After Mandarin Chinese, Spanish is the world's second-biggest language in terms of native speakers. Once you consider the total number of speakers, it drops to fourth place behind English, Mandarin, and Hindi, but it shows just how important the language is around the world.
Let's see some of the reasons you should learn Spanish, how it can benefit your career, and whether or not it's worth learning.
10 Reasons to Learn Spanish
We could go on and on about reasons to learn Spanish (or any foreign language for that matter), but here are our 10 favourite reasons and some of the most commonly cited reasons a lot of people decide that learning Spanish is right for them.
1. It's a Commonly Spoken Language
As mentioned earlier, Spanish is spoken by a lot of people, which means there are a lot of people you can speak to and not just people who speak Spanish natively.
Because so many people speak the language, lots of people also learn Spanish as a second language to be able to speak to them.
2. Spanish Is Becoming More Important
Not only do a lot of people speak the language, but the number of people speaking Spanish is increasing.
This is expected to make the USA the second-largest Spanish-speaking country by the latter half of this century. You should also be aware that the United States has no official language and English is only the de facto language so there's space for Spanish to potentially take on a larger official capacity.
Internationally, Spanish is becoming more important, too. A lot of big business and international trade uses Spanish.
3. You Can Use It When You Travel
One of the most useful reasons to learn a language is to use it to speak to others. There are a lot of places in the world where Spanish is spoken so by learning the language, you can use it when you travel to these places.
You can find Spanish speakers mostly across South and Central America as well as in Spain, where the language gets its name.
4. It's a (Relatively) Easy Language to Learn
While no language is easy to learn, the difficulty is relative. You'll still need to spend thousands of hours studying and practising to learn Spanish to a high level, but in comparison to some other languages, the journey is a bit shorter.
Generally, the more similar a language is to your native language, the less time it'll take you to learn it. For example, Spanish should take the average English native speaker less time to learn than Mandarin Chinese.
5. You Can Access Spanish-language Culture
There's so much music, literature, and cinema in Spanish that by learning the language, you'll unlock a whole new world of things to enjoy.
Once you've studied Spanish for a while, you can start reading books, watching movies, and listening to music in the language.
6. You Can Meet New People
Languages are supposed to be spoken and you should use them to speak to people. If you learn Spanish, you can speak to both native Spanish speakers and anyone else who can speak it.
7. Your English Will Improve
This is a benefit of any language, but it might seem quite confusing at first. The reason your English will improve is that by studying any language, you'll learn more about languages.
If you know more about languages, you'll learn more about English and your skills will improve as a result.
8. Learning a Language Teaches Transferable Skills
Just as your English will improve, you'll learn several different transferable skills, too.
For example, when you learn a foreign language, you'll get better at problem-solving. When you don't know how to say something in your new language, you'll have to think of how you can say it using the vocabulary and grammar that you do know.
9. There Are Health and Cognitive Benefits to Learning Languages
Studies have shown that learning languages can delay dementia, boost your confidence, and fight depression.
If you don't want to learn Spanish to meet people, travel the world, or improve your job prospects, you can learn it for your health.
10. It Will Help You To See the World Differently
When you learn a foreign language, you begin to understand the world and other people differently as you now speak their language, understand their media, and can visit their countries and see what's going on (it's not the same as being a full-on tourist!).
Learning a language makes you more empathetic, and understanding, and can have a profound effect on you and your mentality for the better!
The Career Benefits of Learning Spanish
A lot of the benefits of learning a language can also help you in your career. Here are just a few of them.
Finding Work
Put simply, the more people you can speak to, the more people that could offer you a job. Of course, learning a language goes well beyond networking.
Employers are looking for candidates with language skills. A lot of the larger companies will likely deal with customers or other businesses in Spanish-speaking countries.
You can also broaden your search to jobs in other countries. While you can get jobs in other countries without knowing the language (they might be looking for English speakers), you'll generally need to know the local language just to get by.
There are also plenty of jobs in Spanish-speaking countries that require you to speak Spanish, but once you learn the language, you can apply to way more jobs as well.
Standing Out
Many employers will be impressed with language skills. It shows them that you were willing to put the time and effort into learning a language, which to them means that you're driven and hard-working.
Put simply, by knowing that you've learned a foreign language, an employer has some idea of your skills beyond languages and your attitude to learning and work, all of which are impressive.
Similarly, you'll also stand out against other candidates who don't have foreign language skills. While this won't automatically get you accepted for positions that don't require a foreign language or Spanish, it can make a difference if you come up against a very similar candidate.
Transferable Skills
As mentioned, learning a language comes with a lot of soft skills that can be useful elsewhere. Thanks to learning a language, you'll have picked up skills that will make you ready for almost anything and work will be easier as a result.
Problem-solving skills are handy in almost any job and it never hurts to have a little empathy and understand other people, especially when you have to work with them.
The communication skills will also be really useful whether you're using Spanish in a job or English, which will have improved, too!
The Downside to Learning Spanish
Like any language, Spanish can take a long time and a lot of practice. There are ways to start communicating quite quickly, but to get conversational in the language or even fluent, you're going to have to commit to lifelong learning.
You have to live and breathe the language as much as you can, which is why a lot of language learners choose to study, work, or just live in a place where their target language is spoken. If you don't have the opportunity to do that, then you may have to wait a bit longer to reach your language-learning goals.
For some languages, it can be tough to find teachers and resources, but with Spanish, you'll be spoilt for choice so that's one less thing to worry about.
Even if learning Spanish is challenging and time-consuming, you can also get help from teachers and private tutors and native speakers of the language. Whether you stay in Australia or look to immersion, you can find Spanish tutors to help you learn the language and enjoy the benefits or become a tutor yourself once you've mastered the language.
So Is It Worthwhile Learning Spanish?
So there are a couple of downsides to learning Spanish, but there are plenty of benefits that will improve your personal and professional life and even if you can't make it to a Spanish-speaking country to immerse yourself in the language and the culture, you can still enjoy the journey that's both challenging and rewarding.
Despite what you might hear, you're never too old to learn a foreign language. While children may find certain aspects of learning a language easier because their brains are different, adults come armed with a lifetime of knowledge and can do things differently.
If you want a better life, a better job, or are just looking for a challenge, learning Spanish is worth it and you won't regret the time you put into learning it.
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