Why Spanish?
There Are 400 Million Spanish Speakers
Spanish is spoken by around 400 million speakers world-wide, making it the 3rd most popular world language, after English and Chinese. (When you consider that Chinese speakers from different areas of China can’t understand each other, Spanish may actually be the 2nd most popular world language).
Spanish is Spoken in 22 Countries
Spanish is spoken in 22 c0untries around the world, including Algeria, Andorra, Argentina, Belize, Benin, Bolivia, Chad, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Rep., Ecuador, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Guatemala, Honduras, Ivory Coast, Madagascar, Mali, Mexico, Morocco, Nicaragua, Niger, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Spain, Togo, Tunisia, United States, Uruguay, Venezuela.
Spanish is Easy to Learn
Spanish is very closely connected to English, and a few simple rules of conversion will immediately give you a vocabulary of about 3,000 words (for example, university becomes universidad, activity becomes actividad, and a few hundred other words follow this same pattern). Of every 100 new words that you learn, around 50% will look very similar to the English word (for example, ‘car’ becomes ‘carro’). Of the rest, around 20% will have a strong connection to English – for example, I bet you can remember that ‘remember’ in Spanish is ‘recordar’ (think about recording something in your mind), or that ‘old’ is ‘antiguo’ (think of ‘antique’).
All these connections mean that you can reach the point of fluency in Spanish about 4-5 times faster than learning, for example, Chinese.
More native Spanish speakers than native English speakers!
Believe it or not, there are actually more native Spanish speakers than native English speakers. Spanish is spoken as a native language in the whole of South America (barring Brazil), Central America and Spain. It’s also spoken as a first or second language by over 44 million people in the USA.
Better Experiences when Travelling or for Tourism
Not only is it easier to catch taxis or trains and find the best restaurants when you can speak more than three words of Spanish, it also opens you up to experiences that would be simply impossible otherwise. Speak to real people in the street to find out what their life is like, or get involved in activities, clubs and societies in the city you’re living in. The experience of travel when you know the language is 20 times more exciting than struggling to get by with just ‘Hola’ and ‘Gracias’!
Live in South America, Central America, Mexico…
There’s nothing like living in a completely different country to open your eyes and change your perspective on your own life. If you can speak Spanish you have the option of living and working in Argentina, Belize, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Spain, the United States, Uruguay or Venezuela.
Do Your Degree in a Spanish Speaking Country
Universities in Central and South America are often considerably cheaper than universities in USA or UK, while the quality of teaching is the same (and often better). Studying in a Spanish-speaking country could be a way to dramatically save on your tuition fees.
Spanish is one of the official languages of the United Nations (UN)
Spanish is one of the 6 official languages of the United Nations. Most UN jobs and many jobs with international government bodies, NGOs or charities will ask you to be competent in at least one other language. Learning Spanish can be an effective – and fast – way of meeting this requirement.
Open Up New Markets for Your Business in the Spanish-Speaking World
With nearly half a billion people in Latin America, plus Spain, learning Spanish opens up a huge market for your business or services. If you have an online business, there are thousands of opportunities in the Spanish-speaking market (which is less saturated online than the English-speaking market). There are also import/export opportunities between South America and the USA or Europe. You can offer consulting services to Spanish-speaking firms, or simply teach anywhere in the Spanish-speaking world.
Improve Your Employment Opportunities in the USA
There are 45 million Spanish speakers in the USA. If you work in education or medicine, fluency in Spanish will give you an advantage over other job applicants. Knowing Spanish also opens up massive opportunities for creating products or providing services that are tailored to this market.
Stepping Stone to French, Italian and Portuguese
After learning Spanish, learning other European languages – especially French, Italian and Portuguese – will be much easier, with a similar grammar and much shared vocabulary.
Want to Kick-Start Your Spanish Today?
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- The 1000 Most Used Words in Spanish - Learn these and your comprehension will improve by 300% immediately. This is a real shortcut to learning the language, since about 80% of all spoken and written language is made up of only around 2000 words.
- The Key Spanish Vocab that You Need For Meeting People - make a good impression in the first few seconds of meeting someone, and it won't matter if you make mistakes in your grammar or misunderstand things. This guide tells you the phrases you really need to know - not the formal, old-fashioned greetings you get from the books, but the phrases that people really use.
- 50 Key Shortcuts for Learning Spanish - These tips will give you a vocabulary of about 5,000 words straight off - without having to learn any new words! This guide also includes a simplified set of verb conjugations - it's actually much simpler than it seems in the grammar books!
- The Insider's Guide to Living in Colombia - Filled with information that you'll never find in the travel guides, this introduction will give you an idea of what it's like to live in Colombia. Of course, once you decide to come here, we'll send you an ultra-comprehensive guide that will ensure you are comfortable from day 1, but this guide will help you imagine what it's like to live in South America.
