In a world with ever evolving AI translators, some may wonder whether sitting down in the small hours of the night repeatedly writing conjugation tables is worth the pain. To this I can promise you, studying languages as an adult is a lot more fun than it was for school exams. Being surrounded by students who want to be there makes it a very different, much more enjoyable experience. Plenty of people are taking the leap to learn Spanish this year.
At Stripey Spanish, everyone comes in with their own goals:
Some are learning Spanish to spruce up their CV and speak with co-workers across the globe.
Some are learning as a hobby, seeing it as a personal challenge and a great way to keep those neurons working.
Many are learning in preparation for their future vacations in Spanish-speaking destinations, eager to dazzle the locals.
One of the most widely spoken languages in the world certainly doesn’t need me to advocate for it as an excellent choice for people dipping their toes in the bi or tri-lingual world. But just in case anyone’s on the fence, let me give you my elevator pitch.
Spanish is a pretty beginner friendly language for an English-speaker and, as a phonetic language, you’ll be able to hit the ground running. All of this to say, it won’t scare you off. The grammar is intuitive and enough of the words are similar enough to English that you can really build a lot of confidence quickly (educated guesses will take you far!). Once you’ve gotten the basics down the vocabulary gets fun as you practice constructing longer and longer sentences.
Learning a language is an investment in yourself. Sure, a career investment, but it pays dividends in many different ways. It’s one of those skills, like riding a bike, that never leaves you. Science shows it does great things for your neurons and personal experience has shown it’s a great way to impress new people. My favorite part is how it lets you interact with media in its original language. Books, poetry, even the latest Spanish-language Netflix show has so much more depth than the 3cm subtitle translation can convey. There’s a certain satisfaction that comes with understanding a cheesy joke in its original language that a translation simply cannot replicate.
A whole new world of cuisine, festivals, and music opens up to you whenever you learn a new language. Spanish is an excellent choice because of the sheer number of countries you can better understand. Whatever your goals are for this year, be it upskilling, getting out of your comfort zone, or meeting new friends, learning a language is a fun way to check off a lot of them at once. There’s never been an easier time to jump into a language, with countless tools and resources to help you out, so it’s time to go out and find some local Spanish classes!
By Amrita, conversation class student autumn 2024