Reasons for Choosing the Second Language You Chose to Learn

All right, today, I want to talk about all the different reasons to choose exactly the language you chose to learn as second language (and I would love to hear about your very own personal reasons in the comments!!!). All reasons given are in no particular order, and are just based on my own thoughts.

Part of your heritage is from a foreign country and you want to learn the language your ancestors spoke.

You like the sound of the language (you have heard it in a film, song or on holiday).

Your significant other speaks a different native language.

You want to travel or move to a foreign country where they speak a different language.

It was the only foreign language offered at your high school or college.

You want to read your favourite author in the original language instead of reading the translations of his books.

The language you chose is believed to be especially easy to learn.

The language you chose is believed to be especially difficult to learn. (Yes, there are people who want the challenge....)

You think the second language will give you an advantage in the job market.

Your boss told you to learn that language if you want to keep your job.

You are particularly interested in a certain country and want to be able to read information about it in its official language.

Your parents thought that language would be best for you to learn.

You came across a dictionary/text book/other language learning resource for that language as a gift.

Your best friend wants to take a class in that language but doesn't want to go alone.

A cute woman/hot guy is in that class and you want to get to know her/him.

The class is taught by a cute/hot teacher.

Okay, and here are my personal reasons for the languages I started learning (and the ones I still want to learn):

English--It was the first mandatory language to learn in school; apart from that, I simply love this language.

French--My second foreign language I took at school. The other alternative was Latin (one of them was mandatory), and I didn't want to learn a "dead" language.

Spanish--It was offered as one of the subjects to choose from in 9th year, and since I like languages, I took up the opportunity to learn yet another one.

Italian--The first language I started learning outside of school, at about the same time I started Spanish classes. I simply liked the language, and came across an Italian course (textbook and audio CDs) on sale.

Chinese (Mandarin)--My vocational school offered a ten-week-class, and one of my best friends wanted to take it. She persuaded me to take the class too, because she thought it would be fun to do it together (she was absolutely right!).

Dutch--I like the Dutch mentality and think the language sounds cute (maybe because it sounds similar to German, yet not quite the same).

Irish--I like Celtic lore, which was alive the longest in Ireland and thus is connected to the Irish language.

Danish--We were on family holiday in Denmark, and my mom was taking Danish classes, so I asked her to teach me a bit while we were there.

Swedish--I wanted to learn a Scandinavian language, and since my mom was already learning Danish, I decided to go with a different Scandinavian language. Also, I grew up with some of the Swedish children's book classics.

Japanese--I haven't yet started to learn Japanese, but it interests me (maybe because I watched a lot of anime when I was younger) and I like the sound of the Japanese language.

Arabic--I haven't yet started on Arabic either, but I feel challenged by the fact that Arabic is seen as the most difficult language to learn for a German native.

Russian--Another language on my wish list. Maybe it's the different alphabet....

Turkish--Since Turkish people are one of the greatest immigrant groups in Germany, I came into contact with several Turkish people and their culture when growing up.

Now here are my reasons, what are yours?