Speaking Spanish is a wonderful thing as it enables you to do so many things you couldn’t have imagined beforehand. Many benefits will take you by surprise along the way.
It will lead you to magical countries all over the world via work, travel, study or volunteering. It will sharpen your mind and give you a chance to meet great people you otherwise wouldn’t have.
1- Spanish Gives You the Opportunity to Live, Volunteer and Travel Abroad
All of these magical countries boast unique cultures, gorgeous landscapes and are home to fascinating people.
While it’s possible to visit them without knowing a word of their national language, Spanish, being able to speak it makes for a much richer experience.
One of the best ways to gain fluency in Spanish is to completely immerse yourself in it. In our study abroad programs, students are placed with host families that only speak Spanish, making the use of it a necessity rather than a choice. Studying abroad in a Spanish-speaking country will make you learn quicker than you ever thought imaginable.
You can take part in a volunteer program in a Spanish-speaking country. This is a great way to travel AND get to know the people through practicing Spanish. Like with study abroad programs, volunteer abroad organizations often place participants with host families. This provides the same kind of Spanish immersion as study abroad programs. Some require at least a basic knowledge of Spanish, which is yet another reason to kick off your studies today!
There are plenty of volunteer organizations around that help place eager individuals in different programs in countries worldwide. One of the best aspects of these organizations is that they offer such a wide variety of topics doing things like teaching, construction work or conservation projects. Some examples of organizations offering programs in Spanish-speaking countries are International Volunteer Headquarters, which offers programs in Argentina, Colombia, Mexico and many others, and GoAbroad.com which features a page compiling many program options.
Some volunteer programs require at least a basic knowledge of Spanish language to participate in them, so get started studying today!
2- Spanish Bolsters Your Appeal to Employers
Whether you wish to work in your home country or abroad, being able to speak Spanish in our rapidly-globalizing world will help you achieve your career goals. A simple job search online with the keyword “Spanish” will demonstrate how true this is.
Especially in our modern working world where Spanish is becoming more and more prominent. FIU News recently published an article pointing out how speaking Spanish makes job seekers more attractive to companies. According to an article on the BBC news website, companies are “more willing to employ candidates who already have language skills and train them to do the job.”
3- Studying Spanish Could Make You Smarter
Learning Spanish is great for keeping your mind sharp, and learning Spanish will also make it easier for you to learn additional languages in the future. An article in TIME magazine cited that multilingual brains are “nimbler, quicker, better able to deal with ambiguities, resolve conflicts and resist Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia.”
4- You’ll Learn to Better Appreciate People and Cultures
Reading a translation of a book originally written in a different language will never be quite as good as reading it as the author intended.
No matter how good the translator, there’s always a bit lost in the process. The same goes for movies—so much of the viewing experience gets lost when you watch a movie originally in Spanish with the subtitles on or dubbed.
Thus emerges another reason to learn Spanish: a stronger appreciation of literature, film, television shows and other cultural fruits of other countries.
Being able to speak Spanish will mean you can converse with others who speak it as their native tongue. This will enable you to make connections and friends via your ability to speak Spanish. Conversing in Spanish with those who cannot speak English is a wonderful way to make them feel welcome if they are a visitor to your country.
Source: fluentu.com
