Why learn Spanish?
Communicate with one and a half billion people around the world!
Spanish is spoken by more than 400 million people around the world. It is the fourth most commonly-spoken language worldwide (after English, Mandarin, and Hindi). If you know English and Spanish, with those two languages you can communicate with more than 1.5 billion people around the world! Spanish is spoken in twenty-one countries (Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Spain, the United States, Uruguay, and Venezuela). It is also the native or heritage language of more than fifty million people in the United States. Additionally, it is studied by more than six million students!
Stand out to college recruiters!
Many universities, including UCs, require two years (four semesters) of foreign language study in high school. Taking this course helps you to meet that requirement; it fulfills one year of the "E" portion of A-G requirements. (It also fulfills Golden Valley's World Language or Fine Arts graduation requirement.) Having one year of Spanish will help you graduate; having two years of Spanish will help you meet university entrance requirements; and having three or four years of high school language study will make you really stand out to university recruiters!
Spanish is spoken by more than 400 million people around the world. It is the fourth most commonly-spoken language worldwide (after English, Mandarin, and Hindi). If you know English and Spanish, with those two languages you can communicate with more than 1.5 billion people around the world! Spanish is spoken in twenty-one countries (Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Spain, the United States, Uruguay, and Venezuela). It is also the native or heritage language of more than fifty million people in the United States. Additionally, it is studied by more than six million students!
Stand out to college recruiters!
Many universities, including UCs, require two years (four semesters) of foreign language study in high school. Taking this course helps you to meet that requirement; it fulfills one year of the "E" portion of A-G requirements. (It also fulfills Golden Valley's World Language or Fine Arts graduation requirement.) Having one year of Spanish will help you graduate; having two years of Spanish will help you meet university entrance requirements; and having three or four years of high school language study will make you really stand out to university recruiters!
Expand your career opportunities!
Bilingualism is an asset in the following career areas: Business, Education, Health and Medical Technology, Hospitality, Agriculture, Entertainment, Building and Construction, Engineering, Transportation, Information Technology, and many more! You will be able to communicate with a larger number of clients, patients, students, peers, or co-workers, and make stronger connections to people by speaking to them in their native language. In many jobs you will be paid more because of your ability to work in more than one language. People who speak two or more languages can earn between 2% and 20% more than their monolingual peers in many careers.
Improve your knowledge of English!
The roots of Spanish primarily come from Latin, so learning Spanish will help you to recognize English words with Latin roots (and even learn new English words you didn't already know). This is especially helpful in the fields of science, medicine, and law, where many specialized English words and phrases are Latin-based. Learning about the grammar and structure of Spanish will also help you to develop a deeper understanding of the grammar and structure of English, as we compare the two languages in class.
Better understand and appreciate Spanish-speaking cultures!
Learning Spanish will help you to better appreciate the cultures of Spanish-speaking countries and the cultures of Spanish-speakers in our communities. You can gain an "inside" view of cultures by talking to people in Spanish, reading Spanish-language newspapers and magazines, watching television in Spanish, and writing to pen-pals in Spanish. If you travel to Spanish-speaking countries, knowing the language will help you to communicate with the people you meet, better understand your surroundings, and get more out of your travel experience.
Learn other languages more easily!
Learning a foreign language for the first time develops a new set of mental, social, and cultural skills that you haven't used before. This set of new skills carries over to other languages; once you have learned Spanish, it will be much easier to learn other languages as well. (Additionally, if you already speak another language, that will help you to learn Spanish more easily!)
Strengthen your brain!
Studies have shown that knowing two or more languages can increase cognitive function, raise test scores, increase creativity, improve problem-solving and critical thinking skills, and strengthen brain power and mental health. People who know a second language are better at multi-tasking and at adapting to new situations. Some studies have suggested that learning a second language can even help to make the brain more resistant to Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia!
Bilingualism is an asset in the following career areas: Business, Education, Health and Medical Technology, Hospitality, Agriculture, Entertainment, Building and Construction, Engineering, Transportation, Information Technology, and many more! You will be able to communicate with a larger number of clients, patients, students, peers, or co-workers, and make stronger connections to people by speaking to them in their native language. In many jobs you will be paid more because of your ability to work in more than one language. People who speak two or more languages can earn between 2% and 20% more than their monolingual peers in many careers.
Improve your knowledge of English!
The roots of Spanish primarily come from Latin, so learning Spanish will help you to recognize English words with Latin roots (and even learn new English words you didn't already know). This is especially helpful in the fields of science, medicine, and law, where many specialized English words and phrases are Latin-based. Learning about the grammar and structure of Spanish will also help you to develop a deeper understanding of the grammar and structure of English, as we compare the two languages in class.
Better understand and appreciate Spanish-speaking cultures!
Learning Spanish will help you to better appreciate the cultures of Spanish-speaking countries and the cultures of Spanish-speakers in our communities. You can gain an "inside" view of cultures by talking to people in Spanish, reading Spanish-language newspapers and magazines, watching television in Spanish, and writing to pen-pals in Spanish. If you travel to Spanish-speaking countries, knowing the language will help you to communicate with the people you meet, better understand your surroundings, and get more out of your travel experience.
Learn other languages more easily!
Learning a foreign language for the first time develops a new set of mental, social, and cultural skills that you haven't used before. This set of new skills carries over to other languages; once you have learned Spanish, it will be much easier to learn other languages as well. (Additionally, if you already speak another language, that will help you to learn Spanish more easily!)
Strengthen your brain!
Studies have shown that knowing two or more languages can increase cognitive function, raise test scores, increase creativity, improve problem-solving and critical thinking skills, and strengthen brain power and mental health. People who know a second language are better at multi-tasking and at adapting to new situations. Some studies have suggested that learning a second language can even help to make the brain more resistant to Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia!
Last updated on March 19, 2020 / Reviewed August 5, 2022..