[Pingüino]

Ok, so I'm doing French and Spanish at AS at the moment and want to take 3 languages at Uni. I'm stuck between Italian as it's close to Spanish, or Russian which is different so would be more of a challenge, and possibly may make me more employable at the end of the degree.

Which language do you think I should take?? Thanks x

[thesilvermagnolia]

It really depends on what languages/cultures interest you. Although Italian is similar to Spanish, there are also many differences Russian, would be more of a challenge, as the language formation is not something that you will have worked with before. Russian would be a good option in terms of employability, but it depends where your interests lie!

[JakeE10]

German

[xmarilynx]

What level are you at in your French and Spanish? I'd say Russian would be a good idea if you have a very solid level in the first two (I know you'll be doing A2, but the level varies greatly). Otherwise it might be a good idea to pick something easier, as you don't want to end up spreading yourself too thin and ending up not speaking any of them that well, or focusing more on one or two and neglecting the others.

Have you tried Russian yet? As it's so difficult you'd need to be really motivated, especially if you're studying two other languages on top, and employability alone probably wouldn't be enough.

Final thing - have you thought about your year abroad? Languages are only really useful if you have a high level in them, and you'd definitely need to spend a great deal of time in Russia to get your Russian to the level it would need to be. I read on another thread from someone that spent her entire year abroad in Russia that those that only spent six months there struggled when they came back. But of course if you did spend your entire year in Russia then your French and Spanish would suffer.

Conclusion - Russian if you're really motivated, have a good level in the first two languages and are prepared to put in a lot of work in all three languages, as come final year you'll be competing with people that have spent a year or a good six months in the country. Otherwise, Italian would be a better bet. I would recommend trying a bit of Italian and Russian before deciding, as 'employable' and 'easy' aren't the best criteria.

[Surfnicky1]

hey i study french and russian currently. I had a choice in sixth form between spanish, italian and russian and i chose to do russian because it was a bit different. i can honestly say i am so glad i did and have loved every minute of learning this language although i'm not going to lie the grammar is confusing sometimes - it's a language of patterns rather than fixed rules but it is so interesting good luck