Comments on: Is Learning a Foreign Language Really Worth It? https://www.isegoria.net/2014/03/is-learning-a-foreign-language-really-worth-it/ From the ancient Greek for equality in freedom of speech; an eclectic mix of thoughts, large and small Sun, 14 Jun 2026 19:08:36 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.6.1 By: Lodro Gyatso https://www.isegoria.net/2014/03/is-learning-a-foreign-language-really-worth-it/comment-page-1/#comment-1200910 Lodro Gyatso Tue, 15 Apr 2014 16:29:12 +0000 http://www.isegoria.net/?p=34422#comment-1200910

I can see how Spanish, French or German might not be very useful for Americans in America, which is a big continent where (almost) everyone speaks English. They’re a bit more useful in Europe

Actually, everyone in Europe doesn’t speak English. According to a survey conducted in 2012 by the European Commission (Europeans and their Languages), only 38% of Europeans over the age of 15 speak English at any level of proficiency. The number who speak well enough to handle the more complex demands on language entailed in trade is, expectedly much less; only 27% of Europeans who speak English use it for work.

This is precisely the reason why foreign language skills are practical and profitable.

]]> By: Lodro Gyatso https://www.isegoria.net/2014/03/is-learning-a-foreign-language-really-worth-it/comment-page-1/#comment-1200896 Lodro Gyatso Tue, 15 Apr 2014 16:21:11 +0000 http://www.isegoria.net/?p=34422#comment-1200896 I would just like to point out that if you take that $600 p/a and invest it, thanks to the miraculous power of compounding, it actually adds up. If you invest $600 p/a for 40 years (the length of your working years) at a conservative rate of 3%, you’ll have $45,000 more than if you didn’t learn a language. And since the cost of learning a language in university is the same as the cost of, say, studying history, or economics, it is very clearly “worth it” to learn a language — especially higher-value languages such as German or Chinese.

]]> By: Maxx8864 https://www.isegoria.net/2014/03/is-learning-a-foreign-language-really-worth-it/comment-page-1/#comment-1172310 Maxx8864 Wed, 26 Mar 2014 17:21:11 +0000 http://www.isegoria.net/?p=34422#comment-1172310 Does this mean the English speaking world now has the problem of language privilege?

]]> By: James James https://www.isegoria.net/2014/03/is-learning-a-foreign-language-really-worth-it/comment-page-1/#comment-1169779 James James Tue, 25 Mar 2014 08:47:06 +0000 http://www.isegoria.net/?p=34422#comment-1169779 I can see how Spanish, French or German might not be very useful for Americans in America, which is a big continent where (almost) everyone speaks English. They’re a bit more useful in Europe.

]]> By: Toddy Cat https://www.isegoria.net/2014/03/is-learning-a-foreign-language-really-worth-it/comment-page-1/#comment-1169184 Toddy Cat Mon, 24 Mar 2014 22:03:06 +0000 http://www.isegoria.net/?p=34422#comment-1169184 Personally, I’d tend to doubt this, if only because every opinion Bryan Caplan has is wrong, except for his dislike of Communism; but of course, he’s also a pacifist, so the one negates the other.

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