Reasons to Learn Spanish and How to Achieve It

Spanish is becoming more and more popular as the numbers of foreigners who learn it or who attempt to is on the increase. As of 2010, it surpassed English and became the second most spoken language in the world (after Mandarin Chinese) with a total of 417 million people speakers worldwide, including Spanish and non-Spanish native speakers. There are many reasons that have made the Latin-derived language so popular in the western countries and particularly the English speaking ones. In the United States, the very high number of Latin American immigrant, mainly Mexicans has turned Spanish into the second most spoken language. There are 45 native speakers in the US speaking Spanish, which is about Spain’s population! In Great Britain, due to the large number of pensioners who move to Spain the need to learn the language is bigger than ever before. In Germany and the Scandinavian countries, the Spanish language is also popular because Spain is the first tourist destination in all those countries.rnApart from all those tourist-related reasons, Spanish has gained serious attention from the business world too. American businesses have undertaken huge development projects in Mexico, Costa Rica, and the Dominica Republic and they strongly encourage their stuff to learn the language. Being able to speak Spanish is a big plus in all CV in the US.rnSimilarly in Great Britain and Germany there are many construction companies who have undertaken massive projects in the main touristic areas of South Spain and the Balearic islands. Since the Spanish are not very known for their English language skills, those companies are after employees who can commands both languages. Some people learn Spanish for social and cultural reasons. Spanish speaking countries have a very rich cultural background in the arts and especially music, dance and painting. Flamenco’s popularity has led a significant number of people into learning the language. Spanish literature is also very rich and there are many people who learn Spanish just because want to read those great works of the human intellect into their originally written language. Another important aspect is that most of the Spanish speaking countries have not been involved in any major war during the last decades which adds to the general worldwide appeal. Spain was one of the very few European countries that remained neutral during WW1 and WW2, although they suffered the consequences of an atrocious civil war. In general, Latin people can be described as cheerful, open and hospitable which is a lifestyle that appeals to many Westerners, thus creates another positive opportunity for the language. Because of its origin as a Romance language, it is much easier to learn Spanish for individuals who already speak Italian, French, Portuguese or Romanian. However, any background in any European language would be helpful.