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I have always carried a passion for language learning and for pretty much anything related to languages. At the age of seven I began studying the English language ( I had no choice I’ll admit), at the age of 18 I began studying Italian, and at the age of 21 I decided to start learning French. To me, having the opportunity to learn those languages was probably the only fun I ever had in a classroom. Later in life I found out that teaching a language to somebody else can be just as exciting and rewarding. At age 24 I moved to Sydney, Australia a very cosmopolite place. As such it opened a door to diverse cultures and their different languages. I soon realized that this was a marvellous opportunity to deepen my passion for learning languages and teaching them. It has been nearly three years since my arrival, and in that time I have been fortunate enough to teach Spanish to people from diverse backgrounds (free of charge of course). I have taught the language to individuals with no Spanish background whatsoever. Some of these include: Indians, Australians, Koreans, Chinese and Lebanese to name a few. These experiences motivated me to keep teaching Spanish. I concluded that the power of the Internet could help me teach Spanish to more people. Therefore I came up with a list with the top eight reasons to learn Spanish. These should motivate you in case you have your doubts about learning this language. 1. Very Easy to Learn. As I mentioned before, this language can be mastered by anybody regardless of their background. It really doesn't matter if you don’t speak a word of Spanish, never heard of Latin America / Spain or if you are Middle Eastern, Arabian, Anglo-Saxon, African, Indian or East Asian. I have seen people make great progress in a very limited time frame. This could be due to the following: a) Very straightforward pronunciation. In Spanish what you see is what you get. If you already know the abc’s that’s all you need to know! There is only one exception and that is the letter ’h’ which in Spanish is a silent letter. Other than that you should not have any problems in pronouncing words in Spanish. This is a big plus if you compare it to other languages. We know that this rule does not apply to many other languages. Let us consider the English language. In the English language a vowel’s pronunciation will vary depending on the situation. For instance, the letter ’I’ will sound one way in the word pin and it will sound differently in the word pineapple. This situation can also be found in the French language, where frequently many of the letters in a word are not pronounced. This type of variation makes it very difficult for the student to master the language’s pronunciation and proper spelling. Fortunately the Spanish language is free from these difficulties. Whenever you see an ‘I’ (or any other letter) it will always be pronounced in the same way regardless of the word. More on this in future posts. b) No need to learn foreign alphabets or extremely complicated hieroglyphics.This makes it easier to learn because if you already know your abc’s you are one step ahead. While learning new alphabets and hieroglyphics adds a certain degree of glamor and sophistication to the language, it can also be a great barrier to language learning. Asian languages are a good example of this, and it is one of the reasons why non-Asians struggle so much to learn them. To learn Korean for example, you need to master its alphabet the Hangeul, to learn Japanese you need to master 2 alphabets, the Hiragana and the Katakana plus the Kanji (hieroglyphics), to learn Chinese you need to learn at least 2000 hieroglyphics and the same principle applies to other languages such as Arabic, Thai, Persian, etc. c) Spanish and English share the same grammatical structure. This one is self-explanatory, but it is also very encouraging. If you are already fluent in English, there is no need to worry about complicated grammatical variations because they are pretty much the same. 2. Spanish is spoken worldwide. One of the things you want to consider when deciding to learn a foreign language is: will this language be useful? In the case of Spanish this is definitely true, and the main reason is that this language is spoken in the whole world. Let us take a look at some of the places where this language is spoken: a) Spain. The birthplace of the language, and one of the most popular spots for tourism. b) Latin America. Due to the Spaniards invading and colonizing Latin America nearly 600 years ago, the subcontinent inherited its language (among other things). Therefore Spanish is the official language of all the countries located between Mexico and Argentina. The only exception to this is Brazil whose official language is Portuguese. These countries are: Mexico, Argentina, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Chile, Cuba, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela. c) United States. The large Latino community of the United States has made this language the second one in the country. It is the most spoken and taught in the nation after English. d) Canada. Due to its proximity to the United States and the inflow of Latin migrants, Spanish is quickly becoming a popular language in Canada. e) Western Europe. Besides Spain, Spanish is also widely spoken in France, Italy, Portugal, Germany and the United Kingdom. This is mainly because Spain is a member of the European Union like the other countries mentioned and also because those places harbor large Latin and Spanish communities. f) Brazil. Brazil is the largest and most populated country in South America. Spanish is being taught widely throughout Brazilian public schools making it the second language of the country. 3. Spanish comes from Latin. Languages such as Italian, French, Portuguese and Spanish originated from Latin. This means that these languages are all very similar. If you already speak one of these languages, learning Spanish is going to be a walk in the park. 4. Positive for Business. Latin America is rich in natural resources. Companies from all over the world seek to invest in it. Business men and women wishing to invest and trade with Latin America will definitely increase their chances of success if they speak the language. Keep in mind that most people don’t speak English in Latin America. 5. It will benefit your career. If you master the language this will benefit your career profile. These days it is getting more and more complicated to find a job or getting into college. Learning Spanish could definitely boost your professional profile and give you the edge over the many individuals who do not speak a foreign language. Learning Spanish will make you more competitive and more desirable in the job market. For those people out there that want to pursue a career as interpreters for the United Nations, Spanish is one of the six official languages of the United Nations. 6. Mothers, keep your kids mentally stimulated during the school holidays. During the school holidays children will have a lot of free time on their hands. While it is healthy to let them have fun (I was young once), as a parent you want them to be mentally active during the holidays. This way they will be sharp when they return to classes. If you encourage them to take Spanish during the holidays, not only will they keep their minds going but they will have fun too! 7. Date Latin Girls/Guys. If you happen to be attracted to some Latin person you meet, you will increase your chances of impressing them if you speak the language. This will definitely give you the edge assuming somebody else is interested in the same person. Also, many people have learned foreign languages through girlfriends or boyfriends, give it a go! 8. Just for kicks. Finally, you can learn Spanish just for the hell of it! Whether you are looking for a new hobby, or you are just plain bored you can have a go at learning Spanish. There’s nothing to lose and it’s all in good fun. I hope this has motivated you to start learning this language. Click here to Learn Spanish Online. Free Spanish lessons and learning resources for you.
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