Euroasia: Language, Culture and Travel

Spanish. We consistently have more students for Spanish than for the other languages. Although in the past we used to have more learners of French and German, we have found that more New Zealanders are now interested in Spanish.

Why is this? It could be because Latin America is fast becoming a popular travel destination. Spanish culture is also becoming more mainstream. Just look at the number of tapas bars and salsa schools in town. New Zealand also has a Free Trade Agreement with Chile and does a lot of business with Spanish-speaking countries. Spanish is also perceived to be a relatively easy language to learn.

A related question is “Which is the fastest growing language?” The answer is Chinese Mandarin. Given the perception that Chinese is a hard language to learn, this is somewhat surprising. So why are more New Zealanders interested in Mandarin these days? It could be to do with the fact that China’s economy is fast-growing, and New Zealand is increasingly doing more business with China. China recently overtook Japan as the world’s second largest economy. China also beat Germany as the world’s largest exporter in 2010. At this rate, New Zealand will be more reliant on China not just as a source of imports, but also a large market for our exporters.

We recently covered the topic Which language should I learn? 

More on why learn a language and why learn with Euroasia.

FAQs previously covered:

1. Why is it a good idea to learn a foreign language

2. What does learning a language really involve?

3. What’s the best way to learn a foreign language?

4. As an adult, can you learn a language the same way that you did as a child?

5. How can I obtain instant/magic results in learning a language?

6. How long will it take me to learn a language?

Posted via web from Euroasia

From the point of view of children learning their first language, no! Children around the world acquire language at pretty much the same rate. But as adults learning a second language, we are likely to find languages which are more closely related to our own easier than others.

For example, German is easier for a native English speaker than say Chinese because for starters, you can actually read the German alphabet, but Chinese script is somewhat more complex.

Willkommen bei Deutsch! (German) vs 欢迎 学 汉语 (Chinese)

Although in the case of Chinese, we would simplify this for English-speakers by teaching you pinyin, the Romanised system that would enable English speakers to learn Mandarin without having to learn the script.

For example, 欢迎 学 汉语  becomes Huān yíng xué Hàn Yǔ.

With languages from the same family, say Romance languages eg Spanish, French, Italian; there are vast similarities, so knowing one language would give you a significant advantage in learning another. Some say French is harder than Spanish, or that Spanish is harder than Italian, but ultimately we think the difference is not huge, so choose the language you prefer to learn.

We recently covered the topic Which language should I learn? 

In the next few days, we’ll be answering the question “which is the most popular language?”.

More on why learn a language and why learn with Euroasia.

FAQs previously covered:

1. Why is it a good idea to learn a foreign language

2. What does learning a language really involve?

3. What’s the best way to learn a foreign language?

4. As an adult, can you learn a language the same way that you did as a child?

5. How can I obtain instant/magic results in learning a language?

6. How long will it take me to learn a language?

Posted via web from Euroasia

Many people will have a particular reason for learning a certain language. If you just have a desire to experience foreign language learning, it doesn’t really matter which one you choose. Which country or culture interests you?

For example, at Euroasia, one of the languages we offer is Italian. Despite the fact that not many people speak Italian outside of Italy, we continue to get enrolments for Italian courses. We believe this is because New Zealanders are fascinated with Italy; Italian brands, Italian architecture and generally all things Italian!

Some people learn a language for business reasons. Various international organisations adopt “working languages” for day-to-day communications. Your career prospects would certainly be brighter if you are fluent in at least major one language other than English. Some examples of key working languages:  

More on why learn a language and why learn with Euroasia.

FAQs previously covered:

1. Why is it a good idea to learn a foreign language

2. What does learning a language really involve?

3. What’s the best way to learn a foreign language?

4. As an adult, can you learn a language the same way that you did as a child?

5. How can I obtain instant/magic results in learning a language?

6. How long will it take me to learn a language?

Posted via web from Euroasia