D ANIEL M INOT EDU 542 – F OREIGN L ANGUAGE II L ANGUAGE L EARNING A DVOCACY P ROJECT

 L ANGUAGE OF THE F UTURE !  J OBS /E MPLOYMENT  C OLLEGE A DMISSION  H IGH S CHOOL R EQUIREMENT  T RAVEL E XPERIENCES / S TUDY A BROAD  U NDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD  A PPRECIATION OF OTHER CULTURES  E XPAND V OCABULARY  B ETTER UNDERSTANDING OF E NGLISH  I NCREASES YOUR I NTELLIGENCE !

 S PANISH ’ S INFLUENCE IN THE U NITED S TATES AND AROUND THE WORLD IS LITERALLY GROWING EACH AND EVERYDAY.  S PANISH IS THE 4 TH MOST SPOKEN LANGUAGE IN THE WORLD AND 21 COUNTRIES CLAIM S PANISH AS THEIR OFFICIAL LANGUAGE. I T IS SPOKEN BY ALMOST 400 MILLION PEOPLE WORLDWIDE !  H ALF OF THE POPULATION IN THE W ESTERN H EMISPHERE SPEAKS S PANISH, MAKING IT THE PRIMARY LANGUAGE FOR AS MANY PEOPLE AS E NGLISH IN THIS REGION OF THE WORLD.  T HE S PANISH - SPEAKING POPULATION IN THE U NITED S TATES HAS SKYROCKETED IN RECENT YEARS, MAKING PROFICIENCY IN THE LANGUAGE ALL THE MORE IMPORTANT !

 S PANISH CAN BE AN INCREDIBLY MARKETABLE SKILL AND ASSET THAT CAN GIVE YOU A SIGNIFICANT ADVANTAGE OVER THE COMPETITION IN OUR GLOBAL ECONOMY.  D UE TO THE INCREASE IN THE S PANISH - SPEAKING POPULATION IN THE U.S., KNOWING BOTH E NGLISH AND S PANISH WILL CONTINUE TO BECOME MORE AND MORE VALUABLE IN THE JOB MARKET.  I NDIVIDUALS THAT ARE BILINGUAL HAVE MORE CAREER CHOICES AND CAN MAKE MORE MONEY IN THE LONG RUN.

 L EARNING S PANISH CAN HELP YOU TO ACQUIRE PROMOTIONS AT YOUR JOB OR CAN PAVE THE WAY FOR YOU TO MOVE ABOVE AND BEYOND TO OTHER CAREER PATHS. J UST HAVING A REFERENCE ON YOUR RESUME THAT YOU CAN SPEAK S PANISH CAN OFTEN MEAN THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN YOUR RESUME WINDING UP IN THE TRASH OR ACQUIRING THE CRUCIAL INTERVIEW ! W HAT KINDS OF JOBS CAN YOU GET IF YOU SPEAK A SECOND LANGUAGE ? T RANSLATOR I NTERPRETER T EACHER R EPORTER T OUR G UIDE F LIGHT A TTENDANT B USINESSMAN L AWYER D OCTOR S OCIAL W ORKER …. A ND MANY MORE !

 Y ELLOW S PRINGS S CHOOLS RECOMMENDS AT LEAST TWO YEARS OF A FOREIGN LANGUAGE FOR GRADUATION FROM H IGH S CHOOL.  N OT ONLY IS PROFICIENCY IN S PANISH IMPORTANT FOR GRADUATION, IT IS ALSO SIGNIFICANT FOR ADMISSION TO COLLEGES ACROSS THE U NITED S TATES.  I NCREASING NUMBERS OF COLLEGES ARE REQUIRING 2 TO 4 YEARS OF F OREIGN L ANGUAGE IN HIGH SCHOOL AS A PRE - REQUISITE FOR ADMISSION.

 M ANY COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES ACROSS THE WORLD OFFER STUDENTS THE OPPORTUNITY TO STUDY ABROAD – TO LIVE, TRAVEL, AND TAKE CLASSES IN A FOREIGN COUNTRY – FOR A SEMESTER OR EVEN A YEAR.  K NOWING A SECOND LANGUAGE SUCH AS SPANISH INCREASES THE OPPORTUNITY TO IMMERSE ONESELF IN A FOREIGN LANGUAGE AND CULTURE.  S TUDYING ABROAD ALLOWS YOU TO DEEPEN YOUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE LANGUAGE WITH MORE SPEED THAN IN THE CLASSROOM, AND BROADEN YOUR LIFE PERSPECTIVE WHILE DISCOVERING AND APPRECIATING THE DIVERSITY OF CULTURE AND THE DIFFERENCES IN THE WORLD AROUND YOU.

“I N C OLOMBIA, I EXPERIENCED LANGUAGE IMMERSION AND CULTURAL DIVERSITY, WITNESSED SOCIAL CLASS DIVISIONS FIRST - HAND, AND CHALLENGED MYSELF IN WAYS I HAD NEVER IMAGINED. EACH DAY I GREW MORE AND MORE COMFORTABLE WITH THE S PANISH LANGUAGE. I TOOK ON AN ACADEMICALLY RIGOROUS COURSE LOAD AND TOOK CLASSES WITH BOTH C HILEANS AND OTHER FOREIGNERS. I TAUGHT E NGLISH TO C HILEAN MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS, TRAVELED ACROSS S OUTH A MERICA, AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, DEVELOPED A RESPECT, APPRECIATION, AND GREATER UNDERSTANDING OF FOREIGN CULTURES AND WAYS OF LIFE. I FEEL INCREDIBLY LUCKY TO HAVE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO TEACH, LEARN, AND LIVE IN ANOTHER COUNTRY, AND I WILL CARRY MY EXPERIENCE WITH ME FOREVER.”

 L EARNING ABOUT RESPECT, TOLERANCE, AND CULTURAL D IVERSITY ARE SOME OF THE MOST SIGNIFICANT AND LASTING BENEFITS FROM STUDYING IN A FOREIGN COUNTRY.  S TUDYING ABROAD ALSO GIVES YOU THE OPPORTUNITY TO BECOME EXPOSED TO DIFFERENT TYPES OF FOODS, MUSIC, RELIGIONS, AND BELIEFS IN GENERAL – AND RESPECT FOR THESE DIFFERENT VIEW MAKES YOU A MORE WORLDLY, KNOWLEDGEABLE, AND WELL - EDUCATED CITIZEN OF THE WORLD.

 L EARNING SPANISH ACTUALLY HELPS TO INCREASE, EXPAND, AND IMPROVE YOUR ENGLISH VOCABULARY.  H OW IS THIS POSSIBLE ? T HERE ARE MANY WORDS THAT LOOK, SOUND, AND MEAN THE SAME THING IN E NGLISH AND S PANISH.  T HESE ARE CALLED COGNATES.  C OGNATES ARE IMPORTANT BECAUSE THEY ALLOW US TO EXPAND OUR VOCABULARY IN S PANISH AND MAKE MEANINGFUL CONNECTIONS BETWEEN BOTH LANGUAGES.