1) Spanish is the second most spoken language in the world after Mandarin Chinese, with over 332 million native speakers globally. 2) Studying Spanish provides cognitive, academic, and career benefits for students. It is correlated with higher standardized test scores and increased creativity and problem-solving skills. 3) For both personal and professional reasons, learning Spanish opens up opportunities for travel, cultural exchange, and employment both within New Zealand and abroad.

1. AGUSTÍN YAGÜE, ASESOR TÉCNICO DEL MEC EN WELLINGTON, 2005

2. The population figures in this table refer TO FIRST LANGUAGE SPEAKERS in all countries RANK LANGUAGE POPULATION 1 CHINESE MANDARIN 885,000,000 2 SPANISH 332,000,000 3 ENGLISH 322,000,000 4 BENGALI 189,000,000 5 HINDI 182,000,000 6 PORTUGUESE 170,000,000 7 RUSSIAN 170,000,000 8 JAPANESE 125,000,000 9 GERMAN 98,000,000 10 CHINESE WU 77,175,000 Source: 13th Edition of the Ethnologue (1996) Updated: February 1999 TOP 10 LANGUAGES BY POPULATION

3. EUROPE: Spain AMERICAS: Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Costa Rica, Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, United States, Uruguay and Venezuela ASIA: Philippines AFRICA: Guinea and Sahara Republic

4. “ Spanish is now spoken by many of the 35.3 million Hispanics in the United States.” “In the United States, stations in Spanish more than doubled in the last decade, to 533. Broadcast TV stations jumped 70%, to 53, according to industry estimates.”

5. About 5.8 percent of the people who use the Internet speak Spanish , making it the No. 4 language in the Internet community, following English (51.3 percent), Japanese (8.1 percent) German (5.9 percent). Close behind is Chinese, with 5.4 percent, followed by French with 3.9 percent

6. THE BENEFITS OF EARLY LANGUAGE LEARNING

7. In addition to developing a lifelong ability to communicate with more people, children may derive other benefits from early language instruction, including improved overall school performance and superior problem-solving skills

8. Students of foreign languages score statistically higher on standardized tests conducted in English . The College Entrance Examination Board (US) reported that students who averaged 4 or more years of foreign language study scored higher on the verbal section of the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) than those who had studied 4 or more years in any other subject area. In addition, the average mathematics score for individuals who had taken 4 or more years of foreign language study was identical to the average score of those who had studied 4 years of mathematics

9. Students of foreign languages have access to a greater number of career possibilities and develop a deeper understanding of their own and other cultures. Some evidence also suggests that children who receive second language instruction are more creative and better at solving complex problems

10. LEARNING SPANISH: UNITED STATES

11. In the United States parents are increasingly urging their children to study Spanish. S panish instruction in elementary schools has increased significantly from 68% of schools in 1987 to 79% in 1997

12. In the United States Spanish instruction also increased significantly at the secondary level over the past decade, from 86% to 93% of secondary schools with foreign language programs.

13. Spanish is the second language in France. About 65% of French secondary students are learning Spanish. In other words 1,700,000 students are learning Spanish In the UK, Spanish is the favorite language among adults learning foreign languages LEARNING SPANISH: EUROPE

14. Spanish is one of the official languages of the United Nations and of the European Community. It also ranks second to English as the most widely studied foreign language in Japan, Sweden and the former Soviet Union

15. Spanish is the language of not only an exciting popular culture but one of the richest literary and artistic cultures in the world . Apart from flamenco, salsa or tango and pop latino singers and film stars, you will familiarize with the names of writers such as Cervantes, García Lorca, García Márquez, Borges or Neruda, painters like Goya, Dalí or Picasso, architects like Gaudí or film makers such Almodóvar or Amenábar

16. From California in the United States to Tierra del Fuego, in the Southern tip of South America, from Easter Island in the Pacific to Majorca in the Mediterranean, Spanish is the language for traveling. If you ever dreamt of going to exciting places such as Mexico, the Andes or visiting the two-millennia-old Roman remains in Spain, the Middle Ages castles or exotic palaces like Alhambra in Granada, just to mention a few, you need Spanish

17. THE KIWI EXPERIENCE

18. “ Not only have I met great people and made friends through the Spanish connection, but I have had some brilliant work opportunities . Speaking Spanish allowed me to make lifelong friends and to take part in the life of the place, and I still consider it my second home. I learned Spanish simply because I loved it and wanted to communicate. At the time, I never thought it would lead to so many openings and opportunities. Now I think my life would have been much less exciting without it ” DIANA BURNS, JOURNALIST

19. “ Emerson said: No man should travel until he has learned the language of the country he visits . Otherwise he voluntarily makes himself a great baby, -so helpless and so ridiculous. Spanish has always attracted me as a useful language because of the number of people who speak it. Further, it did not appear to be too intimidatingly difficult, many words being familiar from my English ” BENJAMIN WILLIAMS, MATHEMATICIAN, CHRISTCHURCH

20. “ As a 17 year old exchange student in a small rural village in Chile, English was about as helpful to me as a bicycle is to a fish! I believe that learning another language (or several!) is important, not only for the many and varied opportunities that can result, but also because it enables people to understand and appreciate one another and the many different realities that face us all in our respective countries” NADINE MILLAR CHRISTCHURCH

21. “ Knowing Spanish has had a major impact upon my life, both professionally and personally” DR WAYNE MACARTHUR LECTURER. SCHOOL OF MARKETING AND INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS VICTORIA UNIVERSITY WELLINGTON

22. “ Learning Spanish not only makes me able to step into another world, it also heightens my anticipation of who will I meet next -more people who are interested in Spanish, the language of colourful cultures ” NINI TILEY-NOTODISURYO, WELLINGTON

23. Spanish is everywhere! I have found that the most wonderful opportunities to work with Spanish have been right here in New Zealand. Spanish is one of the fastest growing languages taught in New Zealand MARY BETH TAYLOR, WELLINGTON

24. A – Argentine asado and April Fair B – booming business opportunities C – charismatic cultures D – distant diplomatic duties E – English teaching overseas F – fiesta fun you will never forget G – graduation and post-graduate degrees H – history in two hemispheres I – Ibiza images J – justified in many jobs K – key to another world L – literature; best in its original language M – magical music to melt your heart N – nice nights knowing new names O – oranges and opera singers P – paseo in the Plaza Mayor Q – Quixote, Don, world’s first novel R – rugby contracts overseas S – summer sangría in Sevilla T – travel and talk in twenty countries U – university study and employment V – velvety vinos W – widely spoken in the world X – eXciting eXchanges Y – Youth Hostels and new friends Z – Zarzuela in Zaragoza THE A-Z OF REASONS TO LEARN SPANISH, CRYSTELLE JONES, ROTORUA

25. “ WHY SPANISH? - it is a growth export market for NZ - it is a target market for the government - it will increase your employment opportunities - it will enrich your personal experiences and open doors - it will give you international opportunities irrespective of your profession or education start the learning young - it is fun exciting and helps us learn the richness and excitement of this culture” LOGAN MULLER, LECTURER AT UNITEC, AUCKLAND

26. “ Through studying languages, I have also been able to lecture Spanish at an American university in Singapore and be an international flight attendant for Air New Zealand. Studying Spanish leads to a world of opportunities ” GWENDA PHILLIPS, WELLINGTON

27. “ The students who have learned languages and travelled overseas from isolated little Gisborne (which many believe to be the centre of the universe!) have a wonderfully positive attitude to cultural differences (the colour, dancing, music and of course the food and drink!) and they all definitely have the urge to travel more” KAREN HOLLIS, GISBORNE

28. ASESORÍA TÉCNICA DEL MEC EN WELLINGTON, 2005