Foreign Languages Majors (2024)

FAQs

What major is foreign languages? ›

Language Studies

In this major, you will master one specific language of your choice in addition to studying language structure and use in general. Graduates in Language Studies become translators and/or interpreters.

Foreign language study enhances one's opportunities in government, business, medicine, law, technology, military, industry, marketing, etc. A second language improves your skills and grades in math and English and on the SAT and GRE. Analytical skills improve when students study a foreign language.

Often used as the first benchmark in the pursuit towards a graduate program, the multi-language major is designed for students wanting to gain a significant level of proficiency in several languages as they prepare for careers in international development, foreign affairs or service to society, or for graduate school ...

Learning a language is tough—sometimes it feels impossible. So if you're majoring in one, you need to have the patience and diligence to study it for the long term. A language major means you'll be learning the language the rest of your life.

By all means study linguistics if you like to learn about languages, in which case you don't have to read the rest of my answer, because I agree with others that you should study linguistics.

Apart from Hindi and English the top four foreign languages with the most speakers in India are Mandarin Chinese, Spanish, Arabic, and French. Since Germany and Japan's economy has highly developed and is giving a lot of career opportunities to Indians the demand for German and Japanese languages is also high in India.

Foreign Language graduates pursue careers in business, education, government, and the non- profit sector, and some pursue advanced degrees.

In general, colleges want to see foreign language proficiency, and they don't really care which language you study. Most students, in fact, have few choices. Many schools offer just a couple of languages such as French and Spanish.

Majoring in a foreign language will help you:

Gain proficiency in another language. Improve your cognitive abilities as you develop the writing, speaking, and listening skills needed to be globally engaged.

Can you study 3 languages at once? ›

It can take up to two years to speak a language fluently, depending on how much you practice and how hard the language is. Can you learn three of them? If you learn two or three languages at the same time, it will (almost) take the same amount of time, but you will learn twice or three times as much.

How Many Languages Does the Average Person Speak? An average person can speak two to four languages in a lifetime. However, human brains work differently, and an average person's brain can handle a maximum of four languages. It takes one year to learn the basics of a language for an average person.

Category 1 languages are the easiest for a native English speaker to learn and include Danish, Dutch, French, Italian, Norwegian, Portuguese, Romanian, Spanish, Swedish.

Mandarin Chinese

Interestingly, the hardest language to learn is also the most widely spoken native language in the world. Mandarin Chinese is challenging for a number of reasons. First and foremost, the writing system is extremely difficult for English speakers (and anyone else) accustomed to the Latin alphabet.

Linguistics is, broadly, the scientific study of language, and many topics are studied under this umbrella.

Linguistics degrees usually take three or four years to complete depending on the country, or if you choose to study linguistics alongside a modern language, you may get the opportunity to undertake a longer course with one year spent studying abroad. Discover the world's top universities for linguistics.

Language studies is an interdisciplinary major offered by the Linguistics Department. It is designed to equip students with competence in a foreign language and, at the same time, provide them with an understanding of the general nature of human language—its structure and use.

The Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree program in Foreign Language prepares adults for career change, advancement or graduate education, while providing personal enrichment. The program focuses on linguistic skills, literary appreciation, and understanding people and their culture.