Why I Am Learning Spanish
If you regularly look at social media, I’m sure you’ve seen the various “goals” hashtags. Over the last couple of years, I’ve created some #goals for myself. One of my goals is to be bilingual, so I am learning Spanish. I want to speak Spanish fluently because I believe it’s a beautiful language and its widely spoken in the US.
I honestly feel this is a necessary learning opportunity for me and others that only know English. Here’s a few reasons why I am learning Spanish and why you should consider it as well.
The number of Spanish speakers in the United States is growing rapidly.
I’m sure you already knew that. Being fluent in English and Spanish makes one very marketable and can open many doors. Most school districts offer Spanish as a class, but I believe we’re doing foreign language education all wrong. We don’t truly learn how to communicate in Spanish in those classes. In addition, we wait until students are in high school to introduce them to the language. Studies show that the longer you wait to learn another language, the harder it is. If we truly want our students to learn another language, we should start teaching it in elementary school.
I will be able to connect with students and families in my educational career.
I would love to extend myself and be a resource for those Spanish speaking families in my school. I know from experience that it’s really hard to live in a country and not speak the language well. Even if you learn the basics of the language, it’s still difficult to understand academic terms. By learning Spanish, especially how to speak about topics about school, I will be able to assist those families that need it.
I want to be able to use the native language when traveling to Spanish speaking countries.
Every time I travel outside of the United States, I’m surrounded by people who know multiple languages. Kids growing up in other countries are learning more than one language. If all these people around the world can speak more than one language, why can’t I? We can’t we? I don’t believe we value speaking another language like other countries do. Then, as adults we kind-of just expect everyone to speak English, even when we travel to non-English speaking countries.
When I travel to Spanish speaking countries, I want to be able to use the native language. I don’t want to have to search for someone that knows English in order for me to function in the country. Also, I know the natives appreciate it when you show that you can speak their language, even if you just know a little.
I just think it’s cool to be able to switch it up.
I can’t lie. I’m kind-of jealous when I hear people switch from English to Spanish. I wish I could do that! That is an amazing skill and I know I will get there someday.
I remember reading a review about a hotel in a Spanish speaking country, and a man gave the hotel a bad review because they didn’t speak English well. Really?? He was in a Spanish speaking country and mad because their English wasn’t perfect. I don’t want to be that man. I don’t want you to be that man. I don’t want to be another “privileged” native English speaker that relies on everyone else’s ability to speak English rather than my own ability to learn another language.
I will continue to pursue my #bilingual goals. If you haven’t already, I encourage you to start learning a second language also.
