Humans can be very emotional at times, and choosing (or feeling like we're being pushed into) a second language is one of those times. For the remainder of this article we'll go on the assumption that you're NOT a refugee, struggling to learn the language of your benefactors running the refugee camp, but are in fact more like an average, educated young adult with the opportunity to learn another way of speaking, NOT English.
So how do you go about choosing what to learn, what to study?
It's always a head-and-heart decision, so head over to your nearby library and ask for a globe. Sit with it, slowly turning and contemplating, at least briefly, the name and location of the nations of interest to you. Have you always wanted to live in Ecuador? Did the Silk Road capture your youthful imagination and fill your mind with thoughts of visiting Kyrgystan or Mongolia or China?
Did your life change during America's efforts to protect the South Vietnamese, leading you to an interest in learning Vietnamese? Does Korea's economic powerhouse beckon to you from afar?
Or do you favor a language that's widely used, not so small an eddy in the great stream of human tongues? Spanish is widely used in several different parts of the world, and could serve you well in Europe, South America and Central America and the Caribbean. French is also still widely spoken, though its popularity as the international lingua franca has diminished in recent decades.
If you are still unsure of your linguistic goal, ask yourself WHY you want another language. Do you just want the intellectual exercise of mastering a new grammar, syntax and vocabulary? Is there a collegiate requirement pressing you? Some neighbors around you who seem friendly enough in their struggling-English way, but who would greatly appreciate your efforts to meet them in their Old World language?These goals could be met with a commercial DVD, student learning books, a structured course (city college, night school) or private tutoring of a more informal nature, in small classes conducted by native speakers.
Do you have employment opportunities in one, specific and pre-determined language? In this case, what are you waiting for? If the language is, say, Portuguese and your work will take you to Lisbon, then its not like you would also consider learning Kiswahili or Cambodian... you're going to PORTUGAL, right? Choose Portuguese!
Whatever you choose, invest your best in it, give it your very best shot, as this is YOUR life, and the rewards that flow from learning YOUR new language will flow to YOU, for the rest of your life!
Enjoy the trip, Learner!