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Learn
English/Spanish to Expand Your Horizons
By Chris Robertson
Spanish is quickly becoming the
second language of the United States. According to the U.S.
Census Bureau, there are over 40 million Americans of Hispanic
origins, which include people with Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban,
Central American, and South American origins. In addition, there
are over 47 million Americans who speak a language other than
English at home. Of these, slightly over 28 million speak
Spanish. This represents a 62 percent increase since 1990.
Although slightly over half of the people who speak Spanish at
home also speak English very well, there are 12.6 million Spanish
speakers who do not speak English well. This trend is expected to
continue its upward rise, which means that it behooves both
native English speakers and native Spanish speakers to learn
English/Spanish.
There are a number of reasons why it's a good idea to learn
English/Spanish. If you are a native English speaker who does not
know Spanish, there's a good chance that you will encounter
people who do not speak English while you are at work or in your
community. This is especially true if you live in Texas,
California, or Florida, where the numbers of Spanish speaking
citizens are the highest. If you are a business owner - even if
you have a home business - you may be losing income if you do not
speak Spanish or have Spanish-speaking employees. The population
of people who speak only Spanish represent a sizeable segment of
the consumer market, and it only makes sense that they will seek
out businesses that understand their needs and can speak their
language.
Conversely, if you are a native Spanish speaker who does not know
English, it may be difficult to navigate the English-centric
service industry that exists in the United States. If you decide
to learn English/Spanish, you'll be better able to meet your
needs and the needs of your family. Almost certainly, a greater
number of career opportunities will be open to you, and if you
are a business owner - even if you have a home business - you'll
open up your customer base to customers who speak only English.
Although it may be daunting to think about learning a second
language, there are opportunities to learn English/Spanish in a
variety of learning styles. You can choose to go the traditional
route of taking a language class or buying tapes or CDs, or you
can take advantage of newer techniques in order to learn
English/Spanish. For example, there is English/Spanish software
that offers language lessons using both pictures and speech. In
essence, you can see two people interacting, with each work
spoken in English, then in Spanish. This software allows you to
go at your own pace, and can be configured to teach Spanish to
English speakers or English to Spanish speakers.
Learning Spanish or English will not only broaden your horizons,
but will most likely increase your earning potential, whether you
have a traditional job or a home business.
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