Why Learn Spanish?

Hands on Spanish

Improve Education & Job Opportunities

Why Should You Learn Spanish?

TO IMPROVE RELATIONS BETWEEN ENGLISH-SPEAKING AND SPANISH-SPEAKING US RESIDENTS!

Meet New People

Learning a second language is beneficial to everyone. We, as second language learners, benefit from a more open mind and a better global perception. Once we can speak another language, we can see its representative cultures in a new light, instead of relying on the stereotypes we've learned. As we get to know our Spanish-speaking neighbors personally, our prejudices melt away. We then develop a sharpened perspective of our own culture. Also, the native speakers of that language within our society benefit from our ability to speak their language and understand their cultures. We become accepting of and helpful towards a large minority within our population. Through volunteering as a translator for a local health clinic, I have been able to see firsthand the difficulties our Hispanic population has in adapting to our society. The vast majority of Spanish-speakers living in the United States are striving to learn English. However, since it is one of the most difficult languages in the world to learn, their great efforts and progress are often barely noticeable to us. We should use our second language skills to help native Spanish-speakers who live among us. This will, in turn, encourage Spanish-speakers to develop more positive attitudes towards English-speakers in the US and instill in them a desire to learn more English. The level of trust and understanding between the many people of our country will increase drastically once this communication barrier is broken.

On a side note, much of the tension between English speakers and Spanish speakers stems from the fact that some Spanish-speakers who live here in the US are not legal residents. I am not condoning illegal immigration. However, I think that many people do not consider the reasons why we have illegal immigrants in our country. It is also important to keep in mind the ramifications, both positive and negative, of this trend. First of all, no one can argue that the living conditions in Mexico include over-population of the cities and a shortage of jobs. Therefore, the motive to find a job in order to be able to feed one's children can hardly been seen as malicious or selfish. Why would the US be the recipient of such immigrants (legal and illegal)? Geography yields the most obvious answer: we are the closest. History yields the second: we are a nation with a tradition of opening our arms to immigrants. The symbolic Statue of Liberty beckons for the tired, hungry and the weak. After all, this land, not too long ago, was foreign to all of our ancestors. Only native American Indians can truly call themselves "American." Our roots can still be quite easily traced back to other lands. Economy yields a third reason for a large influx of Mexican immigrants: our economy is booming and we have, therefore, a surplus of jobs. Most of these jobs are in the construction industry (many others are in mass production and distribution). The most common complaint of US citizens who are opposed to immigration is that "Those foreigners are takin' our jobs!" I feel the need to point out that they are not stealing jobs from others. They are being offered jobs by employers who are tired of having a shortage of workers. I'd like to share some quotes from an article about the Spanish-speaking work force in the Atlanta Business Chronicle. According to Bill Anderson, executive director of the Associated Builders and Contractors of Georgia Inc., "These workers [of Mexican origin] help to keep the construction labor pool from dwindling further than it already has in a booming economy. Nationwide, there's a shortage of 250,000 construction workers per year." According to Mike Dunham, executive vice president of the Georgia branch of Associated General Contractors of America Inc., "Frankly, [Latino workers] are filling a void that would be there otherwise." These points ring true. These jobs are void because of the very difficult work that they require. Regardless of the unemployment rate, undesirable jobs will remain unfilled. Finally, it is important to point out that even illegal immigrants buy American goods and pay American sales taxes, both of which further boost our own economy. Shouldn't we get to know the people who work so hard to build our homes and roads?