Poll: Most useful foreign language to learn?

[Lukkie]

hindi so you can watch bollywood movies

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[JeanLuc]

Spanish is the obvious answer. However, one thing that interests me is the comparison between US francophones/francophone physicians and US hispanophones/hispanophone physicians. I'm wondering about what kind of ease of communication there is for the Francophones and their physicians, especially in South Florida.

The Haitian community in South FL seems large enough to not be forced into adopting English as a primary local language (as is the case with Spanish nationally). I've never looked into that issue before...

 

[Chemist0157]

Spanish. The poll results aren't really a shocker, you know? I wouldn't even consider learning another language besides Spanish unless I was going out of the country for a good while.

 

[MiguelSanchez]

Much like the best diet is the one you stick to, the best language is the one you want to learn. As important as Spanish is, if you don't like it or have an affinity for it, you won't get nearly as far as you will pursing your interest in another language. Over the course of your career, any language you choose will come in handy once or twice, regardless of the field.

For the record, I voted Spanish. But I have some other thoughts to offer.

In the US, barring specific regional variations, Spanish is the best way to go for dealing with patients. If you want to be able to talk to all the nurses and techs (or eavesdrop on their lunch conversations...), Tagalog is also a great choice.

Haha, yeah, I never thought about that. Learn Tagalog and you can see what most of the hospital staff thinks of you, actually that will probably be even more useful since you can probably find a Spanish translator wherever you work if there are enough Spanish speaking patients to make a difference.

It can be pretty painful, though, to sit at a computer while you try to write notes and do your floor work while the constant chatter of about 3 different Spanish soap operas coming out of patients' rooms (two of whom are asleep) and 2-3 conversations in Tagalog between nurses.

 

[Narmerguy]

LOL! Over a year later and still not a single vote for German or Japanese.

 

[Loon]

If you want to study cancer or aging (or hundreds of faddish forms of altmed), Japanese is a great choice. Japan has awesome cancer care.

Of course, I still wouldn't want to be sick there.

 

[sarahl86]

As a general useful language, definitely Spanish.

But as someone fluent in ASL and working with Deaf patients every day, there is a HUGE lack of professionals who know ASL enough to be able to really work with patients. Unlike many other cultures and languages the education levels of Deaf populations vary significantly which makes treatment in any setting more difficult - with or without an interpreter. Not to mention a lack of standardized certification requirements for sign language interpreters and if they don't really understand medical terminology and concenpts they are more or less useless. I see it all the time.

Proportionally speaking, substaintially fewer people know ASL well enough to use it with patients compared to those who know Spanish. And it has a tremendously negative impact on efficacy of treatment for these patients. So I'm a little biased and have found knowing ASL to be fairly demanding and hopefully a huge asset to me in this application cycle not only for the novelty of saying "Yeah, I know ASL, and no its not the same as the sign language they use in different countries" but primarily because I know that the community really needs medical professionals who understand their language and culture (yes, a Deaf culture does exist, thus Deaf, not deaf). Lipreading, using a pen and paper, and even interpreters just isn't enough.

 

[greatnt249]

In the US, barring specific regional variations, Spanish is the best way to go for dealing with patients. If you want to be able to talk to all the nurses and techs (or eavesdrop on their lunch conversations...), Tagalog is also a great choice.

I'm sorry, I just have to ask; where is it that Tagalog is such a popular language? I wasn't aware that the United States had such a large Filipino population.

 

[ButImLETired]

Spanish, mostly because there are plenty of Asian physicians so I doubt we'd be lacking in Chinese speakers at a hospital. Hispanics are by definition underrepresented, so spanish-speaking physicians are probably needed more badly.

 

[deleted74029]

l33tsp33k? I just pwn3d this thread! I roxxors!

 

[savant]

 

[What up doc]

Other: igbo

Ndi Igbo Kwenu!

 

[Signaq]

I start my Conversational Inupiaq class next week. Hoo-rah!

 

[Loon]

I'm sorry, I just have to ask; where is it that Tagalog is such a popular language? I wasn't aware that the United States had such a large Filipino population.

Now that I think about it, I can't speak for the rest of the country, but California has tons of Filipinos. A large portion of the staff at pretty much every facility I have encountered is Filipino.

 

[aebvd97]

Spanish is the obvious answer. Like LET said, there are a small number of Spanish-speaking physicians. Notice, also, that many urban universities also have some sort of free clinic that serves a large number of Spanish-speaking patients. Entonces, por su puesto, el espanol es el mejor!

 

[8744]

Spanish is the obvious answer. Like LET said, there are a small number of Spanish-speaking physicians. Notice, also, that many urban universities also have some sort of free clinic that serves a large number of Spanish-speaking patients. Entonces, por su puesto, el espanol es el mejor!

Spanish? Why learn a dead language that nobody speaks except people who live in Spainland?

 

[Nemuri]

Spanish? Why learn a dead language that nobody speaks except people who live in Spainland?

What this man said! Learn mexican instead

 

[katarina90]

Now that I think about it, I can't speak for the rest of the country, but California has tons of Filipinos. A large portion of the staff at pretty much every facility I have encountered is Filipino.

Oh, definitely. It depends on what part of the U.S., but I know that Buffalo and Las Vegas both have pretty sizeable Filipino populations. (I'm half Filipino (on my dad's side) but he never taught me any of the language because he didn't feel it was necessary, in retrospect it probably would have been a good thing to learn).

I voted Spanish, though, the obvious answer because of the huge immigrant population here. I took three years of Spanish in high school. I do think all the other languages are useful, though. I took Russian this past semester (have been self-teaching since HS, have quite a few Russian friends) and I think learning a less common language sets you apart from others.

Walk into a hospital here and you're certain to find at least a few Spanish speakers, but you might not find any fluent in Chinese/Russian/Japanese/etc. (although they do have some kind of phone translation thing, but still). Kind of scary given the huge numbers of international tourists in Vegas.

 

[Loon]

Walk into a hospital here and you're certain to find at least a few Spanish speakers, but you might not find any fluent in Chinese/Russian/Japanese/etc. (although they do have some kind of phone translation thing, but still). Kind of scary given the huge numbers of international tourists in Vegas.

Just to clarify, you think a Japanese-speaking doctor might be a hot commodity in vegas? What specialties in particular might be in demand?

 

[diosa428]

Spanish, mostly because there are plenty of Asian physicians so I doubt we'd be lacking in Chinese speakers at a hospital. Hispanics are by definition underrepresented, so spanish-speaking physicians are probably needed more badly.

Most of the Asian med students/doctors I know speak Chinese rarely and not very well (and certainly not well enough to complete a medical interview in Chinese). However, there is usually SOMEONE around who can speak Spanish, especially in areas where there is a large Spanish population. The number of people in healthcare (doctors, nurses, med students, etc) who can speak Spanish is increasing pretty rapidly due to need. With that said, it's probably still more useful to learn Spanish unless you're going to be practicing somewhere where you definitely know there is going to be a large population who speak some other language.

I'm surprised that no one has said Portuguese... I guess maybe that's a Rhode Island/Eastern MA thing?

 

[ChemEngMD]

Most of the Asian med students/doctors I know speak Chinese rarely and not very well (and certainly not well enough to complete a medical interview in Chinese). However, there is usually SOMEONE around who can speak Spanish, especially in areas where there is a large Spanish population. The number of people in healthcare (doctors, nurses, med students, etc) who can speak Spanish is increasing pretty rapidly due to need. With that said, it's probably still more useful to learn Spanish unless you're going to be practicing somewhere where you definitely know there is going to be a large population who speak some other language.

I'm surprised that no one has said Portuguese... I guess maybe that's a Rhode Island/Eastern MA thing?

Ding ding! Yeah Portguesas are really highly populated in Eastern Mass and Rhode Island...but not much elsewhere.

As for the Spanish goes! And it's not just because I'm Hispanic lol But as a volunteer at a hospital I have had to frequently call upon my power to help out patients....because where I live very few physicians speak Spanish...however many speak Arabic.

 

[katarina90]

Just to clarify, you think a Japanese-speaking doctor might be a hot commodity in vegas? What specialties in particular might be in demand?

Definitely. I would say that a significant majority of international tourists here are from Japan. Also a sizeable proportion from China and Eastern Europe. So I would say Japanese would be incredibly useful, followed by Chinese (I know that there's multiple dialects...I'm not sure as to which is the most commonly spoken though), and Russian.

 

[renzie7]

well im a nursing major and i beleive that where i go to school at we are close to the border of mexico and i work part time and some people will come up to me and start talking spanish to me i feel bad because i will tell them i do not speak espanol, some smile with a wink in their eye while others know english and spanish but always tell me i need to learn. i get affended in one way because one im native amercian and i know my language and two english is the first language everyone should learn that first. I know we leave close the border, but i beleive that not everyone speaks spanish. In a way i bite my tongue but i belive that in a good way i should also learn to speak it also because it would help me benefit me in my future career as a nurse. I could have a patient that only speaks spanish and i could be bilingual and translate to a doctor.

 

[chrisski]

Undoubtedly Latin!(Although you can't speak it). Learning Latin allows for understanding of French, Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese. It also makes learning them quite a bit easier. In addition, it helps with the english language and english medical terminology....

Anche, Io penso che Italiano è una bella lingua.

 

[ziggydoc]

well im a nursing major and i beleive that where i go to school at we are close to the border of mexico and i work part time and some people will come up to me and start talking spanish to me i feel bad because i will tell them i do not speak espanol, some smile with a wink in their eye while others know english and spanish but always tell me i need to learn. i get affended in one way because one im native amercian and i know my language and two english is the first language everyone should learn that first. I know we leave close the border, but i beleive that not everyone speaks spanish. In a way i bite my tongue but i belive that in a good way i should also learn to speak it also because it would help me benefit me in my future career as a nurse. I could have a patient that only speaks spanish and i could be bilingual and translate to a doctor.

your English could use a little help as well. I am all for typing fast and shortening stuff, but honestly, this hurts my eyes.

 

[guyski79]

Esperanto!

The language of the future!

 

[c5212]

Good 'ole Espanol.
How many people have you ran across in the US who speak "Hindi/Urdu/Bengali"

No competition here.

 

[Eyti]

I voted "other" - the language of behavior.
Spanish has the obvious great benefits of opening yourself up to Spanish-speaking Americans, but behavior is universal.

What do you do when you get a Haitian patient who barely knows English and does not speak Spanish?
How are you going to communicate. I think that for the benefit of these patients it is most helpful if you know how to examine behavior.

 

[familyaerospace]

Undoubtedly Latin!(Although you can't speak it). Learning Latin allows for understanding of French, Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese. It also makes learning them quite a bit easier. In addition, it helps with the english language and english medical terminology....

Anche, Io penso che Italiano è una bella lingua.

Actually this is why I voted for Other. I was thinking Latin. Latin is also useful in learning Romanian as well. I've had a year of Spanish in middle school (I hated it), 2 years of French in high school (liked it), 2 semesters of Latin in college (I loved reading it, hated writing it), and I've been studying Romanian (I love it) on my own a little bit for several years.

If I could chose to be fluent in three languages, they would be Romanian (personal interest), Russian (I work with a lot of Russians), and French (useful).

 

[KJ2501]

Granted this thread is really old, but in my area bosnian is probably the best to learn. There are thousands of bosnians, many who cannot speak english. However, there is not a constant flow of bosnians coming in any more and most of the kids do speak english. So i guess in retrospect it will be better to learn somthing else because by the time i'm done with school all of them will know english.

 

[HurricaneKatt]

Sign Language

 

[CaliGirl14]

C++

 

[Quantum Mecha]

Where are your priorities? Assembly.

Binary.
oh the horrible memories of programming with 0's and 1's......

@topic: I agree with this

For regular practice in the US: Spanish
For WHO/Public Health internationally: Chinese, Hindi or Arabic

 

[Procyon]

Spanish would be the most useful in every day life.

In terms of finding work, Arabic, Chinese, and Russian are probably also pretty useful, because the government decided that they're "critical languages".

 

[Stewie32]

Considering strictly the number of people speaking any given language (other than English), I would have to say Spanish or Chinese. I guess you would also have to consider the demographics of where you foresee yourself practicing.

 

[teenmachinery1]

Elvish or Klingon.

 

[Justiii]

I don't think ASL is THAT important if they can read and write in English.
I'm from the west like CA/AZ/HI/TX kind of places and I'm going to say Spanish is #1 but usually if you don't speak Spanish you can find someone who can pretty easily. Then I would say Tagalog and Chinese(Cantonese probably more than Mandarin & others but maybe that's just where I live), then Korean(depending on area), and if you're in Hawai'i or locations with high concentrations of Japanese people and Japanese tourists, Japanese. But Japanese is less common than other east Asian languages around here, not THAT useful. Vietnamese is most likely more useful than Japanese. I really like Japanese but I really don't expect much out of it in Medicine. I like Korean too so I can see that coming in handy in LA if I ever make it to practice there.

 

[Australopithekus]

Klingon.

EDIT: teenmachinery beat me to it. So, Esperanto.