Just in case you need to reassure yourself towards making the decision to learn the beautiful Spanish language, here are 10 solid reasons why you should go ahead and take this life changing decision.
1. Spanish is the 4th common spoken language worldwide
Spanish speaking residents can be found in pain, the United States, Venezuela, Argentina, Chile, Equatorial Guinea, the Philippines, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Peru, Mexico, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Panama, Colombia, Bolivia, Paraguay, and Uruguay. In figures, this accounts to 1/3 of a billion speakers worldwide!!
2 Learn Spanish to enhance your travel experiences
If you decide to visit exotic and tropical countries like Venezuela, Argentina, Chile or Spain, knowing Spanish will be a great benefit to you. Knowing to speak Spanish will allow you to get close to the locals and get access to insights that a non-speaking Spanish speaker would never have. Your visit and stay will be more pleasant much more enjoyable when you can communicate the local Spanish language.
3 Learn Spanish to improve your own language
The origin of Spanish comes from the Romance language family of languages where its roots are primarily Latin. The English has many words derived from the Latin language and hence knowing Spanish would help speakers of English broaden their vocabulary. Those who are into science, medicine and law will have come across some Latin terms as the many centuries of Roman rule has left their mark linguistically.
4 Learn Spanish to avoid the Diseases!
Studies concluded that learning and using 3 varied languages reduces your chances of getting the dreaded Alzheimer’s disease. Studies show that bilingualism enhances mental abilities in people across all ages. Studying a different language improves your memory and slows down age related mental acuity. Besides that, studying another language improves your critical thinking skills as you learn to see things through a different lens.
5. Spanish is becoming a very important business tool
If you could expand your business to the 350 million people whose mother tongue is Spanish would you do it? I guess you would jump into it without blinking an eye. This is why having a command in Spanish is crucial because not only do you have access to a 350 million Spanish speaking market but Hispanic consumers are also the fastest-growing market segment. You will definitely have the edge if you know a second language because Globalization is inevitable especially now with the Internet making its way into the lives of people around the globe.
6. Appreciate Spanish art, music, literature and film even more
Foreign films are becoming very popular these days but most of them are dubbed to suit the market that it’s being promoted. Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to watch the film in its original context without having to worry about the subtitles and whether the translation of the film is accurate? If you know Spanish, you will double your enjoyment while watching films like Belle époque (1993), The Sea Inside (2004) and All About My Mother (1999). It really makes a difference watching a film in its original language.
Learning Spanish will also allow you to get into the minds and times of some great Spanish writers like Miguel de Cervantes who wrote Don Quixote which was written in the 16th century but still continues to fascinate and inspire current audiences.
7. Learning Spanish makes acquiring the next foreign language easier
It is not easy to master second language. You need to put in a lot of hard work, perseverance and practice to master a language. All this effort makes the task of learning another language easier by comparison. You tend to develop a set of mental, social and cultural skills and this awareness caries to other languages learned. Languages from the Romance family like Italian, French and Portuguese will be much more easy to learn because the will seem like “cousin” to Spanish!
8. Lend a Hand to Others
If you like to help people, knowing Spanish will allow you to help both Spanish speakers who can’t speak English and English speakers who don’t speak Spanish. As you are aware, the living standards in many Spanish speaking countries are rather low and therefore there are a lot of people in serious need of aid and care in these countries. Learning Spanish will help and prepare you if you intend to go to these countries to extend some aid and care personally.
9. To improve employment potential
How many times have you filled in a recruitment form and been asked to list down all the languages you know and rate your command level of it? All the time, am I right? Well, this clearly shows that to know second language is vital if you want to have an edge over other applicants. Studies have shown that you are more likely to land a job of your dreams if you speak another language than if you are monolingual. Most jobs these days require you to have some basic proficiency in another language.
10. Learning Spanish is fun!
Learning Spanish besides opening up lots of opportunities for you can be one of the most enjoyable things you will ever do. Whatever your motivations are, learning Spanish will definitely benefit you for the rest of your life.
By: Ray Lam
Posts Tagged ‘Mexico Cuba’
Learn Spanish – 10 Resons Why You Should Learn Spanish
January 29th, 2010Popular Places For Medical Tourism
November 4th, 2009
Medical tourists from different countries travel for health care purposes to those countries having quality healthcare services at reasonable prices. So they spend extra money on travel, health care and accommodations on the places of treatment. Medical tourism is an old concept because thousands of years ago people traveled for medical purposes or for spiritual treatments to different countries. Many factors are considered while choosing a destination place for medical tourism such as high healthcare services and costs, waiting for certain procedures, availability and affordability of international travel, quality and latest technology used in the treatment.
Some of the most popular places include Europe, Japan, Middle East, UK, United States, Canada and Costa Rica. These places are popular due to the quality of their health care services, technology and competency of physicians. The hospitals of Bolivia, Colombia, Brazil, Argentina, Costa Rica, Mexico, Cuba and Turkey are popular for Cosmetic surgery treatments. Surgeons of South American countries like Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia and Argentine lead in plastic surgery due to their experience and knowledge. Plastic surgery is very common in Argentina, Bolivia, Mexico, Colombia and US. Slovakia, Belgium and Poland are entering in the business of health care.
A large number of Americans are going abroad for health care although the facilities of health in US are also available. There are many intermediary companies which provide help in medical tourism. These companies offer global health care at reasonable costs. There are different commissions and societies which care for the quality and standards of the hospitals available for medical tourism. Countries such as Malaysia, Thailand, India and Costa Rica have many infectious diseases as compare to North America and Europe . So medical tourists need to stay for some time in the country which they choose for health care because travel soon after surgery can create many complexities. Tourists having breath and heart related problems avoid long flights and combine their vacation tours with medical tours.
North American Places
The quality of healthcare in Canada is not less than that of America but medical tourists can save 30 to 60 percent of their costs as compare to America. Medical tourists can save up to 80 on healthcare services in Costa Rica as compare to US. Costa Rica is popular for cosmetic procedure, dental, weight-loss and orthopedic surgeries. Knee replacement surgery is very cheap so patients travel to Costa Rica for medical tourism. Patients from all over the world travel to Cuba for the best quality of healthcare services and fine reputation of their doctors. Medical tourists of Europe and Latin America travel to this destination because of its situation and save up to 60 to 80 percent as compare to the charges in US. The hospitals of Cuba are best known for cancer treatment, cosmetic surgery, joint replacement, eye surgery and addictions rehabilitations. the government of Cuba has taken many steps to increase income from medical tourism and patients of US, Canada and UK visit Cuba for medical treatments. Dominican Republic is very popular destination for hip replacement, bariatric surgeries, plastic surgeries, knee replacement, eye surgeries and all other medical treatments. Medical tourists can save from 50 to 75 percent as compare to the costs in US. The plastic surgery and dentistry healthcare services of Mexico are appreciated by all the world. The costs of these treatments are one-fourth to one-fifth of American costs. The quality of health care services in Mexico is very high and medical tourists are satisfied.
Quality health services, location and dollar as the official currency are the reasons that Panama is famous for its medical services. The medical professionals of Panama are trained by US and use the latest technology to provide quality healthcare services. Medical tourists can save more than 50 percent of healthcare costs as compare to Europe and US. Dental implants, assisted reproduction, cosmetic dentistry, plastic surgery, cardiology, orthopedics and pulmonology are the popular procedures in medical treatments. Surgeons of Brazil have gained world wide fame in cosmetic surgery.
South American Places
Orthopedic surgeries , Cosmetic surgery, transplant surgery, eye surgery and cardiovascular are popular procedures in Colombia. Healthcare services in Colombia are cheap and foreigners can get human organs from Colombia. The doctors of Colombia are experienced and have worked in many countries of Europe and US.
Asian Places
China has gained popularity in stem cell treatments. The medical professionals of India are popular for hip resurfacing, heart surgery and areas of advanced medicine. The treatment costs in India are very low which is nearly one-tenth to the treatment costs of US. The healthcare service in Malaysia are also very popular and the doctors of Malaysia are trained in the hospitals of US and UK. New Zealand is a popular medical tourism destination for fertility treatments and non-acture surgical procedures. The doctors are trained in the hospitals of UK and US. The costs of healthcare services are very low as compared to US. Thailand is popular in organ transplant and cardiac surgery at lower prices.
Europe
Moreover British and Canadian medical tourists don’t wait long and travel to Germany for medical treatments. Novel cancer and spine surgery are well treated in Germany at lower prices. Dentistry services in Ukraine are provided at lower costs. High class material and equipment is used in dental clinics and hospitals. There are many suitable places for medical tourism but a medical tourist chooses according to his own choice and affordability.
By: Radha Kishan