One afternoon in April I was walking along Paseo de Gracia, one of the most central, busy and beautiful streets in Barcelona, when a scene caught my attention: a girl who looked like a tourist was asking something to the doorman of a building.
Although she insisted, her concierge responded with reluctance and impatience, telling her that he did not understand her. Then, the girl rolled her eyes to express her helplessness, she seemed very overwhelmed.
I approached her and asked her what she needed from her. The girl dialed a number on her mobile phone and gestured for me to talk to the person on the other end. Sure enough, a voice in Spanish with a foreign accent told me the place her friend wanted to go.
Since I had time, I accompanied her to her destination, the well-known Las Ramblas promenade in Barcelona.
When we said goodbye to her, the girl burst into smiles and thankyouverymuchs, and I told her half jokingly, half seriously: “You have to learn Spanish so you don’t have these problems!”.
Because knowing this language immerses you in an ocean of possibilities and advantages, both personal and professional, which you will see in this article, where I am going to give you the 5 most important reasons to learn Spanish.
Five reasons to learn Spanish
Spanish is one of the most spoken languages in the world
Spanish is the second most spoken language in the world, after Mandarin Chinese. More than 500 million people speak it in more than 20 Spanish-speaking countries. Furthermore, it is a language in continuous growth, both in number of speakers and in cultural, economic and political influence.
With the increase in the Spanish-speaking population and the influence of Hispanic culture on global society, learning Spanish ensures you are up to date with a language that is constantly evolving.
Panorama of Spanish-speaking countries
Mexico is the country with the largest community of Spanish speakers, followed by Colombia and Spain. They are followed by Argentina and Venezuela, with a significant population of native speakers.
In the European Union, Spanish is the mother tongue of 7% of the population, while in the US it exceeds 50 million among native and second language speakers. In total, Spanish is the official language in 21 countries, is taught in the education system, and is the primary language for official and government communications.
Professional advantages of speaking Spanish
Boost your employment possibilities
Speaking Spanish will give you more opportunities to find the job you want, both in your country and abroad. In addition, it will allow you to work as a team with people from different countries and cultures, and expand your network of contacts.
It will also enrich you personally because you will have a deeper and more empathetic understanding of the world around you.
The growing demand for bilingual professionals
In an increasingly globalized world, speaking Spanish can open doors that you never imagined in the professional field. Companies are constantly looking for employees who can communicate with customers and colleagues around the world. Spanish is especially valuable in industries such as tourism, medicine, translation, and language teaching.
Industries where Spanish is invaluable
- Tourism. The tourism industry employs Spanish speakers as travel agents, tour guides, event planners, hotel staff, or bilingual cruise ship staff, to give a few examples.
- Education. From elementary schools to universities, educational institutions need Spanish-speaking teachers, tutors, counselors and administrators to allow them to communicate effectively with students and the rest of the entire educational community.
- Business and finance. Spanish skills create advantages when negotiating and marketing with Hispanic consumers. Professions such as sales, consulting, customer service or human resources benefit from mastering Spanish, as it builds trust with clients and expands access to Spanish-speaking markets.
- Media and arts. Knowing Spanish opens doors for writers, journalists, producers and social media managers, content creators for Spanish-speaking audiences. Spanish-English bilingual skills enable seamless cross-cultural collaboration in music, film, television, theater and visual arts.
Networking and professional opportunities in Spanish-speaking areas
Spanish is the second most used language on the Internet, so mastering it opens up a range of professional and networking opportunities, from connecting with multinational companies to participating in global communities. Take advantage of this resource to expand your reach and boost your career.
The cognitive benefits of learning Spanish
Enhance cognitive skills through language learning
Your brain is like a muscle, the more you use it, the stronger it gets, and learning a new language is exercise for the brain.
According to various studies, learning a language improves cognitive ability, creativity, problem solving, decision making, concentration, memory and learning.
Spanish and its impact on cognitive health
Learning a new language encourages neural plasticity, which helps maintain mental acuity and cognitive health throughout life. Several studies have also shown that being bilingual can delay the onset of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s.
Travel experiences enhanced by Spanish
Traveling through Spanish-speaking countries offers enriching experiences that go beyond conventional tourism. The ability to communicate in Spanish allows travelers to fully immerse themselves in the local culture, interact with residents, and better understand traditions and customs, creating deeper connections with the country and its people.
Immersive travel and cultural exchange
The exchange not only serves to learn languages, it also provides immense cultural wealth and life experience. Establishing meaningful connections with the people and places you visit encourages respect for cultural differences, traditions and appreciation of lifestyles different from our own.
Educational perspectives on learning Spanish
Spanish as a second language in the academic world
According to the Cervantes Institute, Spanish competes with French and Mandarin Chinese for second place in the classification of languages most studied as a second language.
Spanish is the most studied language in the US and is growing in the post-Brexit UK. In the EU, in 18 of the 27 EU countries it is the second most chosen foreign language to learn, and its educational and global popularity continues to increase.
Opportunities to study abroad in Spanish-speaking countries
Studying abroad in countries like Spain, Mexico, Argentina, and many others, provides benefits that go far beyond improving language skills.
These countries offer high-quality education at internationally recognized universities, and provide the opportunity to immerse oneself in a rich cultural and linguistic experience by living in a country where your native language is not spoken and attending classes with people from different cultures than your own.
This will help you develop your communication and learning skills, teamwork, adaptability, and empathy.
Online resources and tools to learn Spanish
With the increasing demand for learning Spanish, a wide variety of online resources and tools have been developed to facilitate the learning process.
The Internet has countless resources, exercises, texts, audios… all kinds of didactic complements, made expressly by professionals to provide material for teaching Spanish to foreigners.
These online tools allow students to learn at their own pace and from anywhere with an internet connection, making mastering Spanish more accessible than ever.
