C90.02 learner - Cloud Technology Concepts Updated: 2024

Jason Cannon (00:00):

This week's 10-44 is brought to you by Chevron Delo 600 ADF ultra low ash diesel engine oil. It's time to kick some ash. If you've got school-aged kids, you've seen firsthand how learning has evolved, and driver training is not immune. You're watching CCJ's 10-44, a weekly webisode that brings you the latest trucking industry news and updates from the editors of CCJ. Don't forget to subscribe and hit the bell for notifications, so you'll never miss an installment of 10-44.

Hey, everybody. Welcome back. I'm Jason Cannon. And my co-host, on the other side, is Matt Cole. When I was a kid, school was pretty black and white. You either knew the right answer or you didn't, and the grade at the top of the paper, whether it was good or it was bad, it reflected your level of comprehension. But through the years, we've seen how students are taught and how that's evolved, and in some cases, it's customized, given everyone's brain works just a little bit differently.

Matt Cole (00:54):

As we've transitioned to this day and age of everyone being remote, it stands to reason that sitting in a desk and being talked at has been de-emphasized, thanks to technology.

Jason Cannon (01:03):

Part of that shift in emphasis is embracing immersive learning, where students are thrown into an experience and you don't even have to be there. Dr. Gina Anderson, who's CEO of Luma Bright Learnings, she joins the 10-44 this week, and she tells us how it all works.

Dr. Gina Anderson (01:20):

So immersive learning, it's like an authentic learning environment where you're in the actual, or you get to experience the actual environment that you need to know the information. So when you think about the Google, think about Google Map, where you take the person and you drop them in the map and you can look around the environment. It's giving someone the experience of doing that without the technology of the three-dimensional set. So virtual reality is putting on technology, so that you can experience it. But you need that component or you need the technology component. With immersive learning, you can create those experiences pretty easily through the technology that exists today. And what that provides the actual driver is an experience that they're going to have or that they have had to reinforce that information. A good example is drivers who have to go to, let's say, downtown Chicago, and they have to go to a grocery store and they have to drop a load.

(02:28):

If they've never been to that store, they don't know what that parking lot looks like. They pull in, and they hit the bolo. They could have trained with a trainer for eight months or however long, three months, and they've never been to that store. They go there, they park, "Oh no, I didn't see the bolo," and they hit it. But if that store would've created an immersive learning experience, they've gone out, they've taken their phone, they've scanned the environment, they've loaded it, they've identified the bolo, they've labeled the store number, they send that out to the driver.

(03:01):

They get that before they go to the store. They know what to expect before they get there. That's immersing them in that experience, so they know what to expect. So people are using this for parking lots. They're using it for terminals. If they've never been to a terminal, where to drop their keys. For cargo securement, for inspections of their trucks. It's really bringing in the authentic learning experience for the driver. It's not generic. You're not just learning about parking on a generic video. You're actually learning about parking in the environment you need.

Matt Cole (03:35):

Fleets have hundreds and thousands of trucks and nearly as many customers scattered all over the U.S. Who has time to go out and scout all these locations? Gina says, in most cases, this is a partnership with a shipper or receiver who is more than willing to help out, because in the end, they too stand to benefit.

Dr. Gina Anderson (03:51):

You don't have to do the work. You have people at those locations or your customers are there. We train them on how to do the scan. Everyone knows how pretty much how to take a panoram on their phone, so they have to take a panoram of the parking lot or the environment. And so, we worked with a client that has over 250 stores. They didn't go to every 250 store. There are individuals at every location that know how to take a panoram picture, and so, they load their panoram pictures. And then, most of these locations have a paper. They have a piece of paper that says, "This store, this information." It's all on a piece of paper. They already have the content. They just aren't using it in a way that is efficient and can save time on demand in real time. So it's about helping them get this information that's on a piece of paper about that store and about the dangers on that parking lot in an actual environment that's going to be easy for the drivers to use and access.

Jason Cannon (04:57):

There is an element of proactiveness here. You don't know what you don't know. So drivers and driver managers have to be proactive in understanding, "Hey, we've never been here before, so let's make sure this looks like we expect it to look." Gina tells us more after a word from 10-44 sponsor, Chevron Lubricants. Protecting your diesel engine and its after treatment system has traditionally been a double-edged sword. The same engine oil that is so essential to protecting your engine's internal parts is also responsible for 90% of the ash that is clogging up your DPF and upping your fuel and maintenance costs. Outdated industry thinking still sees a trade-off between engine and emission system protection, and Chevron was tired of it.

(05:36):

So they spent a decade of R&D developing a no compromise formulation. Chevron Lubricants developed a new ultra low ash diesel engine oil that is specifically designed to combat DPF ash clogging. Delo 600 ADF with OMNIMAX technology cuts sulfate ash by a whopping 60%, which reduces the rate of DPF clogging and extends DPF service life by two and a half times. And just think what you can do with all the MPGs you're going to add from cutting your number of regens. But Delo's 600 ADF isn't just about after treatment. It provides complete protection extending drain intervals by preventing oil breakdown. Before, you had to choose between protecting your engine or your after treatment system, and now, you don't. 600 ADF from Delo with OMNIMAX technology, it's time to kick some ash.

Dr. Gina Anderson (06:22):

So if you're going to a store, you're able to be able to get that information. So in our LMS, all the stores, the managers have them all labeled. If you're going to that store, you would be able to go into your phone, search that store, and pull it up that night before you go there. So those stores are all labeled and released, so you can go in. Now, you as a driver would have to have, if it's not directly assigned to you, if your manager didn't assign it to you, you would have to have the motivation to want to know what that store looks like. If you're going to ignore it and nobody assigned it to you, but really what people are doing, what our clients are doing is they are assigning those stores. So you know, once you get that load assignment, that's part of your information on that store.

(07:12):

So it's not in a book and you got to go through and look through a book of information. You actually see and experience it. The driver's feedback on this is very positive actually, because it all can translate to their language in real time. Any information can be translated to their original language, and as you know, you learn best in the language that is yours. So the drivers rate them really high, because they really appreciate knowing what they're getting into. It's like, "Oh my gosh, this carrier really cares about me and really wants me to know what I'm getting into." If they have questions, then they can message and get real time information about that.

Matt Cole (07:51):

This type of immersive learning solves two problems, driver safety and liability, because the fleet is the one that's going to be responsible for a driver crashing into something on site.

Dr. Gina Anderson (08:00):

I think the carrier is concerned about, obviously, the cost, the rising cost of the accidents, the risk that it would be if somebody doesn't secure their cargo exactly right. Goodness, grief, I've seen some of the general information, we really have to build authentic experiences for the drivers that are meaningful. It's one thing to learn generally about cargo securement. It's another thing to go out with a trainer and have them show you, but the average learner isn't going to remember that. Unless they're experienced and they've done it a lot of times, they're still going to, if they get a new vehicle or they have a new experience, they have to be reinforced that information. So yeah, definitely a liability sense. If they don't have that secure, even though they've shown them, this gives them an opportunity to reinforce that information. So I think it's both.

(08:52):

I don't think you can say it's one or the other. I also think it gives you an opportunity to connect from a recruitment standpoint and build those connections. It's one thing to send out generic information. It's another thing to give an adult information what they need when they need it. And not every carrier, obviously, is doing this. They're still doing the same thing that you described originally. And drivers really do rate this high. They have the opportunity after every eNugget to rate them, and they do rate it high. And I think it's because, number one, they have the information, but they appreciate it. They leave us feedback, real-time feedback, that they appreciate that the carrier is doing this for them. And so, I think that says a lot from a driver perspective. It would be interesting to ask drivers themselves, "Is this good for your safety?" Yeah, absolutely. But it also shows that the carriers have some stake in really caring about the driver.

Jason Cannon (09:54):

The key to driver education and any type of education really is to ensure that the information that you're sharing is relevant and that you're not just slinging a bunch of information and stats around in the name of education.

Dr. Gina Anderson (10:06):

It's really important that you provide experiences for the drivers that are meaningful, because as adult learners in general, your attention spans are really shrinking, especially with the YouTube generation and TikTok. The learning scientists are studying the brain and attention to information, and it is documented in the research that our attentions and our neurons are really having shortened attention. So if you have limited attention for the learners, you have to focus it on information that they need when they need it. It's critical. It's critical. That's really...

Jason Cannon (10:46):

That's it for this week's 10-44. You can read more on CCJDigital.com. While you're there, sign up for our newsletter and stay up to date on the latest in trucking industry news and trends. If you have any questions or feedback, please let us know in the comments below. Don't forget to subscribe and hit the bell for notifications, so you can catch us again next week.

Each year, we share our 10 most-read stories. Not surprisingly, many of this year’s Top 10 focused on generative AI, adult learners, and higher-ed trends. This year’s 7th most-read story focuses on why ChatGPT was just what higher ed needed.

Since its launch in November 2022, ChatGPT has dominated conversations in the media landscape and within the education industry. A key conversation focuses on weighing its benefits versus risks, and many higher-ed institutions have been quick to implement bans on the technology altogether for fears of plagiarism in written works. But is this the right course of action to take?

As technology evolves, industries must evolve alongside it, and education is no exception – especially in an era where students heavily and regularly engage in technology and its applications. Instead of being afraid of the unknown, educators and leaders should navigate these changes with curiosity and an open mind and embrace the shake up the education industry has been waiting for. ChatGPT can be the answer we’re looking for in our search for the ideal, personalized student experience–and ultimately student success.

ChatGPT as an innovative pathway

For students and educators alike, allowing for creativity in new types of learning in the classroom should always be encouraged. In a structured classroom setting, an educator can only be expected to teach a certain amount of curriculum, and learners can only retain so much information at one time. By harnessing the power of technology, learners can access a broader understanding of a topic, mitigating the structural bias of the institution and curriculum.

Utilizing technology–which generates perspectives aggregated from myriad sources–allows for an expanded understanding of a certain topic or theme, which was initially seeded within the four walls of the classroom, but now can be encouraged and further explored with support from platforms like ChatGPT.

Take, for example, a lesson plan on the War of 1812. A professor or educator can spend a lecture or semester teaching the curriculum, but if you ask ChatGPT what the biggest takeaways from the war are, it’s possible and likely a learner is provided with even more context and historical facts via the chatbot than what is possible for an instructor to cover from a set curriculum. Is this a problem? No–not if we’re viewing it as a lens to further support learning and broaden the scope of topics that can be covered. As educators, we are trying to light that spark of curiosity that will ignite a fire of lifelong learning. ChatGPT provides that adaptive capability to teach content, but at the learners’ interest to supplement the instructional direction.

Shifting the conversation

When ChatGPT was first released, questions swirled around higher ed about it stoking an increase in plagiarism, promoting a lack of critical thinking, and what the future would hold for classic functions like the college admission essay. If we go back to the War of 1812 lecture example, we can see the value of adaptive learning if we instead embrace these tech advancements. Instead of thinking about ChatGPT spitting out the answers about the biggest takeaways from the war and assuming the learner is using the tool for the sole purpose of plagiarism, we need to shift the thinking to how it can reignite curiosity in the curriculum. If one of these bullet points is different from what the learner may have originally come up with, there’s a new intrigue of the history and subsequent understanding of it, opening a new avenue for continued learning and interest.

In education, it’s about getting to the same point on the mountain, no matter where the learner starts. In this case, whether pulling insight specifically from a lecture or digging deeper into the curriculum with additional insight from ChatGPT, the learner is still understanding, analyzing, and writing the assignment. Educators can meet students where they are in viewing the tool with curiosity and encouraging it as a supplemental effort to their overall learning journey.

Looking ahead

As technology continues to evolve, the education industry has immense opportunities to harness these new applications. Thinking back, Wikipedia was the previous version of ChatGPT, assembling information more quickly and with limited control or monitoring from educators. This created a depth of knowledge at the click of mouse, which has become a valued resource for learners of all ages. This accessibility can provide different perspectives than those available within the classroom text and gives the curious mind the ability to decipher for themselves what is most valuable. Let’s face it–there will certainly be something to follow ChatGPT, just like there will undoubtedly be tools to ensure plagiarism is not the new norm. It’s imperative to start evaluating our tech stacks differently as a part of the learning journey–standardized academic assessment is not the only measure of success.

Creating personalized experiences for each learner is key. With this change to embrace advancing technology comes new opportunities for educators and students alike to create a better experience. Taking into account analytics skills, social and emotional learning, and importantly, the human experience, will always remain its cornerstone. ChatGPT is only one example of how educators and learners can start to analyze and shift grading practices, allowing for more curiosity and interest in the industry. It’s time to embrace the shakeup education has been waiting for and use the technology as a stepping stone to reimagine what success and experience looks like within education.

Related:
3 academic leaders weigh in on ChatGPT’s place in higher ed
The benefits of observational assessments in a ChatGPT world
For more news on AI in higher ed, visit eCN’s Teaching & Learning page

Student Opinion

How Do You Feel About High School?

Scroll through some work by the winning students and educators who participated in our “What High School Is Like in 2023” multimedia challenge. Then tell us how well the collection captures your experiences.

 By

Editorial Note: We earn a commission from partner links on Forbes Advisor. Commissions do not affect our editors' opinions or evaluations.

Technology enables universities to offer personalised learning at scale, widening accessibility and boosting diversity within student cohorts. However, universities must implement strategies to centralise siloed data and deliver effective communications with prospective students to optimise the use of technology. A session, held in partnership with Salesforce, at the 2023 THE Digital Universities Europe event, brought together technology experts from the Open University of Catalonia (UOC) and the customer relationship management platform Salesforce to discuss the myriad challenges facing the university – from reducing attrition rates and offering personalised support to forging agile collaboration among departments.

In 1995, the UOC became one of the first universities in the world to offer an asynchronous educational model to students. With a rise in student enrolment from hundreds to approximately 87,000 students, the university is creating a niche in Spain’s higher education sector.

In the beginning, UOC attracted more mature learners. The institution has seen a surge in younger applicants because it provides more flexibility to balance professional pursuits or travel, said Josè Manuel Rivera López, customer relationship management director at the university. Although the surge in student enrolments is welcomed, it comes with challenges. Meeting the expectations of a large student population requires connecting all the digital touch points within the student journey, monitoring each engagement effectively and streamlining processes with automation.

In 2015, the university collaborated with Salesforce to equip their teams with a modern cloud-based technology stack, enabling them to personalise engagement with prospective students and applicants. “The reason we chose Salesforce was [because] we needed a single source of data. We needed the data in a single place, with a single model,” said López.

By using Salesforce Customer 360, the UOC is not only automating digital touchpoints to reduce the administrative burden on staff but also deepening their relationships with prospective students thanks to personalised and dynamic communications. The Salesforce platform makes it easy to centralise fragmented data and get a 360-degree view of each individual – leading to agile collaboration among departments, López said.

López shared examples of how data insights support the university during hectic periods, such as when there is an influx of student enquiries about courses and degree programmes. Streamlining recruitment and admission processes helps the university stand out in a competitive market and bolsters a yearly 10 per cent enrolment growth.

López also shared that this experience provided a valuable learning experience, which helped the institution identify the best practices to stay connected to its 100,000 graduates and offer them new learning opportunities. Finding similarities among various service processes across the campus is another reason why UOC is piloting Salesforce to personalise academic advising for students. Technology is crucial in driving efficiency and reducing cost, and so is the change management that accompanies its implementation, López concluded.

The panel:

• José Manuel Rivera López, customer relationship management director, Open University of Catalonia
• Julio Villalobos, education strategic industry advisor, Salesforce

Find out more about Salesforce.

In this article, we will be looking at the 15 best foreign languages to learn for a child. If you would like to skip our detailed analysis of language learning for children, you can directly go to the 5 Best Foreign Languages to Learn for a Child. 

Why Language Education Matters in the Early Years

In a world where globalization heightens with every passing day, learning foreign languages can open people up to a plethora of new experiences, including travel, career, and cross-cultural relationships. While there are over 7,000 living languages today, accessing just a few will change your worldview. Research has shown connections between language learning and skills such as critical thinking, problem-solving, information retention, and empathy. Thus learning new languages serves several cognitive benefits as well. 

According to Scientific American, language learning should start at a younger age, preferably before the child reaches ten, which makes childhood the best age to teach a foreign language to a child. Before adolescence, it is easier for the brain to adjust itself to a second language, an ability which decreases with age. The point, however, is not to discourage adults from language education. Acquiring a new language is a beneficial skill at any point in one’s life, but kids may find it slightly easier to get accustomed to this process while also gaining several benefits in the process. 

A 2021 study by D'Souza et al. discovered that kids who grew up as bilinguals found it easier to distinguish visual changes as well as shift their attention from one image to another quickly. Another research from 2013, titled 'Bilingualism in the Early Years', concluded that bilingual children tend to demonstrate higher empathy, including the understanding of other perspectives, desires, thoughts, and intentions. Robust language systems that work by detecting changes in the rhythm and tone of certain words will also enable their learners to get better at understanding tone of voice, another benefit picked up by this study. Tonal languages such as Yoruba, Mandarin, and Cantonese can offer these benefits, and they’re also some of the most spoken languages in the world. 

Story continues

It might seem daunting to push kids to pick up a second language, but if kids can excel in learning programming languages, human communication is no different. In fact, language learning is a prime example of how the first step is the toughest, but the rest comes easy. In 2017, Grey et al. discovered that bilingual kids find it easier to pick up other languages in the future because they already have a strong foundation for language learning. Thus, these kids receive an edge in careers that may require multilingual candidates. 

Career Opportunities for Multilingual Kids 

The primary reasons for encouraging kids to become multilingual include higher education and career opportunities. In the QS World Universities Ranking published in June 2023, 11 of the top 50 universities are in Asia, while six are in Europe, minus those in the UK. Many of these countries do not have English as an official language or do not actually use it as a medium of instruction. For students wanting to get into any of these universities, having access to the country’s language will open a lot of closed doors. 

After education, career paths are another brilliant reason for kids to learn other foreign languages. It makes it easier to conduct business in various countries and tap into foreign markets, but it also paves the way for diplomatic careers. The United Nations has five official and working languages other than English. Official languages are those in which the UN documents are available while working languages are used for internal staff communication. 

For people who might not speak either of the six UN languages, their lives are made easier by translators and interpreters. According to a report by The Business Research Company, the global translation services market was valued at $22.7 billion in 2022 and is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 4.2% until 2027, reaching a value of $27.86 billion by the end of the forecasted period. As the demand for foreign languages increases, the industry is bound to grow. A 2019 language industry survey by EUATC found that some of the industries with the highest demand for translators were legal, governmental, travel, media, and finance. Furthermore, Industry Research valued the interpretation industry at $9.4 billion in 2021, projecting it to reach $17.5 billion by 2027, at an expected CAGR of 10.7%. According to ZipRecruiter, foreign language linguist jobs in the US can pay up to $153,000 per year, whereas interpreter jobs can pay up to $80,500 per year. 

Resources to Help Children Acquire Foreign Languages

Not every important language in today’s world is easy to learn, but even the most difficult languages can be tackled well through the proper resources. School might be the best place for kids to pick up a new language, but there are gaps in what languages are accessible in American schools. According to a report by the American Academy of Arts & Sciences and the National K-12 Foreign Language Enrollment Survey, Romance languages are the most common foreign language courses in US high schools, with 46% of all classes focusing on Spanish and 21% on French. 

In this environment, companies such as Duolingo Inc (NASDAQ:DUOL) become instrumental. Duolingo Inc (NASDAQ:DUOL) is a language learning platform that offers 43 languages, including lesser-spoken ones like Welsh and Irish and fictional ones like High Valyrian and Klingon. According to a study conducted by the company itself, finishing five sections of a language on Duolingo Inc (NASDAQ:DUOL) can be equivalent to five semesters of reading and listening to the said language. In the third quarter of 2023, 26 hedge funds were long Duolingo Inc (NASDAQ:DUOL) with stakes worth $1.36 billion. This is compared to 30 positions in the second quarter of 2023 with stakes worth $1.31 billion.

While platforms like these can surely come in handy, many people may need to supplement their language learning with additional resources like those offered by Coursera Inc (NYSE:COUR) or Udemy Inc (NASDAQ:UDMY). Coursera Inc (NYSE:COUR) is an educational platform that offers courses in over 40 languages, using a classroom-like model to facilitate learning. In 2023, Coursera Inc (NYSE:COUR) expanded to offer VR features in Chinese language courses, which enhance learning by complementing the existing course material. Through VR technology, learners can virtually travel to Chinese settings, where they can interact with native speakers. In the third quarter of 2023, Coursera Inc (NYSE:COUR) was a part of $133.2 million. This is compared to 21 hedge funds in the prior quarter with stakes worth $125.1 million. The hedge fund sentiment for the stock is positive.

Udemy Inc (NASDAQ:UDMY) is an online learning and teaching marketplace offering foreign language courses for beginners, advanced learners, and those looking to learn for fun. Udemy Inc (NASDAQ:UDMY) also offers generic courses like ‘How to Learn and Memorize the Vocabulary of Any Languages’, which can help kids in any language learning program. Over the past three months, Udemy Inc (NASDAQ:UDMY) has received Buy ratings from 5 Wall Street analysts. The stock has an average price target of $14.43 and a high forecast of $20.

Now that we have established how language learning can be beneficial for kids let’s take a look at the 15 best foreign languages to learn for a child based on several metrics.

15 Best Foreign Languages to Learn for a Child

Our Methodology

In order to devise a ranking for the 15 best foreign languages to learn for a child, we undertook a three-prong process. First, we utilized the Power Language Index by Kai L. Chan to shortlist the 20 most influential languages in terms of economy. Next, we shortlisted the 15 which had the highest number of speakers. Lastly, to organize the 15 languages in a ranking, the FSI Language Difficulty Ranking was used. The FSI categorizes languages into five categories, with those in Category 1 being the easiest to learn. For all the languages equal in terms of difficulty, the tie was broken based on economic influence. 

Note: The difficulty level is determined for English speakers. Furthermore, the language with the most speakers and economic influence is English, which will not be added to this list because we are working off the notion that it is not a foreign language for American children.

By adopting the unique combination of these three factors, we were able to come up with 15 foreign languages that are easy to learn and highly opportunistic for English-speaking children. Economic influence is essential because it determines how many career opportunities one can expect to come out of learning this language. 

The number of speakers holds importance because it showcases how many people you can practice the language with. It is also somewhat telling of how helpful the language will be during travel because a high number of speakers may symbolize that a language is spoken in more places. Lastly, FSI rankings will help kids and parents make an informed decision about which language they want to invest time in, given its average learning duration.

By the way, Insider Monkey is an investing website that tracks the movements of corporate insiders and hedge funds. By using a consensus approach, we identify the best stock picks of more than 900 hedge funds investing in US stocks. The top 10 consensus stock picks of hedge funds outperformed the S&P 500 Index by more than 140 percentage points over the last 10 years (see the details here). Whether you are a beginner investor or a professional one looking for the best stocks to buy, you can benefit from the wisdom of hedge funds and corporate insiders.

15 Best Foreign Languages to Learn for a Child

15. Korean

Rank of Economic Influence: 14

Number of Speakers: 81.7 million

FSI Category: 5 

In February 2023, Korean was the 5th most popular language on Duolingo Inc (NASDAQ:DUOL), with 11.8 million learners, up from 7th place in 2022. While South Korea is certainly coming up in terms of its economy, one of the biggest reasons behind the growing popularity of the language is the ‘South Korean Wave’, characterized by the Korean media industry. Hits like ‘Parasite’ and ‘Squid Game’ have brought much attention to the language, as has the internationally acclaimed pop group BTS. According to FSI, it takes 88 weeks or 2,200 hours to reach proficiency in Category 5 languages. 

14. Cantonese

Rank of Economic Influence: 11

Number of Speakers: 86.6 million

FSI Category: 5 

Cantonese is one of the best foreign languages for a child because it is the second most commonly spoken variety of Chinese. While most Cantonese speakers live in Southern China, in the provinces of Guangdong and Guangxi, the language is spoken by Chinese communities worldwide. The language is also spoken in Hong Kong, which is considered an optimal place for startups, considering its tax-friendly system and lack of exchange controls. It is also one of the wealthiest economies in the world and a region well-known for its technological advancement. 

13. Standard Arabic 

Rank of Economic Influence: 9

Number of Speakers: 274 million

FSI Category: 5 

Standard Arabic refers to the language spoken in Saudi Arabia and taught in schools throughout the Middle East. Despite there being differences in Arabic dialects all over the region, most Arabic-speaking individuals will be able to understand modern standard Arabic. One of the biggest reasons for indulging in this language is travel because Arabic is the official or co-official language of around 25 countries. Countries like Jordan, UAE, and Egypt are rising fast in terms of their tourism potential, attracting more and more people. Egypt is also known for its media industry, so knowing the language can expose people to consuming the content in its original language. Arabic is also one of the official languages of the UN. 

12. Japanese 

Rank of Economic Influence: 4

Number of Speakers: 123.4 million

FSI Category: 5 

Japanese is the most popular Asian language on Duolingo Inc (NASDAQ:DUOL), with 13.8 million speakers worldwide. When looking at US language industry jobs, Japanese linguists are the second highest-paid, with an average salary of $153,000 a year. Many consider Japanese a ‘gateway’ to learning other Asian languages like Mandarin or Korean. The Tokyo Stock Exchange is the largest one in Asia in terms of listed companies. In 2021, TSE had 3,784 listed companies. Media is another reason kids may be inclined to learn Japanese, with the US being one of the largest markets for Japanese anime. 

11. Mandarin 

Rank of Economic Influence: 2

Number of Speakers: 1.1 billion

FSI Category: 5 

Mandarin Chinese is the most commonly spoken Chinese variant and is the 2nd most spoken language in the world. Chinese has also commanded business and economic importance for years, considering that it is the second-largest economy in the world, with a nominal GDP of $17.96 trillion. It is one of the fastest-growing languages in the world and will open children up to many opportunities. This is why Chinese is one of the best foreign languages for a child to learn. Mandarin Chinese is one of the official languages of the UN as well. 

10. Hindi 

Rank of Economic Influence: 16

Number of Speakers: 609.5 million

FSI Category: 4

According to FSI, 44 weeks or 1,100 hours are needed to reach proficiency in Category 4 languages. India is one of the world’s most rapidly advancing countries in technological development, with over 25% of Silicon Valley startups managed by Indians. Hindi is one of the best foreign languages to learn for children because it will facilitate cross-cultural communication with one of the world’s largest economies as well as film industries, i.e. Bollywood. 

09. Russian 

Rank of Economic Influence: 12

Number of Speakers: 255 million

FSI Category: 4

Despite being one of the tougher languages on this list, Russian has one of the highest educational benefits. The number of Russian research publications in the STEM field has been growing, even though many tend to stay within the country due to the language barrier. Once kids learn the language, they can access an abundance of educational content that might otherwise have been out of reach. Russian is one of the six working languages of the UN. These are the reasons why it is one of the best foreign languages for a child to learn. 

08. Malay

Rank of Economic Influence: 17

Number of Speakers: 200 million 

FSI Category: 3

For the purpose of this list, Malay refers to both the variants spoken in Malaysia and Indonesia, which are mutually intelligible. It is the only Category 3 language on this list, which requires 36 weeks or 900 hours of instruction for proficiency. Malaysia and Indonesia are highly emerging economies, making this an excellent language for career progression. Learning either variant will provide access to both countries, so it is like learning two languages with one. Malay is also the official language of Singapore, one of Asia's strongest economies. 

07. German 

Rank of Economic Influence: 3

Number of Speakers: 133.2 million

FSI Category: 2

German is the only language in Category 2 of FSI because it is a unique language that requires 30 weeks of study due to its similarity to English. Germany is not only the world’s 4th largest economy in terms of GDP but also one of the best-ranked countries for higher education. Furthermore, Swiss German is the most spoken language in Switzerland. ETH Zurich in Switzerland is the seventh university on the QS rankings, first if you consider universities outside the UK and USA. 

06. Portuguese 

Rank of Economic Influence: 19

Number of Speakers: 263.6 million

FSI Category: 1

Category 1 languages are closely related to English and can be learned proficiently in 24-30 weeks or 600-750 hours of study. Portuguese is the official language of several territories and countries other than Portugal itself, such as Brazil, Cape Verde, Mozambique, etc. Portugal and Brazil are highly popular for their tourist destinations, as well as football potential. For kids who love the sport, learning the language is a great way to connect more with the sports coverage. 

Click to continue reading and see the 5 Best Foreign Languages to Learn for a Child. 

Suggested Articles: 

Disclosure: None. 15 Best Foreign Languages to Learn for a Child is originally published on Insider Monkey.