Spanish is the most popular language to learn in Virginia, followed by Korean and Japanese, according to a study conducted by Writing Tips.
Experts at Writing Tips analyzed the number of average monthly Google searches in each state for learning a language, including terms such as ‘how to learn X,’ ‘learn X,’ ‘X classes near me,. The search volume for each term combined with the language were added together to discover the total average monthly searches in each state.
According to the results, Spanish received the most searches in Virginia. Almost 13% of the U.S population speaks Spanish. In fact, it is the second-most spoken language in the country. It also has the highest number of speakers in the family of romance languages.
In second place among Virginians is Korean, and then in third place among citizens of the commonwealth is Japanese.
Korean is ranked as the 13th most commonly spoken language in the world with around 77 million speakers. With Korean pop music gaining millions of U.S fans in recent years, including musicians like famous boy band BTS, it’s no surprise that Americans, including Virginians, are keen to learn the language.
In third place as the language Virginians most seek to learn is German. Around 155 million people speak German, placing it as the 11th most spoken language of the world and the number-three language Virginians seek to learn.
A spokesperson from Writing Tips said about the findings: “Learning a new language has an abundance of benefits, from advancing a career to enhancing the connection to other countries and cultures, so it’s fascinating to see such different languages make the top of the rankings. Plus, it can even improve communication and vocabulary in the first language. With the sheer amount of searches for learning Spanish across the nation, it will be interesting to see how this impacts the number of speakers in the U.S.”