Queridos amigos,

Dear friends,

Why study Spanish?

It is a very special language, one that you will hopefully continue to study in the years to come. It is present all around us! Think of the many states, cities, rivers and mountains which bear Spanish names: Florida, Nevada, Colorado, Los Angeles, Santa Fe, El Paso, the Sierras… the list is endless.

More importantly, Spanish is very much alive in the United States, as it is the second most-spoken language after English. There are more Spanish speakers in the U.S. than there are speakers of Chinese, French, Italian, Hawaiian, and the Native American languages combined.

According to the 2009 American Community Survey conducted by the United States Census Bureau, Spanish is the primary language spoken at home by over 35.5 million people age 5 and older. There are 45 million Hispanics who speak Spanish as a first or second language, and over 6 million students of Spanish, making the U.S the world’s second-largest Spanish-speaking community, only after Mexico and ahead of Spain, Colombia and Argentina. Think of the people around you: you may have a friend with a Hispanic name, you may have been to a Hispanic shop or restaurant in your town, know of famous people whose names are Spanish, or you yourself may be of Hispanic heritage.

Spanish is the language of Spain, Mexico, Central America, and most of South America.  It is also spoken in parts of the Philippines and parts of Africa. It is the official language of 21 countries and is one of the five official languages of the United Nations. It is spoken daily by 330 million people around the world, and perhaps another 50 million as a second language. All in all, Spanish is one of the most widely used and most useful languages in the world.

Language is part of culture. In learning a language, you learn not only how others express themselves, but also how they live and what they think. By investigating how we differ and how we are similar, we begin to learn who we really are. Similarly, Spanish is the native language of many great writers, poets and artists whose ideas have shaped our own ways of thinking and feeling. Knowing Spanish may help you better understand these ideas and, consequently, the world we live in.

Soon you will discover the many similarities between Spanish and English. They have many words in common, and others which are closely related. Consequently knowing Spanish will help you understand your language better, and even increase your English vocabulary!

Finally, Spanish is a language used in many different professions, both abroad and here in the United States. Those individuals who choose to serve their fellow citizens as doctors, nurses, lawyers, social workers, teachers, firefighters and law enforcement officers, among others, will find they can perform their tasks more effectively if they speak Spanish.

Knowing Spanish is not and end in itself, but a step toward several worthwhile opportunities: communications with others here and abroad, increased knowledge of the world in which we live, better understanding of others’ cultures …. And maybe and extra advantage when you are looking for a job!

Y ahora, vamos a divertirnos aprendiendo español!

And now, let’s have fun learning Spanish!

EFFECTIVE SYSTEM OF ORAL LEARNING

The best guarantee that you will receive intensive, personalized, and effective instruction is that at Spanish Learning Center you learn in groups with a maximum of 6 or 8 students. The teacher in each class instills a creative and dynamic style that will give you a solid base of oral communication and ample vocabulary practice.

The instructors teach Spanish in relation to the historical-cultural context of Latin America. You will be strongly motivated by a rich exchange of ideas and the continual oral communication between you, your professors, and classmates. The system of small groups and the special class dynamic will help you to quickly learn to converse in and understand Spanish in a short time. Come, study with us and see for yourself!

The program is instructed so that the student can quickly achieve the ability to converse fluently in Spanish, and this leads easily to being able to write and read as well. With our method, grammar and vocabulary come naturally. At Spanish Learning Center the classes and instructions are given entirely in Spanish.