What's a good 3rd language to learn

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Sixflags

Sixflags

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What would be a good third language to learn for medical profession? I know that Spanish is very useful, but after taking Spanish for a few years, I just couldn't stand it anymore.

My first language was Swedish, English being my second. I was thinking of learning German, but I'm not sure how useful it would be if I want to practice medicine in the US. Any tips from personal experience would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
 
screw vocal languages, go learn a programming language- far more practical and useful.
 
location dependent. Find out where you want to settle down and learn the most common language next to english.
 
Hemorrage said:
screw vocal languages, go learn a programming language- far more practical and useful.
Click to expand...

Being an engineer myself, I'm already familiar with Java and some php, thank you. Now please answer my question.
 
NatrixCaelicola said:
Chinese, Russian, or Spanish in america. Potentially there is a case for Vietnamese.
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no vietnamese is very hard. u will never be able to use it
chinese idk never tried
spanish is easy if u aldy know english so i def woud go for this one
 
As I have stated earlier, I have no interest in pursuing Spanish further. Also, Russian, unfortunately, is a dying language.
 
American Sign Language. It's the 6th language I want to learn and, I think, the most impressive to know if/when the need comes up.
 
Sixflags said:
As I have stated earlier, I have no interest in pursuing Spanish further. Also, Russian, unfortunately, is a dying language.
Click to expand...

learn chinese or arabic then. The government gives out lavish scholarships for the summer if your willing to visit native countries and learn.
 
Sixflags said:
As I have stated earlier, I have no interest in pursuing Spanish further. Also, Russian, unfortunately, is a dying language.
Click to expand...

French is quite useful, at least for my intents and purposes. I also intend to learn Mandarin. Why did Spanish not agree with you? Honestly, in America it would probably be much more useful for you than the others I mentioned.
 
I agree with either American Sign Language or Arabic.
 
tigress said:
I agree with either American Sign Language or Arabic.
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I was focusing mostly on spoken languages, but I agree with this also. The OP is in engineering, so I thought Chinese would be more useful in this case. Speaking Arabic is not particularly hard imo. ASL would also be helpful in the medical field.

Take your pick. 😀
 
Hemorrage said:
screw vocal languages, go learn a programming language- far more practical and useful.
Click to expand...

OP, ignore this. I have never heard anything more blatantly false in the context of the practice of medicine and working with PEOPLE.

That being said, Spanish gets top priority in america. After spanish, as far as non-english speaking patients you are likely to encounter, the order goes:

Hindi / Mandarin
Russian
Arabic/Hebrew

Pimsleur is a great way to go if you are trying to learn languages. I used it to teach myself spanish and russian, and now I am learning german - very good programs.

Good luck to you
 
Hindi.

The desis would agree.
 
NonTraditional3 said:
OP, ignore this. I have never heard anything more blatantly false in the context of the practice of medicine and working with PEOPLE.

That being said, Spanish gets top priority in america. After spanish, as far as non-english speaking patients you are likely to encounter, the order goes:

Hindi / Mandarin
Russian
Arabic/Hebrew

Pimsleur is a great way to go if you are trying to learn languages. I used it to teach myself spanish and russian, and now I am learning german - very good programs.

Good luck to you
Click to expand...

Lol, can't agree with you more. Many thanks goes to all others as well.
 
Sixflags said:
As I have stated earlier, I have no interest in pursuing Spanish further. Also, Russian, unfortunately, is a dying language.
Click to expand...

Not really, there's a decent enough rate of emigration out of former Soviet block nations to the US. Not to mention almost every city in the nation has a relatively decent community of Russian people and they tend to like going to doctors who speak Russian. So it is helpful. That being said, Spanish is without a doubt the most useful language you can learn if you want to practice in the US.
 
Accordig to CNN and New York Times, Spanish population is constantly declining nowadays.

Also, would you pick Russian over German? Which would be more useful if I wish to practice medicine in NYC?
 
Sixflags said:
Accordig to CNN and New York Times, Spanish population is constantly declining nowadays.

Also, would you pick Russian over German? Which would be more useful if I wish to practice medicine in NYC?
Click to expand...

Russian is useful in NY. German is not useful in the US.
 
You're crazy not to pursue Spanish further just because you didn't like it much or whatever. That said, other useful languages might be Mandarin, Korean, Arabic, Hindi, Farsi, pretty much any major southeast Asian language.

Also, the Spanish-speaking population in the US isn't going anywhere for a while.
 
TheMightySmiter said:
You're crazy not to pursue Spanish further just because you didn't like it much or whatever. That said, other useful languages might be Mandarin, Korean, Arabic, Hindi, Farsi, pretty much any major southeast Asian language.

Also, the Spanish-speaking population in the US isn't going anywhere for a while.
Click to expand...

Incorrect.

http://fdlaction.firedoglake.com/2012/04/24/net-immigration-from-mexico-now-about-zero/

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout...-132434717.html;_ylt=A2KJjbxXneZP93QAEBXQtDMD

http://www.canadaupdates.com/content/record-decline-mexican-immigration-us-report-18149.html
 
Okay, but the Spanish-speaking population in the US is large enough NOW that knowing Spanish will be useful for your entire life, most likely.
 
serenade said:
Not really, there's a decent enough rate of emigration out of former Soviet block nations to the US. Not to mention almost every city in the nation has a relatively decent community of Russian people and they tend to like going to doctors who speak Russian. So it is helpful. That being said, Spanish is without a doubt the most useful language you can learn if you want to practice in the US.
Click to expand...

Yeah, plus Russian is a pretty cool language in itself.

OP- try Russian, Arabic, Chinese, or Hindi.

I tried my hand at Spanish many times but also didn't like it much. It is and will be for a long time, extremely practical in the united states. --no use denying that any other language (besides english) is worth more, practically speaking, than spanish.
 
NonTraditional3 said:
Russian is very good for new York. I volunteer in a manhattan ER, and I use Russian with patients at least twice a week.
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Same, back when I lived in DC. There was a surprisingly large number of Russian-speaking families.
 
TheMightySmiter said:
Okay, but the Spanish-speaking population in the US is large enough NOW that knowing Spanish will be useful for your entire life, most likely.
Click to expand...

Now doesn't matter. It will take 10+ years from now for me to become a surgeon, and by the time that happens, who knows what would happen to the Spanish speaking popluation?

Besides, there are plenty of other doctors NOW (if it makes you happy) who are learning Spanish and who are already fluent at it. Medical schools like to see some varieties.
 
Sixflags said:
Now doesn't matter. It will take 10+ years from now for me to become a surgeon, and by the time that happens, who knows what would happen to the Spanish speaking popluation?

Besides, there are plenty of other doctors NOW (if it makes you happy) who are learning Spanish and who are already fluent at it. Medical schools like to see some varieties.
Click to expand...

I can pretty much guarantee that, in ten years, there will still be a huge Spanish-speaking population in NYC.
 
Stumpyman said:
Same, back when I lived in DC. There was a surprisingly large number of Russian-speaking families.
Click to expand...

Thank you; I will definitely consider Russian. I, too, think that Russian is a very elegant language.
 
TheMightySmiter said:
I can pretty much guarantee that, in ten years, there will still be a huge Spanish-speaking population in NYC.
Click to expand...

and how would you be able to "guarantee" that? I don't see that happening from what I've read in the papers. Do you have tangible evidence to support your statement? any recent data maybe?


----------
EDIT:
If you read this, it actually contradicts your statement.
http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/201...an-grew-by-3-percent-past-decade-census-shows

"The Hispanic population has decreased by about 14,000 people — or 3.4 percent. About one-quarter of residents now identify as Hispanic, down from just over 27 percent in 2010."

The article talks about how the population in Manhattan actually grew 3% since 2009, and despite all this, the Hispanic population declined.
 
Last edited:
Russian, Arabic, French, Italian and American Sign Language.

For me, it's English, español and ASL.
 
Stumpyman said:
Same, back when I lived in DC. There was a surprisingly large number of Russian-speaking families.
Click to expand...

If you remain in the East Coast then Russian is going to be a useful language and open a lot of doors.
 
"For the first time, the influx of Asians moving to the U.S. has surpassed that of Hispanics, reflecting a slowdown in illegal immigration while American employers increase their demand for high-skilled workers.

About 430,000 Asians, or 36 percent of all new immigrants, arrived in the U.S. in 2010, according to the latest census data. That's compared to about 370,000, or 31 percent, who were Hispanic. The shift to increased Asian immigration, particularly of people from India, China and South Korea, coincides with changes in U.S. immigration policy dating to the 1990s that began to favor wealthy and educated workers."

​
http://www.aikenstandard.com/story/...migrants-to-US-now-surpass-Hispanics--4079097
 
I would say Spanish, but if you are set on not going further with it, then perhaps Chinese or French.
 
ebonics or any other variation...especially if you're going into medicine to work for the impovrished/poor 🙄.
 
I don't get why everyone is saying french here? English is compulsory in schools in France - so unless you are from french cow country, chances are you don't need an interpreter at the hospital.
 
NonTraditional3 said:
I don't get why everyone is saying french here? English is compulsory in schools in France - so unless you are from french cow country, chances are you don't need an interpreter at the hospital.
Click to expand...

Most European immigrants here likely speak English well enough. They prefer a doctor from their own community though for obvious reasons.
 
Sixflags said:
and how would you be able to "guarantee" that? I don't see that happening from what I've read in the papers. Do you have tangible evidence to support your statement? any recent data maybe?


----------
EDIT:
If you read this, it actually contradicts your statement.
http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/201...an-grew-by-3-percent-past-decade-census-shows

"The Hispanic population has decreased by about 14,000 people — or 3.4 percent. About one-quarter of residents now identify as Hispanic, down from just over 27 percent in 2010."

The article talks about how the population in Manhattan actually grew 3% since 2009, and despite all this, the Hispanic population declined.
Click to expand...

The hispanic community in New York is proud, with a strong presence. They are proud New Yorkers, and they are here to stay. Very many immigrants, who do not have resources to just up and move on a whim. Even if they wanted to move, most are unable to. The spanish community in NY is here to stay. Stop being so argumentative; spanish is regarded the most valuable linguistic tool a doctor can possess in the united states today. Source? Every doctor I have ever shadowed, every nurse I have worked with, and about 30% of my EMS calls say spanish speaking skills will help lift a lot of barriers in your interaction with patients.

If you want to work with white people and not have to rely on spanish, go to stockholm.
 
NonTraditional3 said:
I don't get why everyone is saying french here? English is compulsory in schools in France - so unless you are from french cow country, chances are you don't need an interpreter at the hospital.
Click to expand...

On more than one occasion, I've encountered people in my state who only speak French, as odd as it sounds. Granted, you make a good point; there are other languages with more utility, and it wasn't my first recommendation.
 
serenade said:
Most European immigrants here likely speak English well enough. They prefer a doctor from their own community though for obvious reasons.
Click to expand...

Sure, this makes sense, but that is not the value that is to be had, speaking in terms of community. Knowing a language to attract more patients is VERY self-serving. Knowing a language because it helps you to better serve the people coming to the hospital...that's where the value is drawn from.
 
At0mic said:
On more than one occasion, I've encountered people in my state who only speak French, as odd as it sounds. Granted, you make a good point; there are other languages with more utility, and it wasn't my first recommendation.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I wasn't targeting anyone in specific - but still, enough people said it that it seemed odd to me. What state are you in? Montreál?
 
NonTraditional3 said:
Yeah, I wasn't targeting anyone in specific - but still, enough people said it that it seemed odd to me. What state are you in? Montreál?
Click to expand...

I'm not even in Canada; I'm from south Florida. The idea that French people visit us is somewhat novel to me. I used to work in an aquarium and we'd get some French tourists now and then.
 
NatrixCaelicola said:
You honestly think that the Spanish speaking population will disappear by he time you're working?
Click to expand...

I feel like you people are Kings of Assumptions and False Analysis of what I wrote. I neither said that Spanish is not useful nor the Hispanic population in NY will "disappear." In 10 years, if you follow the trend, it's very likely that the Hispanic populaion will have decreased significantly.

The question then would be are there other languages that are MORE useful than Spanish?

Do not assume and misinterpret. Read carefully if you can.
 
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