Why learn Spanish and the best way to do it

 Did you know that Spanish is spoken by 548 million of people? Did you know that it’s the second most spoken language in the US after English, with 41 million of speakers? These two facts should already capture your mind and make you think about why learn Spanish could be an interesting thing to do.

Let’s also talk about the charm of Spanish, another good reason to get in touch with this language and start studying it. Do you like Latin American songs? They are the best if you love dancing. Wouldn’t it be nice to understand songs while you are dancing?

Going back to a serious tone: Spanish is one of the most spoken languages in the world, it is very useful if you like traveling, and it’s not too hard to learn. If you want to study a new language, Spanish should be the one.

In this article, I will give you some good reasons why learning Spanish is so important, and so cool! You will also find some advice on how to learn it in the best possible way, and of course, I’ll tell you how to have fun while you are doing it!

Why learn Spanish? The 20 best reasons

There are at least 20 good reasons to learn Spanish. Let's see them together.

1. You can have a deeper experience in a lot of countries

If traveling is one of your favorite things, you should know how beautiful it is to talk to local people during your travels. Speaking the language of the place you are visiting just makes you have a deeper experience, you get closer to the people and you feel part of the place. And if you speak Spanish, you can feel this in lots of different countries, not only Spain!

Almost every country in Central and South America speaks Spanish. Imagine how amazing it would be to speak with local people and share moments with them in the best possible way, using their own language! By learning Spanish you can experience wonderful countries such as Costa Rica, Mexico, Colombia, and Argentina, in the best possible way. 

2. It can make you feel more confident

When you speak more than one language you feel clever and more confident, there is no doubt. And when you travel and you speak the local language, it makes you feel safer and more confident about what you are doing.

You don’t have to be afraid of going to a place without understanding people and without knowing how to communicate if you speak the local language. It is something you can do when you learn Spanish because it’s spoken in lots of places. During your trips to Latin America, you don’t have to worry about anything, because you will always be able to communicate with people.

3. It helps you to save a lot of money

When you travel to some developing countries, sometimes they understand you are a foreigner and they could try to scam you and make you pay higher prices when you want to do tours or buy things. But you know what? If you speak their language, they tend to avoid scamming you because they think you are clever and you could understand their scams.

If you haggle in their language, they usually give up and ask you for the correct price. The fact is that you are more confident and at the same time they feel this confidence and they prefer to scam someone who’s not that confident. This can often happen in Latin America, but if you learn Spanish, you can easily avoid this stress.

4. You can make more friends

The world is full of Spanish speakers, you can meet them everywhere, so if you speak Spanish you can certainly make more friends. And if you travel to Spanish-speaking countries you can make friends with the locals, which is always very nice.

It’s very useful and cool to have local friends in the place you visit. They can give you important advice about the place and you can discover hidden gems that you’ll have never seen otherwise.

5. People will be more friendly with you

In some Spanish-speaking countries, people tend to be more friendly if you speak their language. This happens because most of them can’t really speak English very well, and they can only communicate in their own language. If you speak Spanish, it’s very helpful for them and they can communicate better with you, as a consequence, they become more friendly.

Other people can understand and speak a bit of English, but they really appreciate the effort you do when you speak their language, and this will make them become much more friendly with you because they respect your effort and like it.

6. You can move to another country if you like

If you speak another language, and you want to change your life one day, you can move to another country with no fear. 

If you are done with the stressful life of a big country such as the US and you are dreaming of a more relaxed life, enjoying the beach every day and living slowly, like you could do in Costa Rica, just to make an example, you can simply move there without being afraid because you speak the local language.

If you speak Spanish, you can basically move to a lot of different countries and start another life. You have definitely more possibilities when you speak the language.

7. You can try local and authentic food

How many times you would like to try local food but are afraid of what you are going to eat because you don’t understand the local language? It happens often, especially when you want to try street food.

Street food vendors usually don’t speak English or they can’t translate the name of the food they sell. If you want to enjoy some really good local food in Latin America, you’d better speak Spanish. In this way, you’ll always know what you are eating and you can feel safer and enjoy it even more.

8. You can get some good online jobs in translation or teaching

If your dream is to quit your 9 to 5 job and start working remotely, speaking another language is one of the best skills you can have, because you can find some great online jobs such as teaching languages or translating.

Spanish is very important and popular, there are lots of translation jobs that require Spanish. And there are also lots of people that want to learn it so you can teach it.

Even if you don’t want to ditch your desk, Spanish would be useful in any case. If you speak another language, you are more skilled and you can earn more money and find more jobs.

9. You can study abroad

Studying abroad is a fantastic experience and everybody should try it once in their life. If you speak Spanish, you could go and study for a while in a Spanish-speaking country.

Studying and living in Spain for example, can really change your life, and in the meantime, you will have so much fun.

10. You can train your brain

Spanish is not very easy for English speakers, because it’s a Latin language and it’s very different. This can be a very good way to train your brain and start thinking in a different way.

You have to try it. It can be challenging but very useful for your mind.

11. Spanish can open the doors to other languages

As I said before, Spanish is a Latin language and it’s very different from English. But it is similar to other Latin languages, such as French and Italian.

If you start learning Spanish and start getting into Latin languages, maybe your next goal will be to learn another language. If you enjoy learning Spanish, it could lead you to learn more Latin languages and improve your skills.

Did you know that Spanish and Italian are very similar? They can understand each other if they speak slowly. You could learn two new languages in this way!

12. You can understand the amazing Latin American songs!

If you love Latin American music, and you should because it is so cool, you can finally understand the lyrics of the songs if you learn Spanish!

Latin American music is so passionate and romantic, so lively, it’s impossible not to start dancing when you listen to it. I bet you really would like to understand the songs!

13. You can have lots of fun with Spanish speakers

Spanish is a beautiful language, and local people are so funny and passionate. They always sound happy and they can make you laugh non-stop. 

If you speak with them, you’ll have a lot of fun and you will laugh so much that your belly starts to hurt. 

14. You can enjoy Spanish literature

If you speak Spanish, you can read some good books in their original languages. Spanish literature is very rich and has some masterpieces. Miguel de Cervantes, just to mention one.

Reading a book or a poem in its original language is always better and it’s a more profound experience.

15. You can watch original movies and TV series

There are a lot of Spanish TV series and movies and you can watch them in their original language if you speak Spanish.

There is no better thing to do, and it can also help you improve your language skills. Start by putting Spanish audio and subtitles, then try to do it without subtitles until you can understand just by listening.

16. You can take dance classes

Some of the best dancing styles are Spanish. Salsa and tango are just two of them. Have you ever thought about learning how to dance, maybe taking some classes?

If you speak Spanish, you can take salsa or tango classes with locals in the original language and feel it deeper. You can improve your language skills but also your dancing skills and become invincible.

17. You can speak to millions of people

We said at the beginning that Spanish has millions of speakers and it’s the third most spoken language in the world. This is enough to start learning it.

I mean, you can speak with millions of people in their own language. It’s a good deal.

18. You can improve your possibilities in life

Speaking another language makes you clever, more interesting, more impressive, and more skilled. You can definitely improve your possibilities, it opens lots of doors and you can achieve more goals in your life.

And one of the best languages to learn is Spanish because it is so common and spoken. It can take you almost anywhere.

19. You can boost your memory

We said that you can train your brain, and you can also boost your memory by learning Spanish.

Spanish has a lot of vocabulary and different tenses in verbs. They can really challenge your memory and it is good to improve it. It’s one of the best languages for this purpose.

20 . You can have a volunteering experience abroad and help local communities

Lots of communities in Spanish-speaking countries need your help and if you speak Spanish, you can have a volunteering experience there and leave a good impact on the world.

Volunteering is something that changes your life and changes the lives of others too. If you speak the local language, you can do it better and do great things for local communities.

The best way to learn Spanish

Without a doubt, the best way to learn Spanish is of course living the language in the real life, speaking it with people, and using it every day. Learning from a book is not enough and it’s not even the funniest way to do it.

Volunteering can be one of the best ways to learn Spanish. You can speak with local people and live daily life using the language in a spontaneous way.

Let me introduce you to Worldpackers, a platform on which you can look for volunteering positions all around the world. In exchange for some hours of help each day, you get free accommodation, and sometimes free board.

There are a lot of positions in Spanish-speaking countries so that you can improve your language while you help local communities.  Just to name a few:

• help a farm in an eco-program in Spain
• use your photography skills to help a sustainable project in Ecuador
• improve your gardening skills in Mexico
• volunteer in the jungle in Bolivia
• help a school in Peru

Why learn Spanish? Now you have all the answers you need and you have also the best advice to learn it: travel the world and volunteer! If you want to start, just subscribe to one of Worldpackers plans, and have fun!

Maybe you could find some more inspiration from Worldpackers community:

The best way to learn Spanish on your own while traveling

15 travel experiences to help you learn Spanish for free

How long does it take to learn a language?

Spanish fluency: what are the benefits of speaking the language and tips on how to increase it