[keziah_X]

Hi people!!

I'm in a bit of a dilemma at the moment and looking for advice. I'm currently a first year at SOAS studying Korean and Politics, however I haven't really fallen in love with Korean :/ I'm not enjoying it that much, nor the politics. Because of this I've sent off a UCAS application to study Spanish and Portuguese at UCL, Durham, KCL, Bristol and Nottingham.

I just want to get people's opinions on whether a degree from SOAS in Korean is more or less employable than a degree from somewhere like UCL in Spanish and Portuguese? Considering that if I continue to lack enthusiasm for Korean I definitely won't get a first, whereas I know already from GCSE and A Level that I love Spanish.

So basically, hypothetically speaking, is a lower class degree in a more unique language more employable, than say a first class degree in Spanish and Portuguese?? Please help I'm going insane!!!!

[Shelly_x]

If you're not enjoying the course then you made the right decision to leave it, theres no point doing it if you don't like it. There are 78 million people who speak Korean, and 500 million who speak Spanish and 236 who speak Portuguese. Therefore with a Spanish and Portuguese degree you would be more in demand due to a larger number of interpreters ect needed for them. You would also have two languages as opposed to one.

[keziah_X]

Thanks!

[biffyclyro27]

Spanish definitely. It's the most sought after language in terms of employability in the global business world. Plenty of jobs available for that sort of thing, plus it makes sense to do what you enjoy.

[NOBODY MOVE!]

spanish people talk so very fast O.O''

[sarah1345]

I'd say if you're staying in the UK, Korean will be highly valued. Not many Brits speak it, and you must not forget South Korea has a booming economy, and is growing steadily, together with the other tiger economies. They have recovered well since the Asian Financial Crisis of 1997.

Both languages are highly employable. But you often hear of the 'shift to the East', that's to Asia. But if you aren't enjoying it, there's no point in pursuing it.

[gruffyddd]

The higher class degree is definitely more employable. There are many jobs that you may apply for after your degree which don't directly use the language you studied, but a good degree grade is evidence that you'll be able to pick up new skills required in your job.

Also you were very brave to pick Korean if your first language is English. That is estimated to take 2200 hours to become fluent in for a native English speaker, vs 575-600 hours for Spanish or other European languages.

[gagaslilmonsteruk]

Bof! Pour moi c'est le francais naturellement

[Koobideh]

Korean is not a useful language at all. If you want to learn an Asian language then it must be Mandarin, that is useful.

Spanish and Portuguese are very useful especially since S. America is growing so much.

[electriic_ink]

(Original post by Shelly_x)
There are 78 million people who speak Korean, and 500 million who speak Spanish and 236 who speak Portuguese. Therefore with a Spanish and Portuguese degree you would be more in demand due to a larger number of interpreters ect needed for them. You would also have two languages as opposed to one.

That isn't necessarily true. I'd wager that there are far more English/Spanish bilinguals than English/Korean.

[Alouette!]

I think that the higher degree classification would be more highly regarded.

In terms of which language, there are a number of ways of looking at it:

Firstly, what do you hope to do careerwise? If you hope to go into teaching for example, then definitely choose Spanish and Portuguese as these are more widely taught in schools ; there isn't an exam board which offers GCSE or A Level qualifications in Korean.

Secondly, Spanish and Portuguese are more widely spoken than Korean, therefore studying these will provide you with greater opportunities in a wider variety of places.

On the other hand, there is a lack of Korean speakers in the UK, meaning that you will have a skill that not many people have. Having said this, if you complete your first year at SOAS, you will have a basic/intermediate knowledge of Korean, which you could possibly use later on.

[Ho Chi Minh]

I think you will find it more fulfilling and beneficial in the long-term to study the language/languages you most enjoy and are best at. To be honest a foundation in European languages actually makes you more employable than Oriental/more exotic languages (although perhaps Korean looks a bit more impressive to some and all languages make you very employable anyway) =P

It is a common misconception that Mandarin Chinese is the language of the future. The reality is that the very nature of the language (even a Chinese person can only read 80% of a tabloid newspaper in Mandarin) means that it will take an English speaker about ten times longer to learn Mandarin than a Chinese person to learn English. The languages to watch out for are Arabic and French at the moment, apparently.

(Source: The Foreign Office)

[sarah1345]

(Original post by Ho Chi Minh)
I think you will find it more fulfilling and beneficial in the long-term to study the language/languages you most enjoy and are best at. To be honest a foundation in European languages actually makes you more employable than Oriental/more exotic languages (although perhaps Korean looks a bit more impressive to some and all languages make you very employable anyway) =P

It is a common misconception that Mandarin Chinese is the language of the future. The reality is that the very nature of the language (even a Chinese person can only read 80% of a tabloid newspaper in Mandarin) means that it will take an English speaker about ten times longer to learn Mandarin than a Chinese person to learn English. The languages to watch out for are Arabic and French at the moment, apparently.

(Source: The Foreign Office)

'watch out for', what do you mean by this? High demand? From like Arabia etc?

[CJM13]

(Original post by Shelly_x)
If you're not enjoying the course then you made the right decision to leave it, theres no point doing it if you don't like it. There are 78 million people who speak Korean, and 500 million who speak Spanish and 236 who speak Portuguese. Therefore with a Spanish and Portuguese degree you would be more in demand due to a larger number of interpreters ect needed for them. You would also have two languages as opposed to one.

Not much point studying Portuguese then.

[Ho Chi Minh]

(Original post by sarah1345)
'watch out for', what do you mean by this? High demand? From like Arabia etc?

I mean languages such as English, French, Spanish, and Arabic which are globally in high demand.

[keziah_X]

Thanks for your replies guys! In answer to one of you, my main career ambition is to work in the states as a translator/interpreter, and since I'm not American I'm just wondering which one would make it easier to gain employment in America.

[Alouette!]

(Original post by keziah_X)
Thanks for your replies guys! In answer to one of you, my main career ambition is to work in the states as a translator/interpreter, and since I'm not American I'm just wondering which one would make it easier to gain employment in America.

In America, definitely Spanish ; although it's not an official language, I believe about 10% of the population speak it as a first language.

[number23]

If i have the opportunity at uni which of these courses should i go for (i did gcse french btw):
http://www.dur.ac.uk/mlac/cfls/lfa/courses/