In my last few blogs I've talked about language learning and the importance of studying English. Well, today I'd like to talk about the importance of language learning in general and of Spanish in particular and why learning Spanish in Madrid is such a great opportunity.
There are more native speakers of Spanish than of English. Of course, there are more speakers of Mandarin and Hindi than of either Spanish and English, and although you can find both Chinese and Indians in most places of the globe, both languages are fairly mono-cultural and generally limited to their own countries. If you want to choose a language with a massive and varied cultural audience Spanish is the one to go for; with speakers in Spain; the whole of Latin and South America, apart from Brazil; in many parts of the United States; and it has influence also in Asia, in The Philipines.
Spain is a popular holiday destination for the British, amongst many nationalities: Germans, Dutch and Scandinavian in particular. In the resort areas, Spain is very accommodating language-wise, for example most people employed in the tourism industry speak, at least some, English. In places such as Mallorca which is very popular with German tourists, German is primarily spoken. Of course this is done as a means to make guests more comfortable and to make their trip smoother and easier, thereby encouraging guests to come back again in the future. Simply, it's good for business. The problem for the guests is the lack of incentive to learn the language, however there are so many places off the beaten track within Spain that are wonderful to visit, but where English is less-frequently spoken. Villages that are hidden gems, full of culture, architecture, wonderful gastronomy with delicious local specialities and also beautiful countryside. Many people are getting increasingly tired of going to the same old places and so the interest to explore less well-known places is deepening. The whole experience would be infinitely more rewarding with a knowledge of the language. That's only talking about Spain, South America is a fascinating, varying and enormous continent to visit with delightful people, assorted cultures, diverse customs, incredible architecture and monuments.
However it is not just for tourism reasons that it is a good idea to learn Spanish. For business reasons too, it makes a lot of sense to have another language under your belt. As I said before, a large part of the world speak Spanish, so it makes good business sense to have a linguistic and cultural idea of how to do business in those places. Even though English is the language of business and the actual business transactions are most probably done in English it still helps for the lunches or other social events if some attempt, at least, is made to speak the language. Mr Nick Clegg, the deputy Prime Minister in the UK is incredibly popular and well-looked upon in Spain after he did an interview with Spanish TV in Spanish. He received a lot of respect and admiration. Sadly, in my opinion, it was mainly due to the surprise that a British person was prepared to be interviewed in another language and but also because he defended himself and his position representing the UK very well. Monolingual English speakers are always at a disadvantage, not only culturally and linguistically, but also for lacking the respect by not having an idea of the language.
Madrid is the beautiful bustling capital city of Spain, full of history, museums, art galleries with a great, lively night-life, where there is always something going on to see and do. There is an almost continuous array of exhibitions, theatre shows, dance recitals and concerts happening throughout the year. Madrid has the highest number of bars and cafeterias per capita so the choice of food, particularly of tasty tapas, is out of this world, there are even a number of annual tapas festivals taking place in different areas of the city for you to come and try out different specialities from throughout Spain. Anytime of the year in Madrid is a wonderful time to come and enjoy the life of this great city, my personal favourite is summer, with the long days and relaxed tempo with everyone enjoying the long evenings out in the streets: it is a great atmosphere to meet people and to practise the language.
One Stop Language provides a fantastic Weekend Immersion Course in which you can spend the weekend in Madrid sightseeing, having lunch, visiting museums, enjoying the night-life with a Madrileño, practising your Spanish with a native whilst enjoying their beautiful city and learning first-hand about the culture, people and life there. It is a great opportunity.
