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Why learn Spanish?
David Stratten
of Don Quijote explains why
you should learn Spanish and why immersing yourself in the real
Spain is the best way to do it.
If you want
to get on in today's increasingly diverse and ever-changing
commercial world, speaking English is just not enough anymore. It
really
pays to learn at least one other language.
The obvious
choice is Spanish. After English, it is the next most widely spoken
language globally and is the official language in 21 countries.
Also, approximately a further 100 million people speak it as their
second language, with millions more learning Spanish.
By learning Spanish you'll be able to communicate with another half
a billion people and will thereby immediately improve your career
prospects and global mobility. Latin American countries are becoming
more important as trading partners as their economies grow and as
the North American Free Trade Area (NAFTA) expands to include more
of these countries. Spanish is on the rise in the United States
itself, with predictions that the US could become a bilingual English/Spanish
country as soon as 2050.
| You
stand a much better chance of making a success of yourself in
the job market if you speak Spanish. |
It is no suprise,
therefore, that the popularity of Spanish in the United States is
rising and demand for Spanish courses has doubled worldwide in the
last ten years. In view of these facts, it's clear that you stand
a much better chance of making a success of yourself in the job
market if you speak Spanish.
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...
and about the Spanish culture
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Naturally there
other reasons to learn Spanish too. The Spanish culture has made
such a great contribution to architecture, the arts and to world
literature. What could be more satisfying than to be able to read
Lorca, Vargas Llosa, Cervantes or Garcia Marquez in their own rich
language. Wouldn't Picasso, Miro, Dali, Goya and Velasquez be much
more interesting if you were familiar with their culture?
While there
are many ways to study Spanish, learning Spanish in Spain is easier
and faster than learning at home. It produces better results and,
just as important, it's much more stimulating and fun. Studying
a language in your own country whether at an institution or on a
correspondence course demands a lot of energy and discipline. You
have a million and one other things to do and each time before you
go to your class or start your homework you have to reorientate
yourself again.
During an in-country
course you will be living in Spain and will be completely immersed
in the culture and will hear, read and speak nothing but Spanish
all day. In this way you will pick up an amazing amount quickly
both inside and outside the classroom. A language is more than just
grammar and a collection of words: it is the means of communication
between peoples, which is why you can never really learn a language
from a book - you need to be in the country where it is spoken.
| A
language is more than just grammar and words: it is a means
of communication between peoples. |
When you learn Spanish in Spain, studying includes not only the
classroom but also an introduction to the rich Spanish culture through
the fiestas, the intoxicating effect of the dancers of the Sevillanas
and the Flamenco, the variable and numerous "tapas" bars
and cafes, the promenading and the colourful streetlife of Spain's
exotic cities. Learning Spanish can be the experience of a lifetime.
don
Quijote is one of the leading private organisations providing
Spanish courses in Spain and Peru. Whatever your motivation - professional,
career, examinations, education in general or just for fun - don
Quijote schools, located in the centre of Barcelona, Cuzco, Granada,
Madrid, Malaga, Puerto de la Cruz (Tenerife), Salamanca, Seville
and Valencia will have a course to suit you. There are innovative
new language holidays too, such as Spanish and scuba diving in Tenerife
or Wine Tasting or Dancing and Spanish in Sevilla. Study programmes
start regularly throughout the year for all levels from beginners
to advanced.
Find
out more details about studying Spanish in Spain here>>
Find out more details about studying French in France here>>
Find
out about our top ways
of learning Spanish here>>
Also,
visit our languagestore for more
of the best and most innovative language providers in the world
and our culturestore
for more on the most innovative culture providers in the world.
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