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French vs. German | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Advice Center |  | |
| Vogelmann Newbie Poland Joined 4157 days ago 2 posts - 2 votes | Message 1 of 8 15 January 2013 at 5:53pm | IP Logged | ||
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Hello everyone,
I am 24, native Polish, speak fluent English, intermediate Russian and little German. I have a dilemma regarding my language learning strategy – I work in finance in Luxembourg (a small country between France and Germany) and I’m hesitating between learning German or French. Theoretically it’s also possible to learn both at the same time, but technically I don’t have time for that. My colleagues at work use French while talking to each other (I would say 75% of the activity is in French). I’m one of few people that do not speak French there. But there is not a big problem since almost everyone speaks English. Although the truth is that speaking French would help me to socialize more with them. Some part of my firm’s activities is also carried out in French. But sometimes German is needed at work and at this moment only one person in my team knows that language. On the other side, at my home and in the city that I live in everyone speaks German. The big plus is that I already speak some German and for a person that speaks Polish, German is way easier to learn. I also think that in economic point of view German is a better choice than French (correct me if I’m mistaken). If I ever go back to work in Poland, I think my German would be much more beneficial there, even though French is not popular at all in Poland and it might be a big distinction on the labour market there. But on the other side I feel that I like German more and it is very similar to Dutch, which I fell in love with when I studied in the Netherlands (I’m also considering going back to the Netherlands some day). And I believe I would be able to learn German to the fluent level in much shorter time than French, which is also very important for me. So what’s your advice? My friend advised me to focus on German to become fluent in that language and study French only if you’re fed up with German in a given day And once I get fluent in German I can slowly switch to learning French more intensively. What do you think about it? Feel free to post your view on that matter, thanks in advance for all responses! 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Julie Heptaglot Senior Member PolandRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 6728 days ago 1251 posts - 1733 votes  5 sounds Speaks: Polish*, EnglishB2, GermanC2, SpanishB2, Dutch, Swedish, French | Message 2 of 8 15 January 2013 at 8:22pm | IP Logged | ||
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Well, I would learn both languages sooner or later but I can understand you may not have enough time for both.
Being able to speak and listen to French at work would be definitely an argument for choosing French but as you're living in Luxembourg, it shouldn't be a problem to find opportunities to practice your German either, and Germany is very close anyway. Apart from your work situation, it seems that German is your best bet. You already speak some German, and I agree that it is more useful in Poland than French (it may depend on the location and the kind of work, though). It will also help you a lot if you decide to learn Dutch one day (have I understood it right that you don't speak Dutch?). However, I don't agree that German is way easier than French. I think they are roughly at the same level for a Polish speaker. (I did learn German much quicker than French but I know people who would claim the opposite).
I think it's good advice. You could try following this, and if you find French more interesting/easier to learn and/or to practice you can always change your focus. 3 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| sillygoose1 Tetraglot Senior Member United States Joined 4461 days ago 566 posts - 814 votes Speaks: English*, Italian, Spanish, French Studies: German, Latin | Message 3 of 8 15 January 2013 at 8:40pm | IP Logged | ||
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Judging from your situation, German seems better suited for you.
2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| Cavesa Triglot Senior Member Czech Republic Joined 4834 days ago 3277 posts - 6779 votes Speaks: Czech*, FrenchC2, EnglishC1 Studies: Spanish, German, Italian | Message 4 of 8 15 January 2013 at 8:45pm | IP Logged | ||
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I would take those "language x is easier for speakers of language y" things with a huge
grain of salt. Many people find the opposite being true for them. (Most people giving such advice, from my experience, are people who haven't learnt any language well and who are very reluctant to do anything else than what is obligatory or expected of them) I would personally take the current situation much more in account than "if". Right now, both the languages would be useful at your work but each in a different way. Which is more important for you? Socializing and breaking the French language handicap or covering the German gap in your team? Noone can answer that for you. Yes, one day, you may be looking for a job in Poland. But I would say going your way may bring you opportunities you would never anticipate. For exemple here, in the Czech Republic, it is similar to Poland as everyone would advice you to learn German instead of other languages (except for English, of course). But when browsing the job offers, I found companies looking even for speakers of Dutch, Portugal, Finnish and other "officially useless" languages. Or, after your job experience in Luxembourg, you may get a job of your dreams at a French company in Poland or in France. There are so many options. You seem to be more interested in German, is it so? If yes, than there is probably nothing more important. :-) 3 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| jhaberstro Senior Member United States Joined 4218 days ago 112 posts - 154 votes Speaks: English* Studies: French, Portuguese | Message 5 of 8 15 January 2013 at 8:46pm | IP Logged | ||
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I don't think I'm in a position to really evaluate what would be most valuable for you at a personal level (no here can
really answer that), but I will say that after reading your posts, it comes across to me that in your heart you would really prefer to learn German. And if that is true, I say go for it! Learn German :-). 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Vogelmann Newbie Poland Joined 4157 days ago 2 posts - 2 votes | Message 6 of 8 16 January 2013 at 11:56am | IP Logged | ||
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Julie - my location in Poland was Warsaw (when I talk about going back to Poland and don't consider any other place in Poland than Warsaw), and in the area that I work in German seems to be much more important. It might seem that quite a lot of Poles do speak German, but the reality is that very few of them can easily communicate in that language. And looking through the job offers in finance in Warsaw you can conclude that German is more in demand than French.
As far as Dutch is concerned - yes, I do speak some Dutch (spent one year in the Netherlands during my studies), and this is my favorite language, even if I am on a very basic level (at least I was exposed to that language to a large extent;)) I'd like to learn it some day even for pure satisfaction, but this would be great to come back to the Netherlands some day since I really enjoyed my stay there. This is also the factor for taking German rather than French. Cavesa - you're right, there are some offers for people that do speak 'rare' languages, but I think they are for specialist in accountancy, customer service, etc. which are not suitable for (I work in a different area) When it comes to future job opportunities in France - frankly speaking I don't expect that France will do well in coming years, unlike Germany. So I expect much more opportunities for German speakers. I wish all the best to France, but they did (and still do) a lot of mistakes when it comes to their economy and the payback time is coming soon. jhaberstro, sillygoose1 - thanks for your advices, I agree with you and I decide to focus more on German. But if there's anyone that wants to add something, please feel free to do that! Thanks;) Edited by Vogelmann on 16 January 2013 at 12:01pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| zerrubabbel Senior Member United States Joined 4425 days ago 232 posts - 287 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Japanese, Mandarin | Message 7 of 8 20 January 2013 at 7:49am | IP Logged | ||
I understand this point pretty well... people claim left and right how Spanish is so easy for English speakers, but personally I actually find japanese incomparably easier, simply because Im struggling to stay interested in it... so I would say, since you noted you have greater interest in German, go for that one first, I think you will be more likely to stay with it, and you will get farther in the end... and of course there is nothing wrong with doing french every once in a while if you get the spontaneous feeling to do so. any way, I wish you best of luck ^.^ 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Cavesa Triglot Senior Member Czech Republic Joined 4834 days ago 3277 posts - 6779 votes Speaks: Czech*, FrenchC2, EnglishC1 Studies: Spanish, German, Italian | Message 8 of 8 20 January 2013 at 5:59pm | IP Logged | ||
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So, you are already decided!
I'll make an exception and say exactly what you want to hear (cause I think it's true): Learn German! It's better for you. 1 person has voted this message useful |
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