When you think of the reasons to learn a second language, you have plenty of languages to choose. In the long term think of the benefits learning a language could bring to your future. One of the most popular language to learn is Spanish; did you know it's spoken by over 266 people worldwide not only as a maternal language but also as a second language. It's interesting to know that many people are expanding their vocabularies and resumes by learning a new language, and Spanish has millions of speakers. In this moment of contemporary history Latin America has taken a bold step into the global market- and some variety of Spanish is spoken in most of Latin America. However, as I expressed in a previous article, Latin American Spanish: A Rich Yet Unified Linguistic Geography, there are many slangs and dialects that are spoken in the different cities, towns and countries of Latin America.
When I arrived in the States, I found many Americans who wanted to learn Spanish to communicate with potential customers. One of my experiences was working in Busch Gardens, Tampa, where many of my American co-workers wanted to know what the Hispanic customers were saying. When they were speaking with them, beyond the desire to understand the conversations, there was also the need to give customers a more personalized experience. As well, many individuals seek a way to learn Spanish for cultural reasons, i.e. to learn the language of their ancestors; to read the non translated versions of books such as Cien Años de Soledad, which in the translation loses many puns and humor which can be seen only in Spanish and not in English. Another reason to learn Spanish is to have a more optimal visit in a Spanish speaking country to maximize the traveling experience. On the other hand some people try to learn a new language just to learn the foul words and insults.
There are plenty of reasons to learn Spanish, whether to learn the insults or to understand cultural aspects, but the reason you need to learn a new language needs to be a personal one that will let you help to grow as an individual and to help see the linguistic diversity in the world.
Books that can help with your Spanish: Spanish Subjunctive; Past tenses; Pronoun usage