Hassan Syed

Dear Hassan Syed

I agree with your opinion and your comment has reinforced my thoughts that a second language is not necessarily beneficial in academic positions. Even so, I practice my German every day as a hobby.

Best regards

Chen

Of course, it is usefull and necessary.

你好 Chen，

I personally believe that knowing more than one language is beneficial to one's research career. It may not directly benefit you in getting PhD opportunities, but it should indirectly help you in a number of ways. For instance, you may not get a position at a German university because of your knowledge of German, but if you got the position your knowledge of German would make the transition to the German university easier for you. Additionally, knowing more languages means you can familiarize yourself with more research. I am bilingual in English and Spanish, and I have personally benefited multiple times from being able to read articles in both languages. Moreover, you could really do a lot in terms of international research, especially in the area of psychometrics (e.g., if you can translate scales, you can verify whether they generalize to wider populations). I hope that this helps.

Best,

Alex Marbut

The more languages you know, the wider your opportunities to be up to date with 'global' knowledge. Languages will enable you to disseminate your own research and have a wider audience and readership. As for job opportunities and research positions, knowing more languages is a must.

Knowing languages is always beneficial. In terms of academic purposes, English is vital in case it is not your mother tongue. However, for personal reasons and for enhancing brain activities, being able to speak several languages is exciting and advisable.

That is for sure. The more languages you know, the easier your career will become.

I agree, it is very important to know more than one foreign langauge (English). My case is very similiar - I am from the Czech Republic, my mother language is Czech, my second language is German (C2) and my third language is English (B2). Also knowing languages is a big benefit for my life and for my job.

I have been teaching Italian to Turkish university students since 1995. Two years ago I started to teach Italian culture in English. So I'm using two foreign languages during my courses. It's a very interesting experience to speak first in Italian and then in English.

This is why we say that the more languages you knwo, the more you widen your 'language/linguistic' frontiers.

I agree with Alex Marbut. Additionally, provided that your proficiency is high enough, you can have more publication venues (i.e., in other languages) for your research.

Hein Retter

Dear Hein Retter

Thanks for your reply. I get it.

Best regards

Chen

Alex Marbut

Dear Alex Marbut

謝謝。Your description and story are very beneficial to me. As far as your comments, I understand that I will likely not get a position due to a second foreign language. However, maybe one day I will get a chance to work in a German research institution or university because of my knowledge of German.

Best regards

Chen

Bachir Bouhania

Dear Professor Bouhania

Thanks for your reply. I agree with your opinion to a certain extent. I practice German every day, and I never ignore it. Although I consider a second language essential in approaching knowledge, in scientific careers, a second language does not seem necessary. My previous experience has taught me that fluent English is required to procure a job. In Germany, someone is often unwilling to speak German with me when they find out I can speak English.

Best regards

Chen

It is a certain advantage to be able to speak English as a foreign language, but machines often formulate in the foreign language faster than a human being.

I've always been very fond of studying languages. It came considerably handy while applying for a doctoral programme that required proficiency in two foreign languages (English and Spanish). Besides that, being able to read in other languages will always broaden any researcher's spectrum and perspective. All in all, it should serve at least as a riveting intellectual exercise.

Dear Hein Retter ,

Do you mean that translating engines are already better than humans at translating?

It goes without saying that you then have to fly over the text again, because there are known errors that can be corrected quickly.

Dear Hein Retter, I also do agree with A.C. Noletto to questopn the swiftness of machines to translate; they are quick yes but not that efficient at rendering acceptable translations.

Dear Ingrid Fontanini

Thanks for your reply. I agree with your opinion to a certain extent. In terms of academic purpose to learn a language, English is the most necessary. A second foreign language can be acquired as a hobby.

Best regards

Chen

Dear Adel Bahameed

Thanks for your reply. I agree with your opinion to a certain extent. However, it involves a few issues. Firstly, can nationals whose official and majority language is not English speak English fluently? For example, most Scandinavians can speak English fluently, so their languages are not needed to be learned for getting jobs in their countries. Conversely, most Japanese and Chinese cannot speak English fluently, so their languages are necessary to learn.

Secondly, I understand that learning more languages requires more effort. Even though I can speak German, I still spend a lot of time practising it to avoid forgetting.

Best regards

Chen

Dear Petra Besedova

Thanks for your reply. You are so excellent to reach the C2 level of German skill. I am of the same mind that knowing languages benefits my life, and I enjoy approaching German culture through the German language. However, based on my experience, I did not get any benefit on my job from the knowledge of German.

Best regards

Chen

Dear Meltem Aktas

Thanks for your reply and for sharing your experience. It is definitely an interesting experience and a challenging job. I wish everything goes well with your work.

Best regards

Chen

Dear Dr Nikitina

Thanks for your reply. Ideally, provided that my expertise is eligible, I can have more of my research published. However, in my field of neuropsychology and vision research, there are few publications in German. Moreover, although I have not studied psychology in Germany, I have looked at the publications on the websites of universities in Germany. Most publications are written in English. Because of this, I have begun to wonder if second foreign languages are useless for research careers.

Best regards

Chen

Israel A. C. Noletto

Dear Dr Noletto

Thanks for your reply. In my research area of psychology, English is enough to deal with everything. Sometimes, I read textbooks in Chinese because my mother tongue is Chinese, and it is easier for me to understand some ideas rapidly. Most scientific books or journals in psychology are published in English. Finding journals in German is hard and seems somewhat unnecessary.

Best regards

Chen

Bachir Bouhania

Gladly I say you and colleague Noletto are right. You are the expertes, and I am a stressed individual, with not much experience in writing English. It's only a pragmatic aspect and my practical way now.

@Hein Retter

You're welcome

Knowledge of a single foreign language is not enough for our profession. You need at least one more - but to master it you need a longer stay abroad.

Hein Retter

Dear Hein Retter

Thanks for your reply. I get it.

Best regards

Chen