Spanish as a second or foreign language
The term Spanish as a second or foreign language is the learning or teaching of the Spanish language for those whose first language is not Spanish.
Spanish taught as a second language to a class of native English speakers at an American private school in Massachusetts
Image: Una clase de español
Spanish or Castilian (castellano) is a Romance language of the Indo-European language family that evolved from the Vulgar Latin spoken on the Iberian Peninsula of Europe. Today, it is a global language with about 500 million native speakers, mainly in the Americas and Spain, and about 600 million when including second language speakers. Spanish is the official language of 20 countries, as well as one of the six official languages of the United Nations. Spanish is the world's second-most spoken native language after Mandarin Chinese; the world's fourth-most spoken language overall after English, Mandarin Chinese, and Hindustani (Hindi-Urdu); and the world's most widely spoken Romance language. The country with the largest population of native speakers is Mexico.
Antonio de Nebrija, author of Gramática de la lengua castellana, the first grammar of a modern European language
Spanish language signage in Malabo, capital city of Equatorial Guinea
Spanish language newspaper in the Philippines from 1892
Announcement in Spanish on Easter Island, welcoming visitors to Rapa Nui National Park
