Spanish in Norway

Spanish language is gaining importance in the world. I have already writen posts about Spanish teaching jobs in Canada and USA, demand for teachers of Spanish in China, and about prizes for teachers of Spanish worldwide. I read today from EFE that also among the Norwegians interest for our language is increasing rapidly.

In norwegian secondary education, the number of students of Spanish increased 32% in 2004, and the number of beginners in Spanish at the University of Olso grew 85% in 2005. This university is currently increasing the number of Spanish teachers due to the demand for the subject. The University of Bergen has also noticed a rising demand for courses of Spanish and is currently preparing some 600 teachers to teach the language in primary and secondary schools of the country. These teachers will also follow training courses in different locations in Spain.

Also, Spanish is becoming more popular in the media. A Latin American radio station in Norway broadcasts 40 hours of Latin music per week has a following of thousands of people.