Learning Chinese - worth the time?

[Forbidden-Donut]

I felt this was kinda business-related, sorry if you don't agree!

Do you all think learning Chinese is a worthwhile investment? I ask this because a lot of people seem to have the idea that if you learn to speak Chinese, you are almost guaranteed to find good employment and be a valuable commodity of sorts..
I don't know about that, though. I would think that you'd also need to have some skills or experience in a field as well. Also, why wouldn't a company just hire a Chinese immigrant/child of immigrant who can read and speak Chinese and English fluently?

What do you guys/gals think?

 

[KidsBeeHappy]

What do you want to do with it? Being able to speak a chinese dialect is probably not top of the needs list of a web design company.

And on it's own isn't that useful.

A lawyer that could also speak chinese could have a wonderful future in the foreign investment markets.

Or a tour operator that could speak chinese.

Probably not that useful if you're a builder.

 

[Willself]

Well my local Chinese work by numbers..2x67 + A 33 to GO!!

Sorry, could n't resist..lol

 

[pauldla]

If your serious about learning Chinese that is useful for business, you're looking at several years hard work. And even then you'll be struggling. The basics of Chinese are not that hard to pick up (it's quite a logical language, much more so than English), but learning to a high enough level that you're able to converse freely and on business topics is probably more trouble than it's worth. You'll find that your Chinese counterparts have much better English than you have Chinese.

Having said that, certainly learn as much as you can if you're doing business with the Chinese. They're very appreciative of the effort, and they'll think more of you if you manage to cough out a few words of putonghua.

 

What do you want to do with it? Being able to speak a chinese dialect is probably not top of the needs list of a web design company.

And on it's own isn't that useful.

A lawyer that could also speak chinese could have a wonderful future in the foreign investment markets.

Or a tour operator that could speak chinese.

Probably not that useful if you're a builder.

Quite agree I have a Chinese associate who speaks good English.

But unfortunately inspite of this, most of our conversations are Chinese to me.

As said I believe the Chinese are taught English in school ,so I am with captain mainwaring .

Earl

 

[3 MORE YEARS]

Probably worth it if you are going to work in large company that does business with China/Chinese speaking people. Or you have a business that will be doing business with China.

Best way to learn a language is to spend some time in that country.

 

[vvaannmmaann]

Learn the basics,to be polite.After that,forget it.
Language is so complex and littered with nuance,you could easily offend your hosts without even realising it.

 

[thebigIAM]

Heard a tale of a lass arriving at an airport (don't know which one) with a sign in her hand saying 'I teach English' and getting hired within half an hour.

Pay not great, apparently, but fantastic experience.

 

Heard a tale of a lass arriving at an airport (don't know which one) with a sign in her hand saying 'I teach English' and getting hired within half an hour.

Pay not great, apparently, but fantastic experience.

I suppose that was London Airport.

Earl

 

[Cornish Steve]

It is definitely worth it. If you visit China and some young adults hear you speaking English, they'll start talking with you just to practice. The Chinese are fanatical about wanting to speak English because they want to succeed. If only we had that same passion to succeed by learning their language.

 

[kangalou]

I think you are spot on when you say companies can just hire bilingual children of Chinese immigrants...or one of the millions of Chinese people who speak good English. They are very serious about learning English there.

I did a degree in Chinese and Economics and people were always telling me that I would get snapped up without fail by companies desperate for Chinese speaking people..sadly it didn't happen. Some of my fellow students have done well by moving out to China and getting jobs with companies out there but it took time and involved a lot of networking.

Also even after a 4 year degree I wasn't fluent enough to communicate well on a business level whereas those who had done or french or german could speak like a native so I guess it is a lot harder.

You are also right when you say about having skills and experience in a field, if its a field where Chinese is useful you may well be in great demand.

Having said all that, its a fascinating language and worth learning but for other reasons like personal satisfaction, not just to get a good job.

 

[karenlee]

To learn a language will only be good for you. .

 

[jasonnoguchi]

Every new language that you can speak do give you access to a whole new part of the world and enable you to navigate your way around much easily. Is it worthwhile? Depends on what you intend to do with it. I love to learn as many languages as I can even if I can't think of a use for it yet.

 

[Apple]

I felt this was kinda business-related, sorry if you don't agree!

Do you all think learning Chinese is a worthwhile investment? I ask this because a lot of people seem to have the idea that if you learn to speak Chinese, you are almost guaranteed to find good employment and be a valuable commodity of sorts..
I don't know about that, though. I would think that you'd also need to have some skills or experience in a field as well. Also, why wouldn't a company just hire a Chinese immigrant/child of immigrant who can read and speak Chinese and English fluently?

What do you guys/gals think?

I think if i have time ,I can learn one more language ,If go to some international company ,then it's will be a plus .

 

[SusanP]

Learning even a small amount of a foreign language is always worthwhile. People will appreciate it and treat you very differently.

You won't be able to negotiate contracts in Chinese after 40-50 hours of study, but you might be able to follow the gist of a conversation, ask simple questions etc. About 70% of the everyday English we speak is made up of just 1000 common words, so it's probably similar in Chinese.

The BBC has lots of free language courses online. Here is one of their Chinese (Mandarin) pages: http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/chinese/real_chinese/videos/

As for employability, it's not just about academic qualifications. Plenty of brainboxes and boffins can't get jobs because they lack social or communication skills - those are even more important.