Book excerpt: A great number of similarities and differences between the English and Spanish languages exist. Learning one of these two languages from the other one is not as difficult as a person finds in learning many other foreign languages. The reason is because there are many similarities between English and Spanish. Understanding the challenging or tricky differences between the languages is well worth one's time in learning as well. Concentrating on the many similarities and confusing differences between the languages assists a language learner greatly in learning either language. This book begins with the many similarities between English and Spanish, and then it details the differences between the two languages. The author of this book taught English as a Second Language (ESL) students for a decade at the end of a four-decade teaching career. Prior to ESL, he taught English with the concentration on reading, writing, and speaking. In teaching bilingual students, he found that comparing the two languages was very beneficial in helping language learners learn and understand English and its grammar faster and much more effectively than they had previously been learning by only concentrating on English as a new language to them. Equally, through his personal experience, he found that he could learn Spanish much easier and more quickly by making many comparisons of the two languages. Learning is more difficult when educators and programs insist on total immersion of a language while ignoring the incredible advantages in making comparisons. To become the best possible learned speaker, reader, and writer of either language, study beyond the philosophies of immersion. A great amount of benefit results when students concentrate on what is the same between their first language and the other language. It teaches the learner that he or she already knows much about the new language due to the many similarities. The learner already knows the elements of the new language that are integrated with his or her own language. In learning these integral or essential parts, the learner learns and understands more quickly and more efficiently. Being able to speak a new language makes one's life better in many ways as it greatly increases the number of people with whom a person can interact and communicate. Business people are finding the huge benefits of being able to speak English and Spanish in the United States and beyond. Enjoy learning. It does a person and his or her mind a great deal of good.