Childhood is a great time to start learning a foreign language. Children have a playful, inquisitive and fun loving nature, which makes it easier to acquire a second language. Once they reach adolescence or adulthood, they may become more self-conscious and less likely to achieve fluency.

Academic Benefits
The same skills that are used in learning Spanish and other languages transfer over to English and other academic subjects. The more a student understands about languages and grammar, the better they are in their own language. Knowing about Latin roots of words in Spanish even helps with reading scientific texts, which are often based on Latin.

Economic Benefits
Students who learn Spanish in school have a greater income potential upon graduation. The number of jobs they will qualify for increases. The number of potential customers they can attract to a business, be it their own or an employer's, increases as well. They are qualified to work in a greater number of geographical areas of the country and the world.

Social Benefits
Children who learn Spanish and other languages learn how to make friends across cultural and linguistic barriers. They are more tolerant and accepting of those who speak another language because they, too, had to struggle with sounding like an outsider at the beginning. Their circle of friends from outside their native language and cultural group grows. Language learning increases cultural diversity.

Recreational
As students gain fluency in Spanish, they are able to have more fun. They will understand some movies without needing subtitles. They can enjoy music by artists such as Shakira, Ricky Martin and Christina Aguilera in either Spanish or English. They may be more interested in playing soccer or attending an art exhibit from a Spanish speaking artist. As adults, they are more likely to want to visit a Spanish speaking country.

Test Scores
According to researcher T.R. Bastian, graduating high school seniors who studied a foreign language for at least two years scored much higher on English achievement tests than students who had not studied a foreign language.