Learning a language has been a popular New Year’s resolution for many years and has consistently ranked as one of the top 10 resolutions of all time.

So if you are considering learning a language this new year then you are in luck as we have selected the best foreign languages ​​to learn in 2018.

1. Spanish

The wide spread of the Spanish language in Europe and America has made it our number one language to learn in 2018. With more than 470 million native speakers and a growing number of non-native speakers, it is the most common language spoken in the world, second only to Mandarin Chinese.

Native: 470 million (2017)

Non-native: 100 million (2017)

Official language in: Mexico, Colombia, Spain, Argentina, Peru, Venezuela, Chile, Ecuador, Guatemala, Cuba, Bolivia, Dominican Republic, Honduras, Paraguay, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, Panama, Uruguay and Equatorial Guinea .

Unofficially spoken in: Andorra, Belize, Gibraltar and the United States.

2. Chinese

Mandarin Chinese is the most widely spoken language in the world with more than one billion native speakers. It is the official language of China and is spoken by almost 70% of the Chinese population. With celebrities like Mark Zuckerberg embracing the dialect, Mandarin Chinese has the potential to challenge the supremacy of English, especially in business circles, as China takes the United States out of first place as the nation with the highest GDP in the world.

Native: 1 Billion (2017)

Non-native: 200 million (2017)

Official language in: China, Taiwan and Singapore.

Unofficially spoken in: Indonesia, southern Vietnam, and Malaysia.

3. French

French is a Romance language spoken by approximately 80 million native speakers and more than 153 million non-native speakers worldwide. It is the second most widely spoken first language in Europe and is one of the six official languages ​​of the United Nations. Due to its colonial past, similar to that of English, French also has more non-native speakers than native speakers found throughout the world.

Native: 80 million (2017)

Non-native: 153 million (2017)

Official language in: France, Canada, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Madagascar, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Niger, Burkina Faso, Mali, Senegal, Chad, Guinea, Rwanda, Belgium, Burundi, Benin, Haiti, Switzerland, Togo, Central African Republic , Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Comoros, Luxembourg, Vanuatu, Seychelles and Monaco.

Unofficially spoken in: Algeria, Albania, Andorra, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Cape Verde, Dominica, Egypt, Greece, Laos, Lebanon, Morocco, Macedonia, Mauritania, Mauritius, Moldova, Romania, Saint Lucia, Tunisia, and Vietnam.

4. Arabic

Arabic is commonly spoken in the Middle East and is the dominant language in some of the fastest growing markets in this region with more than 420 million speakers worldwide. It is also one of the six official languages ​​of the United Nations and is the fifth most widely spoken language in the world, after Mandarin Chinese, Spanish, English and Hindi.

Native: 290 million (2017)

Non-native: 132 million (2017)

Official language in: Egypt, Algeria, Sudan, Iraq, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Libya, Lebanon, Palestine, Mauritania, Oman, Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain.

Unofficially spoken in: Chad, Comoros, Djibouti, Eritrea, Somalia, South Sudan.

5. German

As one of the 3 official languages ​​of the European Union, the German language has approximately 110 million native speakers and is the most widely spoken native language in Europe. In addition to being the lingua franca of Central and Eastern Europe, German is a language that is rapidly gaining popularity on the Internet, with (Germany) being the country’s top-level domain.

Native: 110 million (est.)

Non-native: 52 million

Official language in: Germany, Belgium, Austria, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein.

Unofficially spoken in: Brazil, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Czech Republic, Denmark, Hungary, Italy, Kazakhstan, Namibia, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Ukraine.

6. English

With more than 370 million native speakers worldwide, English is one of the most widely spoken languages ​​in the world. It is also the current language of business throughout the world. While a basic knowledge of the English language may be enough to communicate at a beginning level, it can make it difficult to create a relationship with a native English speaker, especially for business purposes. Proficiency in the English language is essential for both professional and personal success.

Native: 370 million

Non-native: 600 million

Official language in: US, UK, Australia, Canada and more than 50 other countries.

Unofficially spoken in: United Arab Emirates, Sri Lanka, and over 40 other countries.

Learn a language and improve your communication to make 2018 a fruitful year. Start your course today!