Foreign language classes not only are helpful in getting a diploma, they also might help your career, said Elizabeth Weiss, member of an international foreign language honor society.

Phi Sigma Iota will be sponsoring a career conference Monday emphasizing the career opportunities students gain by learning a second language.

Knowing a second language is useful in almost all career situations, said Dawn Scheffner, a placement counselor at NIU’s Career Planning and Placement Center. By accenting business or other career choices with foreign languages, students can increase their opportunities tremendously, she said.

“It depends on what you want to do,” Scheffner said. “No one language is better than another. A student should think about what he wants and then find a language that’s compatible,” she said.

Being able to communicate with foreign companies helps with their business, and it could make the difference in getting the job, Weiss said.

Knowing a second language in a business situation is helpful even in the United States, Scheffner said. “If you can speak the language of the area, the customers are likely to remember that and come back,” she said.

The conference will feature several guest speakers from job areas including international banking, law, education and social work.

The conference, in a question-answer format, will be held in the Heritage Room of the Holmes Student Center beginning at 7 p.m. on Monday.