# I need help making a decision



## egnorth

*Language Experience:*
*English* - First language.
*Spanish* - Taken two years in high school.

*Interested in learning:*
*German* - I have several friends from Germany and am planning to go next summer, so I'd like to get some of it down before then.  I know a few phrases in German.
*French* - Not nearly as important as German, I've just always had an interest in the language.  Right now the only thing I know in French is the Chicken Dance song.  A friend from Germany taught me!

Should I go ahead and take my third year of Spanish this coming school year (my junior year) and try to begin learning some German at the same time, not take Spanish and focus more on German, or take Spanish and not bother with learning German until later?    My first two years of Spanish weren't too bad and the teacher and I get along very well.   I'm just confused, but recently have become extremely interested in the learning of foreign languages.  Thanks for the advice!

Eric


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## mm_matt

I Think you should continue your studies in spanish,
It is a beautiful language...


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## mm_matt

Espero que eso te ayude


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## egnorth

Gracias por el ayuda! Cualquier persona otro tiene una opinión?


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## jp337302

Spanish is definitely more useful. It will open so many doors to you not only in Spain but Latin America. But then again, German is throughout Europe in Germany, Austria, Switzerland...

I'm biased because I majored in Spanish at college, and I loved every momment of it. But there was a time when I had to choose between French and Spanish and I just had to discern it...and my heart lifted when i thought of spanish even though most of best friends went on to study french together.

If you're in high school...i would go forward with the same language you've been studying and get a good grasp on it before going ahead with another language...unless you don't like it so far.

If you still find yourself indifferent, again, like I said discern it (meditate on it for a moment) and see which choice "lifts your heart".

Good luck to you!!! i'm sure one day -- if you want -- you'll be speaking more than 3 languages!!!!


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## mm_matt

Yes, i could'nt agree more
Continue spanish and you will benefit from it in the future
Spanish is becoming spoken worldwide, it is a very useful language to learn!!


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## egnorth

These posts were very usefull 
Gracias!
Danke!
Thanks!


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## aragorn

Hello Eric
Free advice is generally worth less than what you paid but you did ask for it

Finish your Spanish in the formal system of the school and obtain whatever benefits you can from this as you may waste two years of already completed work

Absorb the German during your travels and give your German mates the opportunity to teach you their living language not that of a book

Good luck

Robert

all knowledge can be valuable


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## Wormentude

It's an interesting fact that Spanish (Castilian) is the fourth most commonly spoken language in the world. The three spoken more are Mandarin Chinese (mainly in China), Hindustani (Hindi and Urdu) and English. France is tenth and German is lower again. I can't remember of find the exact figure.

If you want my advice, I'd stick with Spanish. When I started learning it in Year 10, I only took it to fill a gap in my timetable. Now I love it and have carried it on as one of my 4 subjects to A-level. Spanish is also very similar to Italian. On our school trip to Spain in February, my teachers were talking to some Italian teachers. The Italians were speaking Italian and my teachers were speaking Spanish and they understood each other perfectly. It has similarities to French as well.

German, on the other hand, is not an easy language to learn. It has a very harsh, guttural sound and even my Spanish teacher (he teaches German too) prefers Spanish.

That's my advice. Espero que te ayude.

R.


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## egnorth

Thank you very much for your opinion.  It's probably what I'll end up doing.  Does anyone else have an opinion to share?


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## Papalote

Hello,

Same thing here. Finish Spanish in Highschool. Ask your German friends to give some useful phrases and advice about travelling in Germany. You´ll be learning a live language this way.

You can always take German and other languages in College.

Good luck!

P


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## jp337302

p.s. i'm a fellow Texan...born in San Antonio....

Buena suerte!!!

un abrazo!


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## Etcetera

I second Aragorn and Papalote's advice.
BTW, self-education isn't that bad, really! It's rather hard to learn German without a teacher, but I'm sure your friends will be glad to help you!

Good luck!


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## maxiogee

Never stop learning something in which you have invested two years. Take the last of the three years. 

The following figures are taken from Georgetown University's website

A major world language, French is spoken by over 100,000,000 people.
German is spoken by roughly 100,000,000 people world-wide. 
Spanish is spoken by over 250,000,000 people worldwide.

Why give up on the potential to talk to 2.5 times as many people as you could with either French or German? 
Finish the Spanish and then use the knowledge gained there to learn French.


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## Grateful2allU

Quisiera decir que casi no importa donde vayas en esta planeta, le va a encontrar a alguien que se puede hablar ingles o espanol, o ambos. 

Por eso, yo estudio el espanol (autodidactico). Y como ustedes pueden notar, yo tengo mucho trabajo que hacer. Ojala que todos pueden entender lo mayoria de lo que he escrito. Je, je.

Cuando tengas una combinacion de ingles y espanol -- tienes una lingua universal!

Y en este foro magnifico, se puede aprender frases y espresiones que no son, y nunca será disponibles in diccionarios y escuelas. Los amables foreros en este sitio son los mejores "profesores" en el mundo entero.

Mas consejo: mire mucha la televisor univision y telefutura para "tune up" (sintonizar) sus oidos.


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## egnorth

Gracias gentes!


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## KaRiNe_Fr

My poor advice: maybe you should ask yourself what is the purpose of learning a language... Is it to be "useful" and worldwide spoken? Is it because you are interested in the culture of the country (countries) and want to know more? So... It's up to you to decide, nobody knows your thoughts. 
And I don't say that because nobody tells you to learn French.


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## americana

I understand your situation completely becuase it is the same as mine in highschool.  I took Spanish my freshman and sophomore year and when my junior year came i wanted to learn something new, just becuase i was so interested in learning languages.  I continued with a third year of spanish, but took German I as well.  They didn't interfere with each other at all and i actually found it very interesting to see how the two compared.  If you want to learn German, go for it, but don't stop learning Spanish.

PS.  I went on to take French 1 my senior year then majored in Spanish in college.  It's turned out to be very useful in these times here in the US.


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## maxiogee

I agree with KaRiNe Fr (what a typographical mess that is!)

Why are you learning another — any other — language.
Surely that is the first thing one should decide before one settles down to do the deed?


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## JimPojke

I agree with Karine_Fr. I think the most important thing you should consider is motivation. If you're motivated to study german (because of the trip) or french (because of *your own interest*). Then you should try it.

You could take 2 at the same time, and try it to see if it works, just be sure to finish what you have started. And, even though learning a language by living in the country is a great idea, you must attend courses, because that's where they teach you how to speak it well, not only everyday language. 

Good Luck!


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## Eugin

Hi egnorth!

Probably my opinion will not be as useful as the others from English native speakers, but I myself have studied both German, French and Italian.
And what I can gather from those experiences is that *m o t i v a t i o n* is the key to everything, as the the other foreros have suggested.

I began studying German when I was 7, at the same time I began learning English, but only because my family has a German origin. I studied it for 10 years. Can I speak German nowadays? No. Can I write it, read it or understand it? Almost nothing. Summary: 10 years thrown to the garbage.
I tried to study German again when I was 25, but didn´t succeed. I just didn´t like it. As others have said, it has a very complex structure and the Dativ, Akusativ and Genitivie was driving me crazy.

Then I studied French at school for 2 years and again, it was as if I was forced to study it (I didn`t choose it). And the same happens here: I can read it, but cannot write it nor speak it and, even worse, understand it when I listen to it.

But, in the end, I had the chance to travel to Italy and I myself decided to began studying it because I wanted to speak to the native people in their language. I studied it with a real pleasure and, once in Italy, I had no problem to make myself understood with the "Italianos". They even congratulated me for that. 

Anyway, I hope you can see my point with everything I have written. 
You have to decide depending on tastes and purposes, but mostly, drive, motivation... that is basic to start learning a new language!!

Good Luck!!!!!! and welcome to the forums, by the way!!


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## egnorth

Thanks for all of the advice.  

Spanish: Tons of people who only speak Spanish here.
French: Might be interested in taking a class in college or something.
German: I have several friends there who I'd like to be able to speak with in German.  I know should definitely stick with Spanish, but I'd say chances are I'll begin casually learning German on the side.


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## danielfranco

Howdy, neighbor!
It seems that in this here state of Texas the most useful thing to do would be to continue your Spanish lessons. As you start considering your options for a career, remember that a bit more than a whole tenth of people living in America speak Spanish as a primary language.
But I might be biased: my mother tongue is Spanish!
You be good, y'hear?


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## SimoneW

Hi Eric,

Any additional language is an asset. So if you like learning a language you must certainly do it. But don't give up learning one language if you like to learn others. You can easily learn more languages at the same time. And learn as much when you are young!
Please also consider what you want do with the language. If you plan to try and work for some time in Europe you won't get far with just Spanish. (only spain and ok Italian is quite similar).


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## Sallyb36

I hated german, I did 4 years and hardly remember anything.  It was more like maths than learning a language.


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## mytwolangs

You can find Spanish anywhere, especially in Texas. German may be harder to come by. And if you are gonna go to Germany or some German speaking country, why not concentrate on that for now? 
You can kind of keep up with the spanish to keep the gears oiled, but I say take advantage of the opportunity to learn some German.


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## Cracker Jack

Hi eg.  My two cents worth.  Study Spanish until you develop proficiency.  What I mean is that it should be continuous and uninterrupted.  The higher you go, you also gain momentum.  Every second counts.  Do not just limit yourself to studying grammar.  Develop an attitude and don't get frustrated if you feel you are not moving on.

Aside from grammar, you also have to read a lot.  In order to enrich your vocabulary, read online materials.

www.elpais.es
www.lavanguardia.es
www.periodico.com
www.elmundo.es
www.abc.es

I think these are more than enough for you.  List down the words you don't understand and look it up in the WR dictionaries online.  As you go along, practice writing and composition at WR and try using a monolingual dictionary as reference.

You can also watch movies and news in Spanish if you have cable TV.  If there is any chance talk with native speakers and maintain an open-minded attitude towards corrections.  Do not be slighted if you are being corrected.  Learn from native speakers idiomatic expressions.

Once you are through with your Spanish.  You can try other languages.  Or you can even try to test your proficiency by taking DELE.  If it is feasible, try to go to a Spanish-speaking country and spend time there.  Be adventurous by shopping using Spanish.  Try calling using Spanish.

If you are capable, you can opt for 2 or even 3 languages at a time.  But it depends on your capacity.  If you feel you can't make it, hang on with Spanish and resume the others later.  As for German, the probable difficulty that you will encounter is the gender of nouns, syntax and declination.  However, if you master Spanish, it will be easy to study French because the Romance language more or less are gramatically and lexically related.  Good luck.


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