Why Study Spanish???

Why Study Spanish???
 
Over 300 million people speak Spanish worldwide, making it one of the largest markets for businesses and one of the most useful languages in the world for travel.
 
Close to 30 million people living in the U.S. are Hispanic, and soon one out of every six people living in the U.S. will be Hispanic. 
 
Employers are seeking applicants who can speak Spanish in nearly every profession (medical, government, legal, journalism, finance, education, sales, etc.).
 
A large body of literary work is written in Spanish and Spanish-language films continue to receive praise from the film industry and viewers. At last count, there were more than 16,000 Spanish publications, 250 Spanish TV stations and 5,100 Spanish radio stations.
 
Learning Spanish can help you learn the other Latin-based languages such as French and Italian. These languages all have Indo-European roots and share some characteristics (such as gender and extensive conjugation) that are present in Spanish but not English.
 
Because of its Latin roots, nearly identical alphabet and pronunciation rules, Spanish is one of the easiest languages for an English speaker to learn.
 
Knowing Spanish can make your travel experiences more enjoyable. It is estimated that U.S. citizens spend more travel time in Spanish-speaking countries than in any other foreign countries (excluding English-speaking countries).
 
Spanish is the official language in 21 countries and an official language in the European Union, UNESCO, GATT and many other international organizations.