DELE News
The Spanish language in Brazil
The Spanish language in Brazil: a human and technological challenge
The number of Spanish speakers worldwide has grown in the last few years and it currently ranks as the language with the second most speakers, ahead of English and behind Mandarin.
The growing economies of many Latin American countries are making for attractive new markets that companies from around the world are watching with great interest. In Brazil a bill was passed in 2005 known as “the Spanish law” which requires the language to be taught in public education, and Brazil is one of the countries that has seen the greatest increase in students studying Spanish. Brazil in fact has the second greatest amount of students studying Spanish of any country, second only to the US, which is something of a special case in that Spanish in the United States is much more than a second language –remember that the US constitution does not mention any official language, and although English has become the de facto language, Spanish is widely spoken in many regions of the country.
Brazil’s large population (over 200 million) and its extensive physical space have greatly increased the need for Spanish teachers, and a steady flow of specialized Spanish language educators have been heading to the country to meet that demand.
The geographic dispersion of this enormous country’s population poses another challenge: implementing an affordable, effective and efficient network that allows for online Spanish study and provides real access to the majority of students. There are Spanish courses specifically designed to take advantage of all that the internet has to offer the field of language learning, are proving to be a promising tool for the future.
Keep in mind that when preparing to take the exam to obtain the Cervantes Institute’s DELE certificate, direct interaction between student and teacher is fundamental. This is not only true for preparing for the speaking and listening part of the test but also for the written part, in which feedback from the teacher, including corrections and commentary on texts produced by the candidate, mark the progress being made toward the goal of passing the different tasks that will appear on the exam. This real-time interaction is possible with an on-site course or an online course that offers the necessary platforms.
Choosing an online course taught by professionals who work with a trusted organization that has extensive experience in the field is clearly a good idea for students on the road to obtaining the official certificate, an achievement that looks great on a résumé and can open new career possibilities within the constantly growing Spanish-speaking markets.