What are Your Reasons for Learning Spanish?

Best reasons why learning Spanish is so important...

1. The USA has the 5th largest Spanish-speaking population in the world. There are over 35 million Spanish speakers in the United States.

2. Presently, over 40% of the population growth in the United States is among the Hispanic people!

3. More than 1000 Hispanics enter the United States each day.

4. To make new friends who don't speak English - imagine all of the friendships you are missing out on!

5. To avoid memory related illnesses. Studies show that bilingual people have better memory motor skills as they age and are less prone to diseases such as Alzheimer's.

6. To reconnect with your Hispanic roots. It is many times difficult for those who look Hispanic and have a Latino last name to feel comfortable around other Latinos.

7. Spanish is the world's third most spoken language, after Mandarin Chinese and English, and ranks second in terms of native speakers.

8. To enjoy traveling throughout Mexico, Spain, & Latin America, even Miami, New York, Chicago, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Denver, virtually anywhere else you go in the Western Hemisphere.

9. Because bilingual people are more marketable and have more career choices.

10. To be able to help Spanish speakers in your area socially or religiously.

11. To improve communications in your work environment. Most Spanish-speaking employees do not really want to be your translator.

12. To be able to enjoy the warmest and richest culture on earth; the Latino culture.

13. Because learning Spanish is fun! It's a chance to experience new music, food, movies, & much more.

14. To help you develop better critical thinking skills - being bilingual means seeing the world through more than 1 lense; a skill that can help you in many areas.

15. To develop your creativity - language stimulates the imagination.

Learning Spanish will stretch your mind and change your life forever. You will never regret having learned to communicate well in Spanish. Expand your world of opportunities!

Adapted from: http://www.bilingualamerica.com/main/20goodreasons.htm and http://www.studylanguages.org/spanishcourses/reasons.asp

If you can't relate to any of the reasons above, this should be motivation enough....

So.....what are YOUR reasons for learning Spanish?