Euroasia: Language, Culture and Travel

I’ve just found out that some 100,000 Starbucks workers throughout the United States will begin learning Spanish.  Starbucks just signed an agreement with Spain’s Cervantes Institute to offer workers Spanish lessons via the Institute’s online Virtual Spanish Classroom (Aula Virtual de Español), according to a newspaper article.

This is no small endeavour, and obviously Starbucks would have given this a lot of thought. It’s not just professional development for staff, but increasingly an economic necessity, given the sheer number of Spanish-speaking customers throughout the US.

Here in New Zealand, the situation is not exactly the same, but increasingly headed in that direction. We have more and more people in New Zealand, especially in Auckland, speaking languages other than English.

Spanish lessons anyone? We have Spanish classes starting this week and in July. Check out our course timetable for more information on Spanish and other language programmes.

Charlize Theron says she wants to start taking up Spanish classes. The 33-year-old worked with Mexican director Guillermo Arriaga on “The Burning Plain”, and the moviemaker helped improve her Spanish skills by teaching her a string of swear words.

Theron says, “Of course he taught me the dirty stuff! I had this fantasy, ‘cos I’ve always wanted to learn Spanish, that I would learn Spanish before I shot the movie with him, that he would be really impressed with me, that he could direct me in Spanish but of course it never happened”

And the experience has made Theron realise that she needs to start taking Spanish language classes. She adds, “I’m really embarrassed to say that I don’t speak Spanish, I’ve lived in California for eight years and I just think it should be a prerequisite, you should be able to speak Spanish if you live in California.”

Very international this girl. South African American. Named Esquire’s Sexiest Woman Alive in 2007. In late 2008 she was asked to be a UN messenger of peace by the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon.  And now she’s learning Spanish…

A while back I saw Charlize being interviewed on Letterman.

Times are tough. People are worried that they might lose their jobs as the unemployment rate starts creeping up. Job summit or no job summit. As always, during difficult times, the ones worst hit are the ones who are lacking in qualifications and experience.

It’s time to upskill. It seems university enrolments are up around the country, according to various local news articles.  Recent graduates who can’t find work are going back to university. But so are many students looking at gaining more qualifications in order to keep pace with developments.

During such perilous times, it’s important to understand what skills are in demand and how to stand out from the crowd. In New Zealand, where almost all native English speakers can only speak one language, knowing some basic foreign language can indeed be an advantage. Most of all you demonstrate to prospective employers that you have the ability to persevere with something as well as the ability to work across cultures. As New Zealand becomes more and more multicultural, the ability to communicate across cultures will be as essential as knowing how to use a computer.

New Zealand is an exporting nation. We would be poorer than Samoa or Tonga if we didn’t trade with our friends, and foreign tourists stop arriving. There are in fact more Chinese and Spanish speakers than there are English speakers.  Naturally, these are key languages to learn if one wants to learn how to communicate with our future customers.

But learning any language is useful. New Zealanders have traditionally learnt French, German and Japanese at school. Knowing any one of these languages would be useful. I have written at length about why one should learn each one of these languages, so feel free to check out my blog entries on why learn language

Spanish classes are very popular amongst Kiwis. Many choose to kick off the year with some Spanish lessons, in preparation for an upcoming trip to South America or Spain. Some choose to learn Spanish because of business reasons. At Euroasia, we are often asked why Spanish lessons are so popular. Here are some reasons.

• Spanish is unquestionably one of the world’s most important languages, spoken not only in Spain but also in most of the Americas, from California to Cape Horn!

• The Spanish-speaking countries are exciting places: the cities offer a round-the-clock buzz, while the great outdoors has huge potential for adventurous outdoor activities.

• Within the Spanish-speaking world, there is an enormous range of exciting places to visit: in Mexico and Central America, the cities of the Maya and the Aztecs, and resorts such as Acapulco and Cancún; in South America, the cities of the Aztecs (including Machu Picchu), the colourful Andean cultures of Peru and Bolivia, the strikingly varied landscapes of Chile and Argentina, and the cosmopolitan excitement of Buenos Aires.  Although some English is spoken, getting around is much easier with a little Spanish.

• Spain itself is one of the world’s most popular tourist destinations, famous not only for its Mediterranean beaches, but also for its stylish cities, its well-preserved small towns, and, in the south, its unique Moorish heritage.  Not to mention Ibiza, with the hottest nightclub scene in Europe, if not the world!

• The Spanish language has been the vehicle of great writers, from both Spain and Latin America.  Both areas have also been the home of world-renowned artists and, more recently, film-makers.

• New Zealand is increasingly looking to South America for trade links, especially Chile, the most prosperous of the South American states, and the one closest to New Zealand.  Spanish speakers will be in demand in the future (in fact right now we have Kiwi businesspeople doing business in South America learning Spanish at Euroasia).

• Young Kiwis can work in Argentina, Chile or Uruguay for one year under a working holiday scheme.  A knowledge of the Spanish language would obviously make a huge difference to anyone’s job prospects.

Find out more about Spanish lessons at Euroasia.  Or to enrol for a Spanish course, check out the Spanish timetable!

2-week intensive Spanish language courses start this week (20 January intake) and the once-a-week option kicks off early Feb. Enrol now.

Obama gave this talk in Georgia recently, on the campaign trail, encouraging locals to learn Spanish.

Obama: “I agree that immigrants should learn English…but understand this…instead of worrying about whether immigrants can learn English, they’ll learn English, you need to make sure your child can speak Spanish!”

Obviously not a very popular message in the American heartland, but only something that Obama can pull off. Check this out.

Spanish is the most popular language offered by Euroasia. We are often asked why is this language so popular. Here are some reasons.

• Spanish is unquestionably one of the world’s most important languages, spoken not only in Spain but also in most of the Americas, from California to Cape Horn!

• The Spanish-speaking countries are exciting places: the cities offer a round-the-clock buzz, while the great outdoors has huge potential for adventurous outdoor activities.

• Within the Spanish-speaking world, there is an enormous range of exciting places to visit: in Mexico and Central America, the cities of the Maya and the Aztecs, and resorts such as Acapulco and Cancún; in South America, the cities of the Aztecs (including Machu Picchu), the colourful Andean cultures of Peru and Bolivia, the strikingly varied landscapes of Chile and Argentina, and the cosmopolitan excitement of Buenos Aires.  Although some English is spoken, getting around is much easier with a little Spanish.

• Spain itself is one of the world’s most popular tourist destinations, famous not only for its Mediterranean beaches, but also for its stylish cities, its well-preserved small towns, and, in the south, its unique Moorish heritage.  Not to mention Ibiza, with the hottest nightclub scene in Europe, if not the world!

• The Spanish language has been the vehicle of great writers, from both Spain and Latin America.  Both areas have also been the home of world-renowned artists and, more recently, film-makers.

• New Zealand is increasingly looking to South America for trade links, especially Chile, the most prosperous of the South American states, and the one closest to New Zealand.  Spanish speakers will be in demand in the future (in fact right now we have Kiwi businesspeople doing business in South America coming to us).

• Young Kiwis can go and work in Argentina, Chile or Uruguay for one year under a working holiday scheme.  A knowledge of the Spanish language would obviously make a huge difference to anyone’s job prospects.

Click here to find out more about learning Spanish with Euroasia.  Or to enrol for a Spanish course, check out the Spanish timetable!

Courses start week of 13 October so you can still fit in a course before Christmas.