What's the easiest language class to take in college for someone who's never taken a language class before?

I haven't taken a language class before and I'd like to learn a new language. I'm scared though because languages seem hard to pick up. Any thoughts on what the 'easiest' one to start with might be in college?

Deciding on what language to study heavily depends on your personal interests, and your long-term academic or career goals. That said, one popular choice for beginners is often Spanish, due to its phonetic spelling and clear grammatical rules. Its use across many regions in the world also makes it a practical choice.

Other straightforward languages for English speakers can include Italian and French, thanks to their Latin origins, which leads to significant overlap in vocabulary with English.

Another factor to consider is the resources available. For instance, the study of Spanish, French and Italian in the US is quite common, making resources easily accessible both in and out of the classroom.

However, some may argue Asian languages like Chinese or Japanese can be easier since they're not heavily focused on verb conjugation or tense, but note that these might require more dedicated practice due to the different writing systems.

The 'easiest' language truly varies from person to person based on individual capacity for learning languages, personal interest in the culture of the language, and goals for using the language in the future. It's often helpful to talk to a college or major adviser about this, as they might be able to give you a good sense of which languages are most commonly studied by students in your field, and what kind of language opportunities (like study abroad or language extracurriculars) are particularly strong at your school.

It's also beneficial to sit in some intro language classes during the first week of term (if your college allows class shopping) to get a sense of which you might enjoy the most. Remember, if you're not interested in the language, it will likely be harder to learn no matter how 'simple' it's supposed to be.