Is German really worth learning?

^ Well maybe for some. But again, all the Indians that I've met spoke English clearly enough so I could understand without much problem. I'm from the US. (If that makes a difference?)

Anyway, you can't take an accent into account as a negative thing. They either speak the language or they don't. The accent is irrelevant and can be worked around to understand if needed.

Unfortunately, the last part of your post is wishful thinking. Did you see the "Can I be a lawyer in the US if I have an accent?" thread on the English forum? Looking at some accounts there, accents can impede a career and in doing that life as well.

As someone who works in the medical/healthcare field, I can tell you that having a foreign-sounding accent in English is a "problem" for patients. Smart doctors who KNOW that their accent is difficult to understand find nurses or office staff to accompany them when they give instructions.
Here's the kind of thing I've heard.

"I don't know that doctor's name. He's foreign."

"I can't understand a word he says."

Of course, not ALL patients are like this, but think of NUMBERS like "fourteen" and "forty", think how patients in the hospital may be in a darkened room, in pain and then they have to cope with an accent that is unfamiliar to them.

The physician, as the professional, needs to make the effort to be sure he or she is understood. We can't expect patients to be knowledgable about languages and accents.

Am I predjudiced? I don't think so. The best cardiologist I ever met was from Pakistan. A good physician or lawyer will figure out how to navigate the difficulties.

If physicians encounter problems with their accents, the situation must be so much worse where one is expected to constantly talk, make arguments and convince people...

The post about physicians was mine. It's "prejudiced"...aack. I don't want to teach bad English here.

I think it's important in both cases, but if a patient "mishears" something, then the result could be deadly.

I think there are probably areas within the practice of law where attorneys with an unfamiliar accent can work and no deaths will result...lol.

There is room for people with talent and drive in both fields, I think. There really isn't room for people who don't care about their clients in either situation.

<< For instance, you can study Russian, Spanish or Chinese because in former USSR, China and Latin America English is not very spoken. >>

Wrong 205 of Panamanians claim English as their mother tongue all the rest bilingual; about 80% of the people of Mexico and Costa Ricans are fluent in English; Virtually all Puerto Ricans speak English as if their native language; The rest of Latin America have considerable number who can speak English.

In Cuba, English and Russian are widely spoken in the principal urban areas.

The study of English in China is rising very fast and experts predict that China will surpass China in the number of English speakers and in fluency in that language.

<< For instance, you can study Russian, Spanish or Chinese because in former USSR, China and Latin America English is not very spoken. >>

Wrong 205 of Panamanians claim English as their mother tongue all the rest bilingual; about 80% of the people of Mexico and Costa Ricans are fluent in English; Virtually all Puerto Ricans speak English as if their native language; The rest of Latin America have considerable number who can speak English.

In Cuba, English and Russian are widely spoken in the principal urban areas.

The study of English in China is rising very fast and experts predict that China will surpass INDIA in the number of English speakers and in fluency in that language.

<< about 80% of the people of Mexico and Costa Ricans are fluent in English >>

I know that about Costa Rica, but Mexico? What are you smoking? No way that 80% of Mexicans are FLUENT in English. And yes, I lived there for a little while, so I have an idea. Where the heck did you get that number from?

Regarding the post about the accents. Ok I understand that accents can pose problems, but my point was that two people speaking English with differents accents are still speaking the same language, period. But this is different than speaking two disting dialects, such as English and Pidgeon-English or two forms for Arabic, which can be truely unintelligible regardless of accents.

>>>Iryna : « People from Germany, France, Quebec, Austria and India speak English. »
Greg:
Je ne sais pas pour les autres pays, mais pour la France je t'assure que c'est une vue de l'esprit. En France, (très) peu de gens sont capables de s'exprimer en anglais. <<<

Is it a good argument to learn French because French people are not able to speak something else?