language instead of simply speaking Spanish louder and slower.For all the financial benefits that appear in this article, money alone probably isnt going to be enough to keep you invested in a language all the way to fluency.Learning takes time and effort, and its made a million times easier if you have some sort of intrinsic interest in the language as well.There are a hundred reasons to learn any language that dont have a thing to do with the money you might be able to make. Youre picking up more than a line on your resumeâ€"youre picking up a connection to other people.Keep that in mind during your journey. Learn a language, and youll be a more valuable person in every respect.And the extra cash doesnt hurt.