Why study Spanish and Portuguese?
- Bilingualism is viewed as a valuable credential in today’s competitive society. From government agencies to education, academia, NGOs, the health care and medical science sectors, diverse fields of law and the arts, Spanish & Portuguese languages and cultures are an invaluable tool for students looking to have an edge going into the job market.
- Spanish is the second most widely spoken language in the U.S. and one of the three most commonly used languages in the world.
- Spanish speaking teachers are being sought after to implement the new Standards of Learning published by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) to linguistically and culturally equip students who are developing in a pluralistic society.
- Brazil is the seventh largest economy in the world. There is a growing need for Portuguese speaking professionals in all areas of business, trade, tourism and non-profit/fair-trade sectors.
- The Colorado Bar Association (CBA) and the Hispanic National Bar Foundation (HNBF) have sections dedicated solely to the practice of law in the Spanish language under the Spanish-Speaking Lawyers Committee.
- Medical journal articles are being translated into Spanish in order to promote the sharing of new findings among a larger, global medical community. Furthermore, research shows that language limitations in understanding patient medical history are directly associated with poor results and unequal treatment.
- Spanish is the official language of Spain and 20 Latin American nations.
- Spanish is the native language of over 17 million people in the United States.
- Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes is considered the first modern novel and inaugurated what we understand modern fiction to be.
- Hispanic consumers are the fastest-growing market segment in North America. According to the U.S. Census Bureau projections, “The Hispanic population is expected to account for 30.2% of the national population by 2050."