Today, almost 500 million people worldwide speak Spanish and it is the mother tongue of around 390 million. Spanish is also one of the 6 official languages of the United Nations. Just think of the employment opportunities! The top 3 benefits of speaking this wonderful language are communication, communication and communication. But how do you learn that?
Discovering and learning the beauty of the Spanish language is of course not limited to Spain. In Latin America alone there are 19 other countries that communicate in Spanish. From A-Z, these countries are Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Uruguay and Venezuela. Therefore, with the exception of Brazil and three smaller countries, almost all of South America/Latin America is Spanish-speaking.
If the top 3 benefits of speaking Spanish are communication, communication and communication, what is meant by this repetition?
First think of a holiday or a business trip. How do you get your meaning across? Although it is often said that actions speak louder than words, imitating a chicken, for example, when trying to buy one at the supermarket or ordering one at a restaurant is not always feasible. The Spanish word for chicken alone has its dangers. When used in the masculine form, it actually means chicken. However, when accidentally used in the feminine, the meaning changes to a rather unacceptable term in polite society for a part of the male body. Since all nouns in Spanish are either masculine or feminine, learning which is which is important, and a good tutor can explain some simple rules to help with the process.
Second, when life is going well we might not need to converse in a language other than our mother tongue – and that’s especially true for English speakers, with English being the third most spoken language in the world – but what happens when things go wrong? ? Your car breaks down, you’ve been robbed, a child needs a doctor, the electricity has been cut off and so on.
Third, there is no doubt that speaking in Spanish with Spanish speakers (even if they speak your language) has the distinct benefit of being amiable. It’s so much easier to make friends, get help in shops, ask for directions, get quick service in bars, and crack a joke when you can converse properly and clearly. In itself this is an absolute pleasure and one can take great pleasure in being able to speak and write Spanish well. It doesn’t bother anyone if it’s not perfect and if there are weird grammatical errors or mispronunciations as even these can bring out a smile. The fact that you are trying to communicate opens channels with the listener.
There are many ways to learn a new language or improve your current level (maybe even since your school days, the information is still there!). One method is learning over the internet and the beauty of this is that it doesn’t matter where you or the tutor are located. It’s entirely possible for teachers and students to connect for an hourly lesson one or more times a week for free through a provider like Skype. Written lessons can be emailed to the student in advance – and therefore retained for all time – and then explained over the internet, either with a microphone headset or via your computer’s built-in facility if you have one. Written lessons that are simply emailed out are not enough: the language aspect of the lesson is crucial to supporting correct pronunciation and, you guessed it, communication.
In summary, these are the 3 main benefits of speaking Spanish: Learn to say what you mean to avoid confusion; be able to converse effectively when things go wrong; and enjoy the benefits of the Spanish language to get the best out of the people and the country.
Thanks to Vanessa J Alexander | #main #benefits #speaking #Spanish
