Spanish Program
Why Study Spanish?
- Over 400 million people speak Spanish worldwide, which makes Spanish the second most spoken language in the world.
- According to the 2000 U.S. Census Bureau, 35,305,818 people out of the total U.S. population of 281,421,906 are Hispanic/Latino.
- You will be able to communicate information and ideas to the fastest-growing minority community in the United States.
- Businesses are more likely to hire those who are bilingual.
- You will gain a greater appreciation of Hispanic cultures.
- You will enhance fluency, skills, and vocabulary.
- You will be a better neighbor to native Spanish speakers in your community.
- Spanish fluency will make you a better traveler, guest, and servant in Spanish-speaking countries you visit.
- For heritage speakers, you will raise your level of written and spoken Spanish to that of an educated native speaker, making yourself truly and fully bilingual--and you will have a greater appreciation of an important part of yourself.
- Biola's upper division courses in Spanish offer a more personal experience with language, as professors will assist you in applying Spanish to your future goals in your life and to your area of study.
Students desiring to enroll in the Spanish program are strongly advised to do so during their freshman or sophomore year. Placement in Spanish classes will be based on the department's assessment of your ability level. Students entering the program with less than two years of high school Spanish or one semester of college Spanish will automatically be placed in the first course. Students who do not maintain continuous enrollment may be retested and placed accordingly.