When I went back to school to study French I had a lot of people… and I mean a lot of people say to me, “So, you’re going to be a teacher, right?

“No?

“Well, what are you going to do with a degree in French?!”

I’ll tell you what… a lot!

As part of building this blog into a resource for language learners and teachers, we are kicking off a new series of guest posts by people who use multiple languages in their everyday work. You can expect to hear from industry leaders, international firms, artists, and individuals to get their perspective on why, and how bilingualism and multilingualism are important in the workplace.

We are happy to say that the search for people to contribute to this series has been very fruitful. We’ve gotten some great responses from folks who have a lot of insight into where, how, and why multilingualism is used and why it is important in their respective workplaces.

In the coming months we’ll share stories from:

-       Industry leaders in translation and interpretation services

-       An opera singer

-       A bilingual children’s book publisher

-       A neurologist

-       A tour guide

-       An international aid and development worker

-       And a Livemocha blogger… ok, ok, being bilingual wasn’t a job requirement, but I certainly use what I learned in school on a daily basis.

The goal of this series is to give language learners insight into the myriad opportunities that are available and as encouragement to STICK WITH IT! We all hit walls during the process of learning a new language. If we can share examples about the amazing possibilities of how you can apply your new skills, maybe it will give you that push to conjugate just one more verb or lend you the courage to talk to a native speaker.

Many of the people who use Livemocha are learning a new language to advance their careers and become more competitive in the ever-expanding global marketplace. If you are or plan to become a language teacher… THANK YOU from all of us who benefit from your knowledge and sharing. If your plan is to sing opera on international stages, translate government documents, or tour the world with vacationers in tow, bon courage and happy reading.

As always, we want to hear from you! If there is an industry that you are curious about or a job that you want to get more information on, let us know. Chances are you’re not the only one with that question. We’d be happy to track down the story for you.