The Most Valued Languages Students can Learn this Summer

With the majority of students at home after finishing university for the year, now is an ample time to learn a new language, so that when travel picks up again, students are ready to explore and speak the language of the destination they’re holidaying in.

Learning a language can be easier said than done though, for example, learning some languages can take 2,000+ hours and a lot of dedication – and with travel slowly picking back up again, many students will want to learn a language in a shorter period of time.

So what are the most valued languages to learn and which can be picked up the quickest? 

Official-canada-eta.com has analysed the time it takes to learn a language, in hours, as well as the number of speakers, to workout the most valuable languages to learn, with a score out of 100. 

Official-canada-eta.com can reveal that Spanish is the most valuable language to learn, with a score of 76 out of 100. The language is one of the quickest to learn, taking 588 hours, and has the second highest amount of speakers worldwide, with 480 million people having it as their primary form of communication – therefore, you’ll benefit from learning the language because you’ll be able to use it in many different countries you visit.

The summer break can be a great opportunity to further skills by learning a new language – over half (62%) of Brits admit they cannot speak another language, but students could be on the path set to change this. We may no longer have to rely on holiday destination natives to speak our language if a surge of language learning enables us to speak their mother tongue.

Learning Spanish will enable students to visit various countries without the need to learn yet another language – 20 countries around the world all speak Spanish, amounting to a total of 480 million speakers worldwide. Columbia, Peru, Cuba and Panama are just a few examples of countries that speak Spanish. 

Learning a language other than your native tongue can open up a range of opportunities for students – it could mean a student would consider studying abroad in a country where they’ve learnt the language, or even applying for a job that requires them to be bilingual.

So, what are the top 10 most valuable languages to learn?

Additional research from Official-esta.com also shows that Spain is one of the top countries that Brits will visit after lockdown restrictions are lifted – making this an ideal language to master for students looking to jet-off as soon as they can travel again.

Jayne Forrester, Director of International Development at Official-Canada-eta.com comments:

“With additional research showing that Spain is one of the top countries for Brits to visit after lockdown, it seems fitting that the most valuable language to learn is Spanish. Whilst many of us are exploring more productive ways to spend our free time, learning a new language is a valuable skill for not only work, but for those wishing to travel the world. It’s also much easier than you may initially expect with many languages taking around three weeks to master.”