USA Today; Arlington, Va.; May 9, 2001

By Deborah Sharp

Si usted no habla español, puede quedarse rezagado (If you don't speak Spanish, you might be left behind.)

Abstract:
It's increasingly difficult to ignore the spread of Spanish in the United States. Bank ATMs offer instructions in Spanish. The Yellow Pages in many cities adds a Spanish-language insert. And Spanish is working its way into everyday use. Is there an American left who can't order fajitas with spicy jalapeños using the proper Spanish-accented flair? (Say the J like an H: fah-hee-tas, ...)

If you want to get on in today's modern world, using just English is not enough anymore.
It really pays to learn at least one more language. The obvious choice is Spanish, the next most widely spoken language globally.
By learning Spanish, you can communicate with another half billion people.
Let's look at some facts: 

Spanish is the second world language as a vehicle of international communication and the third as an international language of politics, economics and culture (1). 
About 330 million people in the world speak Spanish as their first language (2). 
The demand for Spanish courses has doubled worldwide in ten years (3). 
Spanish is the official language in 21 countries (4). 
Approximately another 100 million people speak Spanish as second language. 
In the United States 13% of the population speak Spanish as their first language (5). 
In the United States and Canada, Spanish is the most popular foreign language to learn (6). 
The Latin-American countries are experiencing constant economic growth and because of that, are becoming more important as trading partners. A number of large Latin-American countries are on the verge of signing the NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement), set up by the United States, Canada and Mexico. 
Given the facts above, you stand a better chance in the labor market if you speak Spanish. There are, of course, many other reasons to learn Spanish.
And don't forget that Spain is a very popular holiday destination. One more reason: Spain rose from a world ranking of 11 to 3 in only one decade, as one of the best countries in which to live(7).