Spanish Lesson:
Why learn Spanish?

Spanish Lesson

With two simple words like Spanish Lesson, I will point out for you the importance of learning Spanish, as well as the large list of benefits that you can obtain by communicating with such an important language.

The Importance of Spanish

Spanish is the world's second most-used language. Once you speak Spanish, you can communicate with almost 500 million people worldwide. Think how many more employment or business options that gives you!

And if you want to take a trip, or spend holidays in Spain or Latin America, a little knowledge of Spanish will go a long way.

Perhaps the first and most important Spanish lesson, is that you understand the figures and facts detailed in the following paragraphs.

Spanish Statistics

• Spanish is the world's third most spoken language, after Mandarin Chinese and English, and ranks second in terms of native speakers.
  
  
• At the end of the 19th century, 60 million people spoke Spanish. Today, almost 500 million people worldwide speak Spanish!
  
  
• Spanish is the mother tongue of approximately 350 million people in 21 countries (Mexico: 98 million, Spain: 39 million, USA: 39 million, Argentina: 35 million, Colombia: 36 million, Venezuela: 22 million, Peru: 20 million…) It is also widely spoken in many more where it is not an official language.
  
  
• Hispanic consumers are the fastest-growing market segment in North America. Their population in the USA has grown by 60% in just one decade and their buying power is around $1,000 million.
  
  
• Spanish is the second most used language in international communication, and an official language of the UN and its organizations.

Economic Facts

• 29 million US residents above the age of 5 speak Spanish at home. That's approximately 1 of every 10 US residents, an enormous consumer and business-to-business market.
  
  
• "The world is rapidly becoming multilingual and Spanish is one key language of the future" said language researcher David Graddol, commenting on a recent report presented to the British Council.
  
  
• No one aware of the changing tides of business could fail to notice that we increasingly operate in global markets. Foreign language fluency is a significant asset for job seekers, as more and more companies trade internationally.
  
  
• The US Census Bureau reports that the nation's Hispanic population is expected to jump to 49.3 million from 38.2 million by 2015. The 39 million Hispanics currently living in the USA make up 12.5% of the total population. This population growth has increased demand for Spanish language media: radio, television, newspapers, magazines...
  
  
• Latin American countries are experiencing strong economic growth and becoming important global commercial partners. The MERCOSUR and the existing free trade agreements between Hispanic countries and North America (ALADI, the Andean Community, CACM, NAFTA, G3), are expected to bring further growth to Latin American economies.

Cultural Facts

• Latin culture continues to have a global influence on architecture, art and literature. Who isn't familiar with Cervantes 'Don Quijote de la Mancha, the second most translated book after the Bible, which marked its 400th anniversary in 2005 with worldwide celebrations? Who hasn't heard that the most expensive painting ever sold is a Picasso?
  
  
• Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava continues to make his mark worldwide, with recent and current projects in Sweden, Ireland, Germany, the Olympic campus in Athens and the site of the world trade centre in New York, among others.
  
  
• Spanish language authors like Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Isabel Allende continue to lead global best seller lists and win international critical acclaim.

Your First Spanish Lesson

Learning a language is much more than learning its formal structure, it is also about using the appropriate register in any given situation. To become adept at this, it is essential to understand and have a knowledge of the culture of those that speak it.

Not only is learning Spanish becoming increasingly important in terms of the global economy, it can also play a major role in your own personal development.

The Spanish passion for living is contagious and once you start to learn about their language and culture, you won't ever want to stop. Start with a Spanish lesson now!

You will surely find many places where you can learn Spanish, but I will recommend you the best one according to my knowledge:

Spanish Language Courses

Learn Spanish in Barcelona

Destinations for learning Spanish

Go to Learn Spanish in Barcelona
Go to Spanish Course Barcelona
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