Reasons for learning foreign languages
According to a recent research report by the International Association of Language Centers (IALC) that compared current and future demand levels for each of 9 major foreign languages (Chinese, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish), “reasons for learning a foreign language abroad have become more pragmatic and sophisticated" (IALC, 2016: 4):
German and English are primarily sought for current and future studies (62% and 61% of students respectively);
Portuguese and Italian are studied for personal reasons (65% and 64% respectively);
French exhibited the most balanced mix of reasons among all languages (personal vs employment-related vs education related), while
Russian and Chinese were mostly taken to improve employment prospects (53.6% and 42.3% respectively).
For more information, read the full report at http://www.ialc.org/file/documents/report/ialc-2016-research-trends-in-demand-for-foreign-languages.pdf
