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Why choose Spanish & Latin American Studies at Dalhousie?
Spanish is the most widely spoken language in the world after Chinese and English. Surprised? As of 2015, nearly 470 million people- living in 22 countries- have Spanish as their first language. Moreover, the group of potential users including those of native domain, those with limited Spanish knowledge and foreign language students (21 million), reached almost 559 million worldwide. Already 6.7% of the world’s population speaks Spanish and it is expected that this figure will increase to 7.5% by 2030. In fact, within three or four generations, it is expected that 10% of the population will understand Spanish.
Interestingly, Spanish is most commonly used on Twitter in predominantly English-speaking cities such as New York and London. As for the internet, Spanish is the third most used language online, after English and Chinese, and 7.9% of users communicate in Spanish.
A degree in Spanish & Latin American Studies from Dalhousie helps you engage with this massive global community and provides a solid foundation for anyone wanting to experience the Hispanic world. With language and translation classes catering to everyone from beginner to advanced speakers- and other courses focusing on Spanish and Latin American civilization, history, culture, politics, literature and film- our diverse programs immerse our students in the entire Hispanic experience.
However, you do not need to major in Spanish in order to take advantage of our program. Many students take our classes to augment degrees in other disciplines. Spanish language skills and knowledge of Latin American social/political history and culture can be tremendous assets to anyone considering the fields of international business and development, as well as anyone interested in working with government agencies or non-profit organizations.
The professors strive for real learning, not memorization and regurgitation. There’s an emphasis on critical thinking—analyzing and drawing your own conclusions rather than just accepting what a textbook says.