You Should Learn To Speak Spanish Essay
, Research Paper
You Should Learn to Speak Spanish!
If you want to acquire on in today & # 8217 ; s modern universe, utilizing merely English is non plenty any longer. It truly pays to larn at least one more linguistic communication, but what linguistic communication should you take to larn? For Americans, the obvious pick is Spanish, the following most widely spoken linguistic communication in the United States ( Elgin, 2000, p. 34 ) .
Thankss in portion to the propinquity of Mexico and in-migration from Latin America, Spanish is America & # 8217 ; s most popular 2nd linguistic communication, and is the 3rd most spoken linguistic communication in the universe after Chinese and English ( Crystal, 1987, p. 287 ) . Those grounds entirely make Spanish & # 8212 ; particularly for Americans & # 8212 ; a good pick for those desiring to larn another lingua. By larning Spanish, you can pass on with another half billion people ( Crystal, 1997, p.287 ) . There are plentifulness of other grounds to larn Spanish, such as: better cultural apprehension, better employment chances, and increased mental capacity.
In a universe that is acquiring smaller by the twenty-four hours, persons are holding experiences with 2nd linguistic communications without even go forthing town. Non-English talkers are now in our communities purchasing toothpaste, eating beefburgers, and working right alongside us at our concerns. The Internet is opening up entree to the native talkers of states around the universe. Peoples are already doing friends and larning about civilization around the Earth through electronic mail, chat suites, and treatment groups. Air travel carries more and more riders each twelvemonth, conveying talkers of other linguistic communications to us and taking us to them. The demand for foreign linguistic communication accomplishments to better understand the civilization of the people with whom we work additions daily.
While & # 8220 ; most of us can non trust to larn the linguistic communications of more than one or two other civilizations & # 8221 ; ( Huebener, 1966, p. 119 ) , those linguistic communications we can larn will assist us to better cognize how other civilizations feel and think. If you were to read a Latin American or Spanish newspaper, for illustration, you will happen that you gain a sense of how other people think and feel in a manner that is different from your ain ideas and feelings. Learning to talk Spanish & # 8220 ; helps the person to value cultural differences, doing him a more effectual individual and a more insightful citizen & # 8221 ; ( Elgin, 2000, p. 122 ) . In add-on to understanding other civilizations, larning Spanish will besides assist you to better understand English.
& # 8220 ; Much of the English vocabulary has Latin origins & # 8221 ; ( Crystal, 1987, p. 292 ) . Since Spanish is besides a Latin linguistic communication ( Crystal, 1987, p. 292 ) , you will happen as you study Spanish that you have a better apprehension of English. Similarly, & # 8220 ; both Spanish and English portion Indo-germanic roots, so their grammars are similar & # 8221 ; ( Crystal, 1987, p. 293 ) . There is possibly no better manner to reenforce English grammar than by analyzing the grammar of another linguistic communication, for the survey forces you to believe about how your linguistic communication is structured. It is non unusual, for illustration, to derive an apprehension of English verb tenses and tempers by larning how those verbs are used in Spanish. Because of your increased cultural apprehension, larning to talk Spanish will besides do you a more valuable employee.
More and more employers are looking for employees that have 2nd linguistic communication accomplishments. & # 8220 ; There is an increasing client base in the
U.S. of non-English talkers ; an increasing figure of companies are making concern internationally and necessitate employees that non merely can talk the foreign country’s linguistic communication but that besides understand their culture” ( Elgin, 2000, p. 103 ) . If you work in one of the assisting professions such as medical specialty or instruction, you will happen your chances expand exponentially by cognizing Spanish. Wherever you live, if you are in “any business that involves international trade, communications or touristry, you will happen chances to utilize your linguistic communication skills” ( Elgin, 2000, p. 110 ) . In 1961, a survey of the want ads in the New York Times resulted in a digest of 608 occupations necessitating foreign linguistic communication accomplishments, and about two-thirds of those petitions were for Spanish alone ( Huebener, 1966, p. 64 ) . The Spanish-speaking population of the United States has more than tripled in the four decennaries since 1961 ( Eglin, 2000, p. 22 ) , so we can conceive of the battalion of possibilities today that would be unfastened to professionals with Spanish speech production accomplishments. You will non merely happen more chances to utilize Spanish in your concern environment, but your employer will really seek you out to be the chief contact in concern communicating with your Spanish-speaking clients. Your ability to talk Spanish will do you “more valuable as an employee, increasing your potency to derive wage rises and promotions” offered by your employer ( Elgin, 2000, 108 ) . In add-on to more occupation chances and higher paying employment, larning to talk Spanish can besides increase your mental capablenesss.
Research shows that larning a foreign linguistic communication really enhances overall mental development. In an article in Child Magazine, Dr. Charles Trevor reviewed a survey of 13,200 third- through fifth-graders go toing public schools in Louisiana. The survey was uncovering: it demonstrated that regardless of race, gender, or academic degree, childs taking foreign linguistic communication categories did better on the Louisiana Basic Skills Tests than pupils who were non analyzing a foreign linguistic communication ( Trevor, 1999 ) . Some grounds besides suggests that persons who receive 2nd linguistic communication direction are more originative and better at work outing complex jobs, irrespective of their age ( Trevor, 1999 ) .
Americans who merely speak English are selling themselves short. In today & # 8217 ; s multicultural universe, people are doing themselves more marketable and more available to others by larning to talk another linguistic communication. In America, the best pick of which foreign linguistic communication to larn is Spanish. By developing the ability to pass on with over half a billion people in the universe, people who learn to talk Spanish will hold entree to a greater a figure of calling possibilities, develop a deeper apprehension of their ain and other civilizations, and increase their overall mental capablenesss.
Bibliography
Mentions
Crystal, D. ( 1997 ) . The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.
Elgin, S. H. ( 2000 ) . The Language Imperative: How Learning Languages Can Enrich Your Life and Expand Your Mind. Cambridge, MA: Perseus Books.
Huebener, T. ( 1966 ) . Why Johnny Should Learn Foreign Languages. Philadelphia: Chilton Company.
Trevor, C. ( 1999, February ) . How a Second Language Boosts Academic Success. Child. 24-25.
