Study French in College?
I am looking to study finance during my undergraduate degree and I was wondering if it would be worth while to continue to pursue studies in French. I was in an immersion program in high school and would do very well in the language, but I am wondering how useful it will be. I would have to sacrifice taking more relevant business/finance courses to continue with French and I don't know if anyone cares I speak French in the IB scene. Suggestions and or comments on the pros/cons of keeping my second language? Do you know of any cases in which speaking french would be beneficial?
Why don't you just do a minor? You get a lot of electives in college, I have an interest in history, was able to take like 8 or 10 history classes in college while double majoring in finance & accounting.
French is only slightly more useful than Latin, unless you plan on moving to France.
I think language study is always worth it, and for obvious reasons college is an ideal time for language study. Once you start working full-time, the hurdle for studying a new language (or maintaining an exisiting one) gets much higher due to the simple fact that you just won't have as much free time. I would say you should keep it up.
I'm from Canada, don't study French. If you'd like to learn a language that may add value in business, here is a list of the most common languages, choose one of these:
◾Mandarin. ~955 million speakers ◾Spanish. ~405 million speakers ◾English. ... ◾Hindi/Urdu. ... ◾Arabic. ... ◾Portuguese. ... ◾Bengali. ... ◾Russian.
Don't spend money learning a language in college, the extra proficiency you would gain from those classes is negligible and the cost is atrocious. If you want to improve your French, buy some textbooks, exercises and podcasts so you can learn on your own. Take that knowledge and there are sites where you can get a "language partner" with someone looking to do the exact same thing and they'll practice their English while you practice French, generally done via Skype and you guys can set the "appointment" whenever you want and however often you want... for free. I assure you, having a native speaker converse with you for an hour each week and critique/correct your speaking will be infinitely more beneficial than anything you will encounter on campus.
I speak French and if I spend a few days in France it's pretty flawless and I've been told I hardly have an accent. It came in really useful when I lived in London and went to France all the time for pleasure. I never once have used it for business though and I've actually done business in France (investors, not investing in companies there). @"ArcherVice" is right. Spend those tuition dollars on things that you can't do for free.
Thanks for all the replies. What I gather is french isn't really that practically useful, but more of a nice skill to have. I should have been a little more clear in my question in that I do intend to major in finance but was wondering about the use I would get out of a minor in French and whether the minor or is worth it or better spent in another area.
Do whatever you want with your minor because nobody cares except you.
Do you go to HYPS? If yes, major in whatever the hell you want. If no, only do it as a second major or minor
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