Which language should I learn..Mandarin Chinese or Spanish?
I'm a pre-med student and I plan to do a minor in a foreign language. I know english and arabic already, but I still want to learn another language. I'm confused which language to pick since I want to learn both spanish and chinese so badly. I have taken Spanish in high school (for 4 years), but I've never taken chinese (since it wasn't offered). Spanish was easy to pick up, but there was so much dreadful conjugating, and I found it somewhat boring at times.
I know that the number of spanish speaking people in the U.S. is rising, and it would be beneficial to learn spanish fluently (especially if I do become a doctor). They even offer a course called Medical Spanish at my college. But, there are ~845 million chinese speakers! and only ~329 million spanish speakers. Chinese seems so much more interesting and on the rise to dominate. Which should I pick?
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Who says you have to pick? You can learn both, but probably not at the same time (that might get a little difficult). However, if you plan to stay in the U.S., Spanish is probably more practical and, let’s face it, it is going to be a lot easier than Mandarin Chinese. If you’re pre-med, you’re going to want to keep up the good grades!
I would recommend learning Spanish first, and if you still want to learn Mandarin Chinese after you’ve got a handle on Spanish, go on and learn that too! Being multi-lingual, especially with English, Arabic, Spanish, and Mandarin Chinese, will make your resume look pretty top-notch, demonstrating high ambition, good comprehension, and good communication skills!
Spanish. Most people throughout the world are taught English alongside their national language, including China. However, most Latin Americans don’t learn English, or at least to an extent of conversation. Spanish is more useful because that way you can communicate with more people that way. Plus, you’ve already gotten High School classes on it, so you should be ready to converse with someone who cannot speak English.
Students who go into law or medicine usually study Latin because those two fields are about the only places it’s still used.
If you’re going to travel, Chinese might be better. Spanish is closer to Latin, though. Since you’ve had Spanish already, make it easy on yourself and go with Spanish.
Well, if you’re mainly concerned about shear numbers, there are far more countries that either predominately or have a large Spanish speaking population. There is only one country that speaks Chinese. Unless you plan to frequently visit communist countries, you won’t have much an opportunity to communicate with native speakers or view any forms of native media, unlike Spanish movies, television networks or newspapers.
I would love to speak Spanish. And someday I will. One of those life goals of mine.
if u r gonna be a doc, spanish i speak spanish, and is not that hard, if u start to listen spanish music, see spanish movies and stuff ull get familiar with the verbs i know they r kinda confusin but no big deal
Both are helpful, however spanish is much more beneficial in the medical field:
you already know some spanish: chinese would not only be a new language 4u
also an entirely new alphabet. So while it’s not impossible to learn, but difficult.
I completely agree with Jen E. Master Spanish first, and then learn Chinese, if you want. Knowing one language really well is better than having a little knowledge of several languages. If you are fluent in English, Arabic, and Spanish, you will be able to travel in something like 80% of the countries in the world without communication problems. Don’t waste those 4 years away. Continue taking Spanish while you still remember everything. Become fluent in it… and Then learn Chinese, or other languages that you are interested in. Of course, there is no harm in learning them at the same time either
The point is, don’t give up Spanish! Good luck.
I see a lean toward Spanish, another European language.
However as a doctor/healer/medical professional, consider this:
If you pick up any dialect of Chinese, and in particular Mandarin, you can also open up your skill set to non-Western medicine. In particular, if you practice in California or even among Asians who are not from China, you may be interested in expanding your practice and understanding of this way of thinking and healing.
To my experience, Asian-influenced medical practitioners in California are much more knowledgeable about the human body and it’s constraints and complaints than their western technology-dependent counterparts. There is quite a history of success here as well.
Language is not just a way to ask ‘where does it hurt,’ but it is also a door to seeing alternative methods.
Good luck, and enjoy the journey!