Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
You're all pretty much missing the point. We live in a first language is English country, it's always been that way. No other ethnic group "demanded" we learn their language, they assimilated and were proud to do so. They made sure their children learned English. I don't care that you all think learning Spanish is just another skill, it's not! It's a national issue and with immigration reform going on, you don't think it will get worse? It's not enough that finding a job isn't hard enough, then you factor in having to know another language, when this wasn't an issue before. I'm also talking about simple clerical jobs in schools in upscale suburbs, etc. Schools in our country should be insisting, teaching and promoting the language of the country, not catering to a certain ethnic group.
If your business deals with Spanish speaking countries, and we all know we're talking about Mexico and Latin America, then that's a different story. I would expect a good percentage of the employees who need to communicate with Spanish speaking customers to know Spanish.
I did take Spanish years ago, my husband can speak and write it, not as well as he used to though.
no one is missing your point, but this isn't a political forum, it's about jobs.
speaking spanish is a skill, and it's one needed for a lot of jobs these days. that's just a practical fact.
your personal opinion about whether everyone who lives in the u.s. should speak english belongs in the political forum, not this one.
My original post was about jobs, it belongs here. One thing I've noticed about this place is the many self righteous, know-it-all, have all the answers, smart-ass posts. There are many helpful posts and suggestions, but according to many of you, the unemployed should spend the money they have to survive on going back to school and "learning a new skill, language, etc." Do you understand that when you don't have an income you cannot afford to back to school. They also are not about to take out loans to pay for school. I know people that have, and they still don't have a job, and now they're even poorer, but wow, they have a new skill set to stick on their resume. They had a darn good resume to begin with and solid work history.
If the office had a branch in Montreal and had to deal with them on a regular basis, would you be offended if they wanted to hire someone who spoke French?
i am learning spanish for free on livemocha.com. anyone who has internet access can do that. i've never suggested that people must go to school while they are unemployed, please don't generalize.
and everyone addressed the job aspect of your first post (that knowing a language is a skill like any other) and you said that's not your point and then went on a political rant. so i contend that this post was not really meant to be about jobs at all, that was just a segue into your larger point bout language in general.
No, YOU are missing the point, so I'm going to stop sugar coating it.
The employer gets to set job qualifications -- not you. If you don't meet those qualifications, too bad. Get over it. The fact that you don't "like" them doesn't make them invalid, unethical, or in any way wrong. The employer has no obligation to waste their time on you. In other words:
Quote:
Do you understand that when you don't have an income you cannot afford to back to school.
Do you understand that when you don't have an income you don't get to complain about what employers want? You take the best job you can get -- and sometimes that's the first (and second, and third) job.
You can call me a "know it all", but that only comes from years of busting my hump working 16-hour swing shifts in factory labor jobs, then working three jobs at once to pay my way through college (at night, no less). At the end of the day I may earn six figures now, but I'm no better than the bilingual factory worker or retail employee who took my spot when I left. So before you start calling me or any other poster "self righteous", think about how stupid and entitled you sound when you make assumptions.
It's not enough that finding a job isn't hard enough, then you factor in having to know another language, when this wasn't an issue before. I'm also talking about simple clerical jobs in schools in upscale suburbs, etc.
The same could be said for basic computer skills. 20 years ago, you didn't need to know word, excel, email, computer calendars, or basic internet to be successful in a clerical position. Those are now essential skills. The world changes. It always has, always will. You can keep up or be left behind.
You're all pretty much missing the point. We live in a first language is English country, it's always been that way. No other ethnic group "demanded" we learn their language, they assimilated and were proud to do so. They made sure their children learned English. I don't care that you all think learning Spanish is just another skill, it's not!
As a teacher of history, I can definitely tell you that the glorified immigrants of yesteryear were not like the stories like this.
Immigrants from other countries were incredibly nationalistic who clung to their languages, their histories, and their cultures. This is why they settled near each other (think Chinatown, Little Italy, etc.). In these ethnic enclaves immigrants spoke their own language, practiced their own cultural values, and glorified their own histories. It's why the Irish in America still hated the English. It's why the Germans who moved to North Dakota named their main city Bismarck. It's why Mexicans celebrate Cinco de Mayo.
Language acquisition is generational. The first generation speaks little to no English, the second generation is bilingual, and the third generation is English monolingual.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lindy07
It's a national issue and with immigration reform going on, you don't think it will get worse? It's not enough that finding a job isn't hard enough, then you factor in having to know another language, when this wasn't an issue before. I'm also talking about simple clerical jobs in schools in upscale suburbs, etc. Schools in our country should be insisting, teaching and promoting the language of the country, not catering to a certain ethnic group.
The world's markets are becoming more and more interconnected, multinational corporations have business interests around the globe, and you want to return to a 20th century business model. The rest of the world is becoming multilingual because they have to be able to market and sell their products everywhere, not just the United States.
I took the liberty of rewriting your sentence: Schools in our country should be insisting, teaching and promoting several languages, not catering to English-only Americans.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lindy07
If your business deals with Spanish speaking countries, and we all know we're talking about Mexico and Latin America, then that's a different story. I would expect a good percentage of the employees who need to communicate with Spanish speaking customers to know Spanish.
I did take Spanish years ago, my husband can speak and write it, not as well as he used to though.
All (or nearly all) businesses deals with Spanish-speaking countries and customers. If you learned it then practice it. It will come back.
Frankly I would rather learn Mandarin because they are the next super power.
Spanish required generally means 2 things, from my exp, and I can speak basic Spanish.
1. You are serving a low income target group.
2. You are dealing with big sales opps in Latin America
I can't apply for Google sales to LATAM because I am not fluent should I sue? Rhetorical question.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
