What Job Can I do With Foreign Language Skills?

A lot of language enthusiasts have been asking me what kind of job or career they can do using foreign languages. It`s a great question! In this video I give you some possible answers, but hopefully the Langfocus viewers will share their knowledge too!
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[@Langfocus]

Hello everyone! Are you learning a language? One great resource to check out is Innovative Language podcast programs: langfocus.com/innovative-language-podcasts/. Click the link to read my description of the Innovative Language approach, or you can scroll down to find your favorite language at the bottom of the page. I'm a member of several Innovative Language sites, and I hope you enjoy them as much as I do! Have fun!

[@drakesmith471]

Langfocus, I know that you mentioned technical jobs and mentioned the fellow you met who is the engineer. I can easily see that skill of his being an asset, but because they are focusing on that machinery specifically, I feel it might be a bit more proprietary that way. I certainly don’t want to sound like I see my way as any better, but I want to be able to learn some languages for my job in the future. Most foreseeably I am going to be a biochemist/biochemical scientist and I was wanting to learn languages to aid in the job but also to learn the language for the science too. I know that is a lot to try and learn, but I want to do it to be able to increase my rapport with other researchers of foreign backgrounds. I know English is a widely used language for science, but I figure doing this would likely leave my collaborators more receptive to me as they wouldn’t need to so much meet my needs since I could accommodate to theirs. I wouldn’t plan to live in some of these countries for years, but maybe for periods if work called for it. You also mentioned lifestyle maybe necessitating it, and I wanted to say I would like to travel to the countries I learned or studied the languages of, which is only natural, but sometime later in life. What is your take on this if I tried doing it for a couple other languages, is there a good enough reward to warrant doing it for the first or even second purpose? I will learn them anyways, but I figure I should ask if my intent was thought out enough to learn them for that purpose. What’s your take?

[@mahamatzene1554]

@Langfocus Thanks for this video.I am about to graduate with a Phd in petroleum engineering degree and i do really wish to use at least some of my language (5) skills rather than staying in front of computer and not communicating with anyone. Is business or international business suitable for me as a better option or i should think about another option?,Thanks.

[@xyz-pf1yz]

learn foreign languages, be a polyglot, do youtube channel

[@texabara]

ASL. Hi from Puerto Rico 🇵🇷

[@sandeshguria4496]

How and where can I learn latin ... guide me please

[@aleksandrvladimirov5300]

Another job is become a youtuber and make videos about languages.

[@MalteseKat]

What he does is valuable.

[@jinyow5581]

@@pani777 True ,hate the game not the player's .😉

[@SODQP]

300 IQ

[@papichulobilly5303]

Great point. This is exactly what I'm doing right now 👊👊👊😎

[@stef75017]

I think i used to watch videos of a guy who had the idea already, and did it successfully!

[@burieddreamer]

Here, some jobs you missed: 1. Bilingual dictionary author; 2. Spy; 3. Border control agent; 4. Customs agent; 5. Interpol agent; 6. Religious leader; 7. President; 8. Astronaut; 9. Software internationalisation specialist (not necessarily developer); 10. KZbin language channel owner.

[@PIX-HUGEIFY]

spy😂

[@moosesandmeese969]

*President* lol trump isn't even fluent in English so can cross that one off

[@ayalpollak9448]

My knowledge in Alien has helped me so much while working as an astronaut!

[@downey2294]

​@@ayalpollak9448 since space travel is an international thing you need to be able to read the instruments and communicate with your colleges. there is allot of Russian influence in space travel and i think most astronauts are required to learn at least the basics.

[@renanbo6562]

President of Brazil, Bolsonaro, doesn’t even speak English, lol

[@ceicli]

I really admire interpreters that talk in one language while they're listening to another. That's multitasking on a high level!

[@mathlogiclanguage9338]

Not always. Sometimes the brain doesn't have to translate

[@martinsmartins7506]

They need to train a lot I think

[@aquacat3552]

Yeah definitely something they gotta get use to but for me seeing as I grew up speaking English and Spanish it’s as simple as flipping a coin for me lol

[@jaquelinemontero7057]

Not really, when you dominate the language your brain doesn't even register what you hear as other language

[@devinwilcox7841]

Being fluent in Russian, That is still so hard for me!

[@mfaizsyahmi]

Best language for a programmer: Javanese. Then you can move to Java, speak Javanese, and write Java programs.

[@CastelDawn]

+mfaizsyahmi. not bad, not bad, decent joke, here's your like, well deserved

[@Leotique]

+mfaizsyahmi. hehe now that was funny :D

[@aritakalo8011]

+mfaizsyahmi. and when you are bored Java applications you can move to web development in JavaScript.

[@lutraman1]

+mfaizsyahmi. LOL if I'm counting the programming languages I speak I'm already a polygot

[@alex-sv8ru]

LOL! xD

[@gengotaku]

I´ve done/do I lot of things you quoted. I am a freelance translator/interpreter and have also worked as a language teacher at university level. Currently I work in sales and use English, Japanese, Spanish, Chinese and Korean on a daily basis and from time to time German. Cheers!!

[@ShineVendor]

what a life! I'm very envious of your skills and lifestyle. Cheers!

[@gengotaku]

Thanks man!! I´m glad I´ve been using most of the languages I have studied. My new challenge now is to study Cantonese and get my Dutch to be a spoken language because I only use it to read.

[@heldertoons1776]

What kind of stuff do you translate from/for Japanese?

[@gengotaku]

I translate mostly automobile/machinery related content since I worked in some big companies such as Honda Motors and Mitsubishi Electric as a full-time translator. Recently I have been doing more general and document-related translations. Have a great day!!!

[@gengotaku]

Hola compa!! Soy brasileño!! Saludos desde Japón!!!

[@LoserBroProductions]

Steps to becoming rich: Step 1- Learn Spanish Step 2- Move to Los Angeles Step 3- Become an English teacher Step 4- Enjoy your new mansion

[@adimikimkoydu]

I have always loved languages, that's why I am studying translation and interpreting :)

[@Langfocus]

+Musa Umut Akdeniz Dogan Nice! Which language(s) are you focusing on?

[@adimikimkoydu]

+Langfocus my department is for Turkish-English, but I also take German classes. And last year I did my erasmus in Spain :D

[@itsCoreFX]

+Musa Umut Akdeniz Dogan Ich wünsche dir viel Spaß beim Deutsch Lernen :)

[@adimikimkoydu]

+ChromaARTS / Timo vielen Dank :)

[@nkckysl4077]

İstanbul Üniversitesinde okuyordun değil mi? Sana birkaç soru sorabilir miyim?(Biliyorum biraz korkunç oldu ama videolarını görmüştüm de )

[@pedrohernandez2095]

I'm a Spanish native speaker, and I'm learning English because I want to be an English teacher one day, I'm interested in learn French, Portuguese, Catalan, and Italian. ¡Saludos desde El Salvador!

[@Awakeningspirit20]

That's awesome! It's so cool that you include Catalan, since it often gets overlooked and is very fascinating. I'm an English native speaker and am already close to being fluent in Spanish and Portuguese, but I'm also trying to finally get fluent in French. Basically, learn all the Romance languages.

[@alexandercalderon6025]

I'm learning too, but... I want to learn English, Japanese, French, Catalan and Dutch ;) También soy de El Salvador :3

[@nicollyfarao2401]

Que rico 😆

[@kyredavis0217]

I’m currently learning Spanish! Let’s help each other!

[@sergioaloisi]

Saludos desde Italia, ¿Cómo sigues con el estudio?

[@guilhermefrainer2865]

1-Be a not native english speaker 2- Learn English 3-Teach your language to native English speakers (Americans, English, etc) 4-?????? 5-Profit

[@Langfocus]

+Guilherme Frainer Sounds like a plan! Or a nearly complete one. :)

[@pedropiascentini3592]

Although it may sound like a good plan, it is only feasible if your native language is one of the world's major languages, like Mandarin, Spanish, Arabic, French, Russian, etc... If you speak a language like Hungarian, Portuguese, Greek, Urdu or anything along these lines, you won't find many native English speakers willing to learn it.

[@Langfocus]

+Pedro Piascentini It would probably require you to go the academic route, get a Phd, and build expertise and authority in that language. You could be a professor of that language and its literature.

[@guilhermefrainer2865]

Pedro Piascentini I'd just like to add taht Portuguese IS one of the world's major languages

[@MisterTipp]

Anyone wanna learn Swedish? :3

[@PavlosPapageorgiou]

I work in Europe for a Japanese company. Learning even a little Japanese gets your colleagues closer to you and you to them, because you begin to understand the thought patterns that come with the language. English emails from Japan will make more sense once you know how a Japanese person would normally express themselves. For example you'll be able to tell what's a concern even if it's being said indirectly out of politeness. Equally you may be able to change the way you write to a form of international English that will be less confusing to them than colloquial British or American. Currently I'm not good enough to converse or hold a meeting in Japanese, but I can travel and book a room on my own and this opens up the country. I don't need to ask my colleagues to look after me or make travel arrangements. Being able to pick up the gist of a conversation in Japanese helps, but if you're at that level be sure to announce you're learning out of respect for your colleague's privacy.

[@rosarioadrianacandelerorue3710]

+Pavlos Papageorgiou these are great points! Completely agree!

[@hide904]

+Pavlos Papageorgiou I'm still in college but work as an interpreter, and what you said is so accurate, "Equally you may be able to change the way you write to a form of international English that will be less confusing to them than colloquial British or American." I've learned over the time working there and speaking English with non-natives, how to construct English sentences without using slang and colloquialisms to deliver information and in most cases, a joke.

[@rikachanindonesia]

I want working in Europe😂😂

[@endimos6603]

poia etairia?

[@Namunamunamu]

I work for a Korean company here in Mexico. I don't know how they would feel if I knew Korean.

[@qwezxc4428]

im 14 and really starting to consider what career i want to pursue in the future so this was really helpful to me. thanks c:

[@MrSnow-qn1ij]

eoeooeeooeoe hi hey! I am a 16 year old and this video is a great help! :)

[@emaginationproductions]

Me too I'm 15

[@duongsorphea6383]

Im 13

[@user-ib4rg3qw8i]

Welcome to the teenager language fan club 皆は言葉が好きです

[@peaceout4132]

Isnt it early for u to decide im, 21 and i still habe doubts

[@mayab4677]

I still don't know what I want to do after watching this video:(

[@abedjay8832]

Miabeille the same thing 😔

[@djamilamerzoug1223]

Watch BTS 😂

[@mayab4677]

Soumi Merzoug 😂😂

[@colourfood386]

Miabeille learn korean as a hobby.😉 when you meet bts, they will be surprised.😊

[@mayab4677]

Colorful Eat. 사랑해요 오빠 haha I'm already learning it

[@BwantleyBoo]

Even something as simple as a retail store is a job role where a second language would come in handy.

[@TinyWarrior1468]

I'm from Texas, so we have a lot of people in the shopping centers who only speak Spanish. It comes in handy.

[@roberthardy5171]

yeah but this video is more about language learners who want to know what sort of jobs it will help them get, its not a 'why is learning a second language useful' sort of video if u know what i mean.

[@Tyalbo]

That is what i try to tell my family.

[@iuriius]

"As more languages you know, as more times you are a human being!" (c)

[@YeshuaIsTheTruth]

Amen to that! Learning Spanish from coworkers taught me this pretty quickly. It's amazing how language can be an immediate display of unity, respect, and diplomacy.

[@stanislavasuplatovich2826]

The more languages you know the more human being you are.

[@clinton4161]

Learning another language opens up a whole part of the world to you.

[@j.t.hartzfeld1368]

I live in the US, in a rural area of the south. One would think that I don't need a foreign language for non-linguistic jobs, but one would be wrong. If you work in service, knowing Spanish-- the most common first language of immigrants in the area-- definitely puts me ahead of my competitors in the job market. Y, porque uso su idioma primera en conversacion, mis clientes conocen que son imortantes a mi.

[@aleksandrvladimirov5300]

you speak terrible spanish. Im sure any employer would hire an ilegal immigrant over you if they needed someone speaking spanish

[@jennychantratita471]

Aleksandr Vladimirov You need to remember that Spanish is not his first language. The point is that he has good intentions to communicate and connect with native speakers of practice. As a Spanish learner as well, there is nothing more demoralizing than someone putting you down when you've tried so hard.

[@brandonjohnson4849]

Aleksandr Vladimirov you're an idiot if you're not making mistakes you're not learning a language. Second every employer in the world would rather teach an American with limited for skills then teach a native speaker with limited english skills. It's the stupidest comparison I've ever seen

[@MandenTV]

J. T. Hartzfeld I worked construction here in California. Picked up quite a bit of Spanish. Learned I didn't like the workers either.

[@791isaiah]

Aleksandr Vladimirov what would you assume all Spanish are illegal In USA I’m Spanish and I’m citizen Since 20 years ago Please get info before you opinions

[@blnhhlm1976]

I want to warn young people who are thinking about studying languages, history or philosophy etc. - You maybe should try to get an education, the labor really needs. - But perhaps, it dependence on which country who live in. I live in Sweden and here it is very hard to find a job that gives you a salary you can live on if you only can languages. In Germany it's the same. If you teach classes for adult people in the evening (that's what I do for living), you can´t be sure that you earn enough. And if you want to work as a real teacher on a public school here in Sweden, you now should have studied a program for teaching pupils at a Swedish university. The only languages which most people really need here are Swedish and English, and perhaps languages the refugees speak (for instance Arabic). And almost every one speaks English. I think that languages today only can be a useful plus qualification if you also have an education which is needed on the labor marked. You need to be a professional or have a practical education (doctor, nurse, engineer, artisan, bus driver, educated manager, educated school teacher in an important subject etc.) to get a job in these days. I don't know much about other countries, but I'm sure it's that way Sweden and Germany. I have studied history and German and I'm looking for a new job. In the 1990's when I was young, we had a different society in these two countries compared with nowadays. Today, it is much harder to find work or to live on welfare services a longer period. I don't think, it's better in other European countries. In southern Europe, it is very difficult to find a job at the moment. -

[@syafieqahahmad9278]

Hello. I'm 20 and have a diploma in tourism management, what is your opinion about me wanting to continue for degree in Bachelor of Spanish Language and Linguistics? btw I'm from Malaysia.

[@Hunter-wx7td]

they are no refugees but economic immigrants xd

[@christine_ren]

I think I can sort of relate to this. I live in Greece and I am soon graduating as a translator in Greek, English and French, and my options here are pretty much limited to exactly this - translation. But even if I am lucky enough to get a translation job, I don't expect to get paid much, and my goal is to leave my country anyway :P Who would have thought that working with foreign languages at uni would sort of confine me to the place I always wanted to escape from... :P

[@AsmaaPurity]

Well i am astonished The see this problem in sweden We have the same struggle in north africa morocco I really appreciate your advice thank you so much

[@adrianjapan]

after 10 years in the language field I am starting to figure this out.... I have pretty decent interpreting jobs here in Japan that can pay you from U$200 up to U$500 a day, the only problem is that is not everyday and you will have to fill the rest of your time with translation tasks (sometimes low pay and lots of pressure) or jobs unrelated to languages

[@bruja_cat]

I worked as a hotel front desk clerk, knowing several languages was very helpful for the guests. I know that police officers will want to know Spanish or the other local languages to help the community. Also, there are companies that work over the phone.

[@1fromoutside]

Cathy North what age did you start learning your first L2?

[@OnlyMusic16]

I ended up becoming a flight attendant with mine :) it’s very easy to be hired if you know multiple languages, and if you really enjoy visiting your target country(ies) you’ll be able to travel there often and work alongside many speakers of your language as well! It’s a fantastic travel-related customer service job!

[@Langfocus]

Great! Nice work!

[@mfaizsyahmi]

Learn to speak four or more languages, join a diplomatic corps, travel around the world with style and with influential people.

[@davidmurphy1005]

+Lily O'Connell Get a college degree in a field for which there is a high demand and then go to work for an international company in that field. I got a degree in Chemical Engineering and worked in Belgium and Germany for a major chemical company. I am fluent in both German and French and can get along in Flemish (Dutch). These languages helped me do my job, they were not my joy. You need a skill.

[@jacquelinesolis140]

+Lily O'Connell same I'm 17 and I know 3 languages. I want to be a major in psychology to help people who is struggling. :)

[@jacquelinesolis140]

+Lily O'Connell same I'm 17 and I know 3 languages. I want to be a major in psychology to help people who is struggling. :)

[@cimmik]

@Lily O'Connell I know it is an old comment, but I would suggest you trying to find a job at an embassy

[@DiegoSita]

@@dimitrasamara5084 I'm a physicist. I'm a native Portuguese speaker and I also speak both English and Spanish. I work at an international engineering company and I constantly use my language skills while co working with engineers, mathematicians, programmers and physicists from other countries.

[@blackwood5851]

I'm to become a polyglot (speak Spanish, English, American Sign Language, and learning Dutch). So when I'm a bit older I think working giving tours would be great I could give tours to people from Spain from Mexico from America and even to deaf people. (I live in the Netherlands which is very touristic so). And Paul why don't you make a video on Sign Language? It is, officially, a language, even if it's not spoken:p

[@PainterVierax]

Sign Language in singular is nonsense, it's like you talk about the Chinese language or you talk about the written language as a whole. There are many sign languages even in the same oral language area or in the same country. For example, the sign language of Wallonia in Belgium is different from the one in Flanders or the one in France and even in the same language there are still local dialects.

[@modigbeowulf5482]

Vierax ... true. I live in Spain. Their signing is totally different from the UK's.

[@AquielN]

Blackwood weet je al nederlands te praten?

[@bentleyvisser4072]

Tof! Een persoon die nederlands leerd’

[@Fyvetwelve]

Your grammar is syria like

[@andrelee7081]

Paul, this video was amazing, to say the least. I loved the way you broke down the question in a way that is meaningful and more practical, not just listing occupations or bluntly answering questions we ask. You have experienced a lot of the world and your teaching level is stunning. I want to be more like you through my language learning, open-minded and encouraging. You are doing good work with LangFocus, I really love it!

[@Langfocus]

+Andre Lee Thank you, Andre! I appreciate the comment!

[@xjorgecorrea]

I'm currently studying Translating and Interpreting English-German!!!!!

[@ismt9390]

Awesome dude, that's what i was planning on studying at university, how's it going? I don't know much German yet, but as the guy above said, German is a beautiful language and I can't wait to be fluent!

[@xjorgecorrea]

Aku Jo im on my first year so i cant tell you that much about my degree, but if you like languages that's your cup of tea. Maybe a philology gets deeper on the roots of a language. T&I is more like playing with different languages while philology is studying a whole language from the very beginning. I've heard that translators and interpreters have really well-paid, cool and interesting jobs so idk, I always wanted to study that

[@ismt9390]

+Jorge Correa While it's interesting to learn about the origins of a language and the way it evolved over time, I find talking to people much more engaging and rewarding so translating and interpreting suit me best. I think people in this field have interesting jobs too. In fact, what got me interested in languages in the first place was a friend of my dad's who worked as a translator and knew lots of languages and traveled everywhere and always had some funny story to tell about some far away country.

[@lunavenus7082]

Where are you from Jorge?

[@xjorgecorrea]

+Luna Venus Spain

[@Liamfulful]

Langfocus is awesome! This channel has opened me up to languages, I’m a native Brit who goes to Spain a lot, I’ve just started learning Spanish.🇪🇸 🇪🇸🇬🇧🇪🇸🇪🇸 I have been using Madrigals magic keys to Spainish, a Spanish Udemy course (109 hours), Spotify podcasts & music, Netflix Spanish TV shows, Spanish ebooks & KZbin videos. Thanks 🙏 for the great content it’s has genuinely got me learning Spanish as a 2nd language.

[@jiihgy2716]

Great video, Paul. Always wanted to know that question as well.

[@alw6912]

At least for history professors, a foreign language is almost mandatory for obvious reasons. I have not a clue of the Greek languages for my focus is Medieval Italy. I am always fascinated by people are able to fluently speak languages that are older than Latin! And for early-modernists on, all professional scholars have to be able to speak at least the language/s of the country about which they study.

[@Seven7Tempo]

Oh hi! :) - a friend who recognized you

[@AGonge]

Paul! You're just so good at explaining and supporting your points with good sense and yeah, all throughout your videos the viewer just gets a very clear message from a very wise KZbin! Thank you so much for your videos! I enjoy everyone of them (y)

[@yepyepyep3]

Well researched information! The last part was especially enlightening for me.

[@keithduff6312]

Internal Auditor for a large multi-national corporation. The company will pay you to travel to the various operating units in foreign countries and verify that they comply to the company's policies and procedures. Major in business (accounting or finance) and minor in your favorite language. Been doing this for over 10 years now and have seen most of the world doing so.

[@Langfocus]

Great info! Thanks for sharing!

[@javieracampos3416]

But what did you study?

[@rashmisahu498]

may ik how many languages yk

[@keithduff6312]

@@javieracampos3416 Finance major. Spanish/French Minors. I'm also a Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) and Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE). Being a CIA and having a foreign language proficiency will send you traveling often with work.

[@keithduff6312]

@@rashmisahu498 English (Native), Spanish (Near Fluent), Portuguese (Proficient), French (Basic)

[@nkckysl4077]

Such a inspirational video,thank u

[@jesusfernando978]

Congratulations Paul. Amazing video, as always! 👏

[@hanpol]

I thank you for this video, as a language enthusiast this is exactly the kind of advice I need, and it has enlightened me a lot, very comprehensive and has made my path clearer.

[@anoitedfighter]

One more thing. One important language related job is if you work in the intelligence services

[@sbapungi1506]

+anoitedfighter You mean like a spy ??

[@mrvocabulary6794]

+a- Babunji Like an interviewer, analyst etc.

[@sbapungi1506]

+iyoossaev Ohhh.....good to know

[@theninjainblack1237]

+a- Babunji The CIA for example actively looks for people who meet certain criteria, such as being smart in general, and having some proficiency at various languages. If they are interested in you, they send you a letter asking you to take a few tests to see where you could work within the CIA, where you answer questions such as "you're breaking into an office building to steal a file. List all the things you have to do to minimize the chance that you will be caught." If you score well enough on that test, the CIA asks you to be an operative.

[@sbapungi1506]

Liam Griffin WOW....how did you know about this informations ???

[@pouyan74]

Personally as a software programmer and a science enthusiast, knowing Russian and German are benefiting me a lot by giving me access to a vast number of books, documents and resources related to my major. Furthermore, I'm planning on learning Chinese later, as a huge ocean of knowledge is also hidden beneath this language.

[@OceanChild75]

I live in England but I am a Native French speaker. Thanks to my bilingualism, I got jobs as a French speaking customer service representative for an Airline, I then worked as a French Sales Representative for an IT company and I am now a French speaking Business Developper

[@FigWatkins]

Very good, well structured video.

[@sunnyside287]

I’m a Project Manager in an International charity and I use almost all the languages I speak (7 currently) to communicate to my colleagues from other countries, freelancers and also our partners. So project management is another career potentially:)

[@gay5535]

I am 19 and fluent in 4 languages(Norwegian (native language), english, spanish and french and will do my bachelor in translation ! This was very uplifting :)

[@ingridsmiranda]

I love your channel! Thanks!

[@gamzeugur5355]

Thank you Paul!!! Great video!!!☺️✌️

[@arturocevallossoto5203]

In Physics, German is not necessary but it improves your day. Suddenly some concepts will start to make sense since a big part of classical and modern physics was done by Germans. Also, with Germany being much advanced in this field, it opens the doors to doing a masters or PhD there.

[@lunavenus7082]

But the two official languages at CERN are English and French.

[@ImRunningazoo]

Question! I had a professor in college, who once told our class. That there is a military book in german that can teach you the language somewhat more easly do you know anything about this ??? He mentioned the name but i forgot

[@x_5216]

Same with Russian in Astronomy, Space sciences.

[@DiegoSita]

Hi, physicist. Mathematician here.

[@daraghmaclachlan8906]

@@ImRunningazoo Maybe hes talking about the german FSI Course? Look it up, it's great, and very comprehensive. The only downside to it is thst it's incredibly boring.

[@khosrow]

In my experience an awful lot of non academic positions that require foreign languages are given to people with little to no skills. For an instance I used to work for a major German mail order company. The head of the foreign language department admittedly didn't speak anything but German. She had no way to check on the skills of the people she put in charge to answer English speaking customers. So most of my co workers were either using Google-Translate or suffered from being highly delusional about their language skills. From what I learned this is normal in many places. Even when it comes to businesses like tourism. People don't value language or lack the understanding what actually makes a language different. Here in Germany I have met many people who believe that the major difference is just the vocabulary followed by some minor, regular grammar tweaks. Many believe that they could learn a language with a weekly course in a year or that foreigners will understand them if they simply speak loud and slow enough in their own language. Also in non English speaking countries it has been becoming normal or even required to lie about being fluent in English. On paper everyone in the office speaks English but all of them suddenly have to go to the bathroom once the large American customer calls.

[@Langfocus]

I hear you. Here in Japan that's a big problem. I have one consulting contract with an import-export company, and the staff are all supposed to have good English skills. But some of them just talk really fast to create the illusion of fluency when their boss is listening ("Yes, you know, I send document, and um so, you know, document come, and so ummm, you know, tomorrow") even though they're really hard to understand (especially over the phone). And some of their writing is impossible to follow. And they're in charge of negotiating orders worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. It's basically my job to help them do damage control when they piss off their suppliers and customers. I work directly with the president of the company and we review the staff's communications with other companies, and I think he's slowly starting to accept that the problem is not careless mistakes but the staff's ability in general.

[@bartimaeusofuruk9681]

I think I know the source: I'm currently going to school in Germany and few people in my course know how to speak english. I'm in the highest form of school germany's system has to offer and I'll be graduating next year. Sometimes I want to slam my head on the table, figuratively. I know some of them are aware of it, but I'm not sure about the others. My teacher has given up correcting every mistake, because he wouldn't see the end of it. At least his english skills are good, since he spent some time in the US. Many other english-teachers at my school either have a very thick accent or their english makes me cringe. One teacher whose course I sat in had awful pronounciation ('era' like 'eera'), terrible grammar (for example most + superlative ending) and she didn't even speak english for the entire lesson. Another teacher once said: "If you don't make your homework, you will become a strich." (strike) and she holds a mayor course! (mayor course: more lessons per week, longer exams) I hope the students who chose english to be their mayor are good in english, but I've heard their recent debate only had two real participants. Maybe they just perform better in writing than in speaking. As you can see, the problem is rooted in the educacional system, and I asume it was even worse for older people. I don't think this problem is specific to germany.

[@khosrow]

In East Germany many English teachers are former Russian teachers who did a half year long rushed retraining. Also even if you get lucky with your teacher the curriculum is not aimed at teaching you to speak or translate English. They just drill in theoretical grammar (leaving out many conventions) and partly colloquial vocabulary (for some reason always leaving out important words like "sibling") and wooden standard sentences. The more advanced courses are solely reserved for the study of English literature. Germany is just so far behind and their lack of focus on human capital will screw them up sooner or later.

[@whahala555]

Bartimaeus of Uruk I think you may have meant to say "major" (as in 'important' or 'the discipline you are most focused on in college') instead of 'mayor' (a.k.a. the leader of a city).

[@heyitsbrandon733]

khosrow demasiadas palabras.

[@MultiSciGeek]

Great video once again. Thank you!

[@winais6007]

Thanks a million. That’s brilliant. I appreciate it. 🎉 cheers and best regards, Winai

[@jburns272]

I've heard two things about working in translation: 1) Most translators actually only translate documents from their L2 INTO their L1. Less mistakes happen this way. An obvious exception is in some East Asian countries where such translators are harder to come by or more expensive. One thing I do with my advanced English classes is to take photos of bad English translations around town and discuss ways to correct/improve them with my students. 2) Try to find a niche for your translation skills. For example, if you majored in biology, you would have an easier time finding work translating biology texts or papers.

[@1725Ale]

i'm studying translating and interpreting... I LOVE IT, but i'm afraid when it comes to interpreting i might forget a term :(

[@Langfocus]

+1725Ale Paraphrase! :)

[@crush3630]

Waw ! We are at the same department. What is your native language?

[@1725Ale]

spanish

[@crush3630]

1725Ale Great! would you practice your English with me? I'm Turkish :D

[@lunavenus7082]

1725Ale which language did you choose?

[@moisesmartinezcortez1860]

Always something great to consider with your videos! Thanks for being so passionate :)

[@everforward8651]

A useful and timely video.

[@hiddleston4008]

I'm not joking when I say you're the second person that actually knows the difference between translation and interpretation, geez

[@MrPellepennan1]

Here in Sweden where virtually everyone can have a conversation in English with a person that is or is not a native English speaker, I believe the qualifications of English translators are not as extensive as they might be in the US for foreign languages. Some writers just make translations of books in English (or even some other languages German or French) and get them publicized and start of their career this way. Here, we're so influenced by English speaking culture that to be able to speak have a conversation in English is not a question about if you can do it, just how well you can do it. So perhaps most people are not able to speak at a professional level, but can communicate well informally. My point is that I believe English teachers or translators don't necessarily need to have a masters degree here. We're only a population of soon to be 10 million and we're really keen on trying out new things from abroad... I think this has led us to take knowing English for granted, and made language skills a thing you don't necessarily only develop in a setting like university.

[@joegainer8610]

Paul, the way you focus the languages is unique!!! Congrats

[@pedrambegloo8561]

Well explained. Very useful and to the point

[@omnamahshivaaay]

Best channel to know about languages.

[@tangli8609]

I am a trial lawyer in the United States. Court systems have interpreters, for example to translate questions and answers for witnesses during a trial. For this type of job, you must also be familiar with legal terms and their corresponding translations into the other language and the skill of translating legal terms into common terms in the other language so that the non-lawyer understands what is being conveyed. Also, there are medial interpreters who work for Hospitals. A knowledge of medical terms and their common meanings would also be required.

[@qborne]

It is NOT the interpreters or translaters job to translate or interpret into laymans language. If the limited english person can not understand the professional term, it is the job of the speaker to explain or convert to equivalent laymans term. The interpreter or translator only interpret or translate.

[@snodgrass00001]

Thank you for this video. I enjoyed your delivery and how you differentiated the different opportunities available to language enthusiasts and learners such as myself. どうもありがとうございます！

[@thomasfranklin9166]

really nice work youre doing with this channel , man

[@priyamuni1133]

clear explanation and love ur pronouncing

[@cernowaingreenman]

I work in a hospital in the American Midwest, and knowing Spanish has become very helpful as we have a lot of Spanish-only speaking patients and families.

[@mariawesley7583]

I hope you are paid more than your monolingual coworkers.

[@howdypartner3403]

Wow I had no idea there was so many immigrants in the midwest. I thought that was only common in metropolitan american cities.

[@siamakalaei1148]

Thanks for your explanation. Best wishes.

[@dennis771]

I understand a lot of people will say learn this language or learn that language but in reality English is a only language you truly need worldwide.

[@wingdoris]

I'm glad you mentioned learning Cantonese for those who want to stay in Hong Kong, cos many people assume that Hongkongers speak Mandarin or they simply get by with speaking only English, while they miss the chance to get to know the local culture and to blend in.

[@user-ib4rg3qw8i]

And the schools don't teach Cantonese at all

[@Slim14700]

Thank you for a very interesting episode! I speak 9 languages just because I love learning languages and I'm gonna definitely take advantage of that!

[@Langfocus]

+Michał Muszyński Great! You absolutely should!

[@cruelangel7737]

I appreciate you giving an accurate job description of cabin attendant as a security expert and not a service expert!

[@sarahaidablal7894]

Thanks for your videos Langfocus. :)

[@chairmankimjongundprk]

i'm 14, a filipino. i know dutch and now i'm watching this.

[@mrrandom1265]

I'm French, learned English, German and some Spanish and I worked for 6 years as a flight attendant. Great experience!

[@gustavcarlson8008]

great video as always!

[@Langfocus]

+Gustav Carlson Thanks Gustav!

[@skiperjorg6500]

thanks, your video is great! Muito bom , parabéns, Jorge from Brazil

[@FeliciaFollum]

This is a great video...A teaching job that a language dabbler can do is USBC - US - Brazil Connect. If you are American and a Native English Speaker you can teach English in Brazil for 1-2 months with this program. It's an emersion based language learning program so you don't need any foreign language experience (thought it's obviously helpful and will help you get more out of the trip but they don't require it). A friend I worked with in Brazil went and taught English in China shortly after. He had German language experience but didn't speak Portuguese or Chinese. I had a basic understanding or Hindi, Urdu, Spanish and sign language but nothing of Portuguese prior to teaching English in Brazil...

[@Euphos12]

I'm a doctor and I worked a while at Panama City, Panama and although official language here is Spanish, I already had to use my English and French skills at the hospital to aid some tourists, so I think that counts, too.

[@YashKumar-ef5go]

Nice video. Thanks.

[@hassanabdul-kareem1882]

Your voice is so satisfying honestly , thanks for your hard work though.

[@charlesrivet3246]

I'm looking forward a video about the French language, especially the differences in accent, vocabulary and pronunciation among francophone African countries.

[@Lucy-ng7cw]

You should do a video on the basque-Icelandic pidgin. And yes that's a real thing. At least do it because it's just so hilarious

[@Langfocus]

+Lucy Hunt Hmmm. Maybe someday I'll do a series like "Languages you won't believe are real!" Lol

[@jancovanderwesthuizen8070]

Is that written in the Tibetan script? That would round it up

[@anastasiak1887]

Lucy Hunt

[@somespeciesofpenguin]

@@Langfocus I just discovered your channel today and binged watched for last 2-3 hours. Have you done the languages you won't believe are real series yet? Its been 2 years 😉

[@lh2738]

Mesedez

[@afighter1459]

Wow! Nice video. I loved the tips and the way you talk. I am a freelance translator, and I live in the countryside (which has been my dream since forever); I work for clients from all around the world. While in college, I worked for a company as an international trade agent. The ability to speak in English has given me the amazing opportunity to visit other countries. I do what I love, and I love what I do. Translating = Unity. Thank you for sharing this amazing information. Have an awesome day!

[@Moonlight_Sonata19]

Thank you for the video! Interesting!

[@Junkiel]

I'm Haitien My dream is study Translator and interpreter Already I speak three languages French,Spanish,creole

[@isabellamori592]

Well, I wanna be a diplomat and a diplomat surely need to know a lot of languages. At least here in my country, we need to know portuguese (mother tongue, so that's obvious, right), english, french and spanish, but the ideal is to know 1 or 2 more languages than that, I think. Also, diplomacy is a good choice if you like learning new languages and traveling. It allows you to do both at the same time, earn a lot of money and have a active participation in your country's politics.

[@adrianocarvalho6113]

Are you Brazilian, Isabella? I know that English, French and Spanish are required to be a Brazilian diplomat.

[@abdulmajeedtheyyan786]

Great presentation 😃🌹

[@Swampertchamp]

Very informative!

[@evertondouglas9179]

All of your videos are great.

[@Langfocus]

Thanks, man! This one is old school and lower quality, but I'm glad you still liked it. A question for you. When you watch old ones like this, do you notice a big difference in quality compared to my newer ones? Or does it seem like the same kind of thing? I'm curious how viewers perceive it.

[@evertondouglas9179]

I think there's no difference.

[@Langfocus]

I see. Thanks!

[@SpeakWritePlayinEnglish]

Learning another language is as important as finishing college. It opens up so many opportunities abroad.

[@MrMattpnk]

Nice video!

[@Inadace]

Excellent video!

[@nemesis962074]

I believe another reason to learn a foreign language is if you live in a very diverse area where a substantial amount of people speak a specific foreign language.

[@FeliciaFollum]

+nemesis962074 Absolutely!!! Our new community has a ton of languages represented in it. We have a national lab, a refugee center and a lot of farm labour...I love it here haha

[@iriskedmylifetowritethisna1154]

I'm going to point out an example: living in Florida would be easier if you can speak Spanish.

[@isa.sharif]

+nemesis962074 Exactly! I live in a country where above half of the whole population are expatriates, and a huge chunk of them speak the same language or a slightly different language, which means learning that language would let me understand at least 30% of the population. By the way: I live in Bahrain, and the language is Indian/Urdu.

[@FeliciaFollum]

Isa Sharif where is Bahrain...main hindi aur urdu bolti hoon yaar!

[@isa.sharif]

+Felicia Follum It is a small archipelago in the Arabian/Persian Gulf. I would've replied to you in Urdu/Hindi if I hadn't stop learning it 3 years ago just weeks after I started; the website i was using (called: Livemocha) went under drastic changes (to the worse) and I started facing problems using it. I remember less than 10 sentences now :P

[@stefanocapparelli4997]

What about learning languages as a hobby?

[@hotrodjones74]

That's a good reason too. I'm learning French slowly as a hobby and trying to improve my Russian for professional work and life here in Russia.

[@newagehero9605]

Justin Davis same Spanish is my hobbies but Korean major

[@anlove9408]

Very good reason. Im learning chinese justo for Fun. 😁

[@colourfood386]

디 트렐DetrellTV . Me: improving my English (hobby) But iam learning korean because of kpop and Kdrama.

[@jadisjoy]

Thank you so much for making this video! It's really useful for me :))

[@Langfocus]

+Loan Nguyen You're welcome! I'm glad to hear that!

[@jumakondo2598]

How are you I'm linguistics I have ten languages I f you'll not mind I want to make friendly

[@jumakondo2598]

Hi

[@deeyandra]

So much more helpful than our career's advisor at uni. Thank you SO much!

[@denissivtsov819]

Let me just give an example of how English is useful for me to earn money. I work as a sales person/tech support in a Russian IT company. We provide protection against DDoS attacks (protection for websites, servers and other internet stuff) and have customers all over the world. So, it is really important for a person like me to know an international language in order to communicate with foreigners. Unfortunately, not all our customers know English, so sometimes I need to use Google translator to have a conversation with people from Spain, Germany, Italy, etc. This motivates me to start studying one more foreign language and keep improving my knowledge of English. P.S. I really enjoy your videos! They are a treasure for a person who is interested in learning foreign languages.

[@Langfocus]

+Denys Sivtsov Thanks Denys! And thanks for explaining your situation. I think these examples are really valuable.

[@veritasardens6547]

Very informative video, I am from Southern India and I am working as a technical translator at Renault, I have an engineering degree and I translate automotive engineering documents from French to English. So yes, if you hold a technical degree that is in some way related to that field of translation that your company specialises in, it is very helpful for your job, in addition to your knowledge of the source and target languages in the translation field.

[@user-ug9ws2yk6i]

thanks for your sharing. I will keep learning languages in my lifetime.

[@nielsdijkstra8312]

great video! really helpful :)

[@Langfocus]

+niels dijkstra Thanks! I'm glad to hear that!

[@msallehuddinsoeb]

working in customer services or call center..being able to speak more languages are helpful

[@Langfocus]

+Muhammad Sallehuddin So'eb Great point!

[@bhutchin1996]

+Muhammad Sallehuddin So'eb It is, but that's not a field you want to stay in as pay for those kinds of jobs tends to be low. However, sometimes you may get extra pay for knowing another language depending on the need for it.

[@AsmaaPurity]

The Blakester Experience i agree it s not a field you want to stay in

[@adrianjapan]

That is true! For instance Malaysia is the Call Center of Japan! And they pay a pretty decent salary (7000 ringgits/month) even more than locals to work in call centers in Kuala Lumpur and Cyberjaya speaking Japanese.

[@RiderInHell]

Programmer here. Presently I'm about to start a local job here, in Portugal. But I'm hoping to eventually get a remote job at an american company, probably next year. And them I'll be able to do just that. I'm beginning to study japanese and if all goes well with the remote job I'll be able to visit Japan and if I like it enough, who knows? Maybe I'll eventually move there. But that's a too distant future. I need to stay in the present, otherwise I might diverge from it. Anyway, good luck to me. * forever alone * :P

[@mikaela1380]

This video has helped me a lot! *-*

[@ugur_cantekdemir7540]

I love u langfocus ! You're the best channel in youtube

[@alexportocarrero189]

As a child and a teen, I always liked English. It was my favorite subject in school. Then at 25, I moved to the US and learned it well. When I came back to Perú, I took a TEFL course and became a teacher. Later, I got some more certifications and expanded my knowledge of grammar and phonetics. Now, I also teach French. I hope to eventually teach Spanish abroad as well.

[@erickmelendez9447]

Hi bro! Greetings from Peru too! Iam a native Spanish speaker and I am also fluent in English , Portuguese and now Iam learning , Italian Best wishes!!

[@alexportocarrero189]

@@erickmelendez9447 Italian and Portuguese are on my list too! :)

[@erickmelendez9447]

@@alexportocarrero189 French and German are in my list , this year I can learn it.

[@alexportocarrero189]

@@erickmelendez9447 My hard-to-learn language would be Quechua, also on my list.

[@SomethingUnusual-lp9fr]

I speak English and Spanish fluently. Then Portugues at an advanced level. I am learning advanced French but I am not fluent yet. Also learning the basics of Mandarin. Wish me luck: My goal is to become a polyglot someday. Good luck to everyone who is learning a foreing language too.

[@user-dm9mg6ow6x]

Thank you for such a good video. Your English pronunciation is soo clear that I can understand almost of your utterance (I am Korean native speaker!) thank you so much I wanna be a diplomat when I grow up!

[@headsuphockeypodcast2707]

I am learning German because I find those countries have super strong economic and international ties with America. In my area of New Jersey Spanish, Portugese, and French (Creole typically from Haiti) have a major minority language influence.