In the year 2012, it was recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau that Spanish is the primary language spoken at home by 38.3 million people aged five or older. That number is more than double what is was in 1990. The Spanish language is on the rise in the United States, making now a more important time than ever to teach your child Spanish. While there are many benefits to teaching your child any second language, I narrowed it down to 5 reasons why Spanish should be the second language you are teaching your child:

1. Cultural Understanding- One of the most important reasons why your child, or anyone for that matter, should learn Spanish is cultural understanding. It is important that we teach our children Spanish so that they can immerse themselves in the Spanish culture and learn about its values, customs, and traditions. Our sons and daughters are our world’s future leaders and it is imperative that we teach them about all the other cultures that exist so that they can properly interact with others they will come into close contact with in our society.
2. Traveling- Whether your travel plans are taking your family to Spain, Mexico, Argentina, or just across the United States (especially to places like California, Texas, and Arizona with large Latino populations), it is important that your child can understand the Spanish language. Your child will be able to speak with ease to the locals in these places and will have fun carrying on conversations in Spanish. Teaching your child Spanish also makes for a great reason to plan that beautiful trip to Spain that you’ve been dreaming about!
3. Career Opportunity- Teaching your child Spanish is a great way to ensure that your child thrives in whichever career path that they may choose. It is easier for children to learn new languages than it is for adults, so the earlier they get started, the easier it will be to acquire this skill. It is becoming increasingly important for companies in a variety of sectors to have bilingual employees due to the rising number of consumers who speak a foreign language. Spanish is so important to learn because of the large number of native Spanish speakers living in the United States. Your child’s job application will look much more impressive and will be sure to capture the attention of employers if they have knowledge of the Spanish language. It has also been recorded that people who speak a foreign language make more money!
4. The Growing Number of Spanish Speakers- In 2014, 470 million people were speaking Spanish as a native language. That number does not include the additional 548 million people who speak Spanish as a first or second language or the 20 million students who take Spanish as a foreign language. As if those numbers are not enough to convince you of the growing number of Spanish speakers, it is important to note that Spanish is the most widely understood language in the Western Hemisphere. As you can tell, a very large number of people currently speak Spanish and that number will continue to grow. This is why it is so important that your child starts to learn Spanish. As more and more people speak Spanish, your child will need to know the language to be able to communicate effectively with others.
5. Confidence- Teaching your child Spanish will help them to learn new communication skills which will lead to them being more confident! They will love being able to show off all of their Spanish knowledge to family, friends, and classmates. Children that learn Spanish will also be more confident in the classroom as studies have shown that those who speak a foreign language score better on standardized tests in different subjects such as language literacy and mathematics.

The post 5 Reasons to Teach Your Child Spanish in the United States appeared first on Conversation Piece.