What's your main motivation to learn spanish?

[Trellum]

Hi everyone!  I'm a native spanish speaker, and I'm actually surprised to learn there are a lot people trying to learn this language.  Spanish can be a bit difficult to learn for all those learners whose native language is not a romance language, this made me wonder... what could be motivating this people to learn spanish?

I'd love to hear about your reasons behind the decision to learn spanish.  What's motivating you to do so?  Is there a real reason or you just like to learn new languages?

[thekernel]

In high school, my motives were actually brought on by laziness. I was learning French in mandatory courses, and did not like it in any way whatsoever. The first chance I had, I switched to Spanish, which I was told was much easier, and it was. I actually enjoyed learning and speaking the language, and classes were much less exhausting than French.

Ever since then it's kind of stuck with me. I want to expand on my knowledge so that I can get by for traveling, as I want to visit Central America some time soon.

[wholesaleblogger]

Well for me its that my wife is Chilean and so it makes sense to be able to talk to both here and her friends and family in their language.

I have to say though it isn't always easy even when living with a native Spanish speaker. I first imagined it would be like having a 24/7 language lesson but life takes over. In addition to this, my wife speaks fluent English and so we slip back into English very fast.

Must try harder !!

[AdamDavis14]

I want to be able to speak two languages or more so that is my goal. I want to also be able to speak spanish fluently when I go abroad because it will make my life easier when I do speak to a native spanish speaker.

[GearZ]

There are three big reasons I want to learn Spanish;  one is sentimental, one for practical purposes, and the last a little of both.

The sentimental one is my father's side of the family is from Spain.  I would love to learn the language and visit family we have back in the home country as well as some that moved to Argentina.

The practical reason is I have business contacts in Puerto Rico and, to a lesser extent, Latin America.  It would help knowing more of the language, even if I still needed a translator to conduct business.

The little bit of both is that I would like my daughter to be able to learn the language as she grows up.

[bonniea]

I have always been interested in other cultures and have a strong desire to live overseas. Then I married a man who is fluent in Spanish so I am really motivated to learn Spanish. Now I have someone to practice with. I do find I understand him a lot better than most Spanish speakers. I think it's because I understand his accent.

[Trellum]

In high school, my motives were actually brought on by laziness. I was learning French in mandatory courses, and did not like it in any way whatsoever. The first chance I had, I switched to Spanish, which I was told was much easier, and it was. I actually enjoyed learning and speaking the language, and classes were much less exhausting than French.

Ever since then it's kind of stuck with me. I want to expand on my knowledge so that I can get by for traveling, as I want to visit Central America some time soon.

That's really interesting, I'm a native english speaker and french is supposed to be easy to learn for me, but to be honest that language is way too tedious for me.  It's interesting to hear the experience of a person who actually tried learning both languages, but decided to stick to spanish instead  

So... what's your spanish level now?  Are you fluent enough or you're still having some trouble with the grammar and the accent?

[Trellum]

Well for me its that my wife is Chilean and so it makes sense to be able to talk to both here and her friends and family in their language.

I have to say though it isn't always easy even when living with a native Spanish speaker. I first imagined it would be like having a 24/7 language lesson but life takes over. In addition to this, my wife speaks fluent English and so we slip back into English very fast.

Must try harder !!

That's a really nice and logical reason   It's such a nice thing that you're trying to learn spanish because your wife is chilean!  I can actually relate to your case, because I'm trying to learn dutch because my soon-to-be husband is dutch.  I must say learning a new language for love is one of the best motivations out there, specially when you're trying to learn a language that is not similar at all to your mother language. 

I'm having a lot problems learning dutch, mostly with the dang pronunciation and the grammar... words sound nothing like the way they're written; as a native spanish speaker I found that really confusing.  But knowing I'm learning it for him makes me feel the effort is really worth it, plus we might be moving to the Netherlands later  

Best of luck on your spanish learning quest!

[Trellum]

There are three big reasons I want to learn Spanish;  one is sentimental, one for practical purposes, and the last a little of both.

The sentimental one is my father's side of the family is from Spain.  I would love to learn the language and visit family we have back in the home country as well as some that moved to Argentina.

The practical reason is I have business contacts in Puerto Rico and, to a lesser extent, Latin America.  It would help knowing more of the language, even if I still needed a translator to conduct business.

The little bit of both is that I would like my daughter to be able to learn the language as she grows up.

Well, I think your motivations to learn spanish are really good! I think it's really nice of you to try to reconnect with your spaniard roots.  It's also great you're doing this to help your business... there is nothing better than actually knowing what's actually going on, even if you are using a translator to help you.  So, what's your current spanish level?  Are you taking a class or are you doing this mostly alone?

[rgaz83]

My reasoning for learning Spanish isn't all that altruistic. There are a lot of native Spanish speakers around here, and it's much easier to get a job if you are bilingual. Not only that, but the jobs tend to pay more when you're bilingual. It's usually somewhere between $1-2/hour more, which can really add up.

So, Spanish is for mainly financial reasons. It's OTHER languages that I want to learn for fun!  :grin:

[GearZ]

Well, I think your motivations to learn spanish are really good! I think it's really nice of you to try to reconnect with your spaniard roots.  It's also great you're doing this to help your business... there is nothing better than actually knowing what's actually going on, even if you are using a translator to help you.  So, what's your current spanish level?  Are you taking a class or are you doing this mostly alone?

Alas, my Spanish skills at the present are pretty rudimentary.  I have a book on the subject as well as a number of apps as study guides, but I would really like to take a formal class.  The one at the local college is not at a time when I can attend, so I have been looking for a good online course instead.

[cinderr]

I'm not certain but I think Spanish is overtaking English in America.

I have always wanted to learn Spanish but never had time or money to enroll in a class. Many American citizens know Spanish and I don't want to be left behind! I want to understand my neighbor. I am not the arrogant American who thinks everyone should learn our language but we don't have to make an effort to learn theirs! I think we all agree now that it is smart to learn how to communicate with others.

[Alfonso]

Well, its the 3rd most spoken language on the planet, so that alone should be motivation enough for a lot of people. Personally, I'm a Peninsular Spaniard living in the Philippines and about 60% of my family speak Spanish regularly or at least have the ability to do so. Sadly, my generation was not taught how to speak Spanish. Aside from that, jobs that require fluent Spanish pay really well in the Philippines. Lastly, fluency in both English and Spanish is a big advantage anywhere in the world.

[JackBracken]

My main motivation for Spanish is simply that one day I will get a spanish girlfriend and we will travel all around the world. He name will be maria. 

[Trellum]

Hehehehe!!!  That has been the best motivation I have read so far   The cuttest and sweetest as well, and that automatically makes it the best one :3  LOL, seriously, good for you   I'm sure you will not have any trouble finding a Maria   That name is quite common in latin america, or it used to be!  So, how are you planning to meet that girlfriend of yours? :3

[Dame6089]

In general, I enjoy learning languages. I took many Spanish classes in college because I was good at them and they boosted my GPA. Now that I am out of college, I would like to stay sharp. I hope that one day I can visit a Spanish speaking country and not just be your average clueless American tourist.

[leila kyla]

I was lucky enough to go to the World Youth Day held in Madrid, Spain last 2011. We spent a few days in Valencia before moving to Madrid. I remember feeling so frustrated because I couldn't express myself fully to the spanish speakers around me. Once I got back home I promised myself I would learn the language and maybe even go back to Spain. I also have a godmother who lives in Spain and would like to converse with her in Spanish someday.

[wannalurnspanish]

I want to learn it simply for the love of the language. In school I wanted to take French (I wanted to visit France one day), but my mother said Spanish was way easier and convinced me that French was not a language worth learning (I'm not sure why.) I ended up sticking with Spanish all through high school and totally loving the language. I somewhat slacked off in Spanish my senior year though, which was a big mistake, and I think I lost a lot of ground in learning verbs by doing that.

Because of my location in the US, it also wouldn't be a bad idea to learn it for the practical reason of being able to communicate with a good percentage of the people I come across in public places everyday. I think those who choose to not learn Spanish are going to have various problems and issues to deal with in several years, both here and in other parts of the country, because of the rise in the Hispanic population in the US.

[mynamesmittens]

I think it's healthy to learn another language along with the fact that I'm going to South America to a country where the language is Spanish.