Why Is Learning Spanish Important?

Learning Spanish is important for personal1. With our neighbors, both in Latin America and inside
development, for cultural understanding and to let youthe U.S. It's not for just traveling in Latin America
be able to talk with your neighbors.anymore, it's needed for talking to our neighbors down
The languages with the most native-speakers in thethe street in most U.S. cities.
Western Hemisphere are Spanish, English, Portuguese2. It's useful for vacations in Latin America and in
and French, in that order!Europe. You get a lot more out of traveling in a
While it is true that you can go from Key West, FloridaSpanish-speaking country when you can visit and
to Fairbanks, Alaska (over 4,000 miles) and only needenjoy the areas off the beaten path for tourists. Also,
English, you can go from Tijuana, Mexico to Puntayou will save a lot of money by using hotels and
Arenas, Chile (over 7,000 miles) and only need Spanish!restaurants where English is rarely spoken!
Moreover there are 41 million Hispanics in the U.S., 173. There is a large Spanish-speaking population in the
million of whom either do not speak English very wellU.S., all part of the economy and spending money. This
or do not speak English at all!generates a high demand for bilingual personnel to
For personal development, learning Spanish is importantwork with them, sell to them and interact with them in
because:various ways, like in taking orders at the drive-through
1. It exercises your brain, grows new neurons andlane at banks, MacDonalds, etc.
establishes new connection paths. This helps protectAll the above reasons combine to make Spanish the
you against Alzheimer's disease and senile dementia.second language of choice for English speakers in the
Your brain is like your muscles in that your choices areWestern Hemisphere.
use it or lose it!Recent advances in technology and language learning
methods now make it easy, fast and economical to
2. Learning Spanish, a language with roots in Latin,learn Spanish. A very good interactive-audio learning
which had a heavy influence on the English language,program for conversational Spanish can be bought on
will help you better appreciate and understand English.the Internet 24/7 and be downloaded to your
computer immediately. You can start lessons at home
For cultural understanding, learning Spanish is importantin just minutes.
for:You can offload lessons to your iPod or other portable
1. Understanding better the cultures and political pointsaudio device, or burn the lessons into CD's, take them
of view of our many Spanish-speaking neighbors towith you and study your Spanish lessons anytime,
the south.anyplace.
2. Understanding better the hispanic heritage of theWhy wait? When a very good language learning
U.S., in the years before 1607 and in the southwesternprogram costs under $100, what have you got to
United States and Florida.lose? Download a learning program and get started!
We are living in a multilingual world! Learning a new
Learning Spanish is also important for being able tolanguage is easy and inexpensive. You don't have to
communicate:continue being just monolingual any more!