Learning to speak German is a great investment in both your social and business life. Popular reasons for people to start learning German are to make the most of holidays in Germany, be able to chat with German relatives and prepare for study exchange programs in Germany. While these are all good reasons to learn German, you might be surprised to discover just how many other great reasons there are that you’ve never considered. These are some that come to mind:

Germany is the most populous European nation and German is the most widely spoken language in Europe. Learning German can connect you with 120 million native speakers around the globe and you might be surprised to learn that German is the 3rd most popular foreign language taught worldwide. Learning German will allow you to communicate with German speakers all across the world and not just the Germans, Austrians and the Swiss in their respective countries.  

Germany is the economic powerhouse of the European Union and one of the biggest international exporters. Germany’s international trade earnings are proof of the high demand for German goods. This means that if you speak German you will have excellent international employment and career opportunities. The Germans are great innovators and Germany is on the frontline of new technologies.

While German workers are highly productive, it is clear they know how to play just as hard as they work. In 2007, the Germans spent a record 91 billion euros on international travel. Tourism companies, airlines, hotels and car rental businesses that can communicate in German will profit from the German tourism industry.

Also don’t be fooled into thinking that German is a language of the past. In number of books published, Munich is second in the world only to New York. As few of these books are translated into English, the only way to profit from this information is to learn German.

German speaking countries have a very rich cultural heritage. The Germans are well known for their poets, classical musicians and great philosophers. 10 Nobel prizes have been awarded to German, Austrian and Swiss German authors. Philosophy and the sciences would be unthinkable without the contributions of German speakers. Anyone interested in any of these fields automatically expands their knowledge and skill by knowing German.  Whether you’re interested in cultural and intellectual heritage of these countries or not, the fact remains that Switzerland, Austria and Germany all offer a very high standard of living, which make these countries very sought after and comfortable places to live.

You might be thinking that this sounds good in theory but the German language is too difficult to learn. Well you’re wrong! I think you’d be surprised to discover just how similar English is to German. Due to their common heritage, German and English share many similarities in both vocabulary and grammar. Also once you learn the German system of sounds, it’s easy to predict how the spoken word is written and how the word is pronounced. Besides learning German can be loads of fun, especially if you make use of resources like this free learn German podcast.