It's a fact that if you learn to speak German you will be giving yourself huge advantages in your professional career not to mention expanding your personal horizons. Some of the most popular reasons to learn to speak German are to communicate with relatives, to prepare to travel in Germany or to study in Germany as an exchange student. There are however many other great reasons to learn German that many people never even consider. Here are some that come to mind:

Germany has the largest population of all the European countries and the language is very widely spoken internationally. 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 has the 3rd strongest economy and is the number 1 export nation in the world. Germany's international trade earnings are proof of the high demand for German goods. Knowing German creates many business opportunities, not just in Germany itself but also internationally. Given Germany's commitment to innovation, it's perhaps not surprising that two-thirds of the world's leading international trade fairs take place in Germany.

With ample disposable income and an average of 6 weeks of vacation a year, German's have both the time and means to travel. Year after year the German's spend more on foreign travel than any other nation. Tourism companies, airlines, hotels and car rental businesses that can communicate in German will profit from the German tourism industry.

Don't fool yourself by thinking that German is a language of the past. In number of books published, Munich is second in the world only to New York. Since only a small percentage of German books are translated into other languages, only if you learn the German language will you enjoy access to the vast majority of these titles.

The cultural heritage of German speaking countries is very rich. The Germans are well known for their poets, classical musicians and great philosophers. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Thomas Mann, Franz Kafka and Hermann Hesse are just a few authors whose names and works are well known internationally. Scientists from the three major German speaking countries have won dozens of Nobel prizes in physics, chemistry and medicine. Anyone interested in any of these fields automatically expands their knowledge and skill by knowing German.  Even if the cultural significance of Germany is of minor importance to you, you may still be attracted to high quality of live in German speaking countries.

You're probably thinking that's all well and good, but German is too hard to learn. If that's the case, you'd be wrong! If English is your native language then you already have a huge advantage when it comes to learning German. Modern German and modern English both evolved from the common ancestor language Germanic. 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. Also learning German can be really fun when you use resources like this free learning German podcast..