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Old 08-09-2013, 05:40 PM
 
Location: in my mind
5,328 posts, read 8,517,594 times
Reputation: 11112

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This problem isn't going to go away, so its best to embrace it rather than fight it at this point.

If I was a high school or college kid now, I would work on becoming fluent in Spanish simply because it can make such a difference in the job market now.

My company recently hired one of our interns. Guess which one they picked? The one who is bilingual in Spanish and English. Having worked with all of the interns, I can tell you that any of the other interns would have been perfectly fine candidates for the position. But the language issue trumped all that.

 
Old 08-09-2013, 05:56 PM
 
Location: NJ
18,665 posts, read 19,936,526 times
Reputation: 7314
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lindy07 View Post
I see many jobs, general office, clerical, etc. I'm qualified for but they list Spanish speaking preferred or required.
You are NOT qualified if it requires being fluent in Spanish.
 
Old 08-09-2013, 06:01 PM
 
Location: NJ
18,665 posts, read 19,936,526 times
Reputation: 7314
Want a job requiring Spanish? Learn it.

Don't want to learn Spanish? Fine, just do not waste the employer's time. They will find someone who is fluent in both English and Spanish.

If you want your decisions respected, learn to respect the employers' decisions, too.
 
Old 08-09-2013, 07:01 PM
 
12,076 posts, read 23,189,033 times
Reputation: 27203
David beat me to it: the U.S. has a long history of immigrants who don't assimilate, live in enclaves with their fellow immigrants and never learned to speak a word of English (and this isn't ancient history, either).
 
Old 08-09-2013, 08:11 PM
 
Location: Tucson for awhile longer
8,869 posts, read 16,282,217 times
Reputation: 29230
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lindy07 View Post
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? ...
Sorry, but we do get it. If you were being asked to speak Spanish because you were being hired by an immigrant business owner who refused to learn English, then you'd have a point. But you're not. As person after person has explained to you clearly, you are being asked to know Spanish so you can clearly communicate with your employer's CUSTOMERS (and that employer will likely be an American). For example, I live in Southern Arizona and almost everyone who works in healthcare here is asked to speak some Spanish. Obviously that's because a portion of the sick people (customers) speak Spanish as their first language. And when a person is sick or distressed, they have a hard time using a language they learned as an adult.

You are basically using your complaint as an excuse to criticize immigrants and argue against expanding immigration policy. And most of us here aren't buying it. I live surrounded by Latino immigrants and I can tell you from my experience: THEY LEARN ENGLISH. At least as quickly as my grandparents, who emigrated here from Hungary and Slovakia, learned English. Which is to say, the first generation will speak some English and the second generation (especially if they go to public school) will speak English as well as other Americans, even if they retain a slight accent. And by the third generation, they will speak English with the particular accent of their residence (Chicago, or Brooklyn, or Atlanta), their children will probably marry non-Latinos, and they will give their kids names like Ryan and Jessica.

And if you don't believe me, please believe the non-partisan Migration Policy Institute. Their studies show that today’s immigrants from ANY country, even if they continue to speak their first language at home, will speak English “well” or “very well” within their lifetimes. The Institute also maintains that today's immigrants assimilate faster than any previous generation. They offer as one example the fact that in 1917 there were 700 German-language newspapers in the U.S., even though German immigration had peaked in the 1870s. If Germans were assimilating so rapidly, why did they need 700 German newspapers fifty years later?

This study done by the University of South Carolina contains some interesting facts about that state's Latino immigrants: USC study dispells myths about Mexican immigrants
 
Old 08-09-2013, 08:30 PM
 
Location: Columbus, Ohio
1,413 posts, read 4,477,384 times
Reputation: 1434
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lindy07 View Post
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.
Correction, we LIVED. We are moving into new territory. The writing has been on the wall for 20 years. Adjust or be left behind. I certainly would not hire you, even if you have all the skills. You do not adapt, you have no place in many modern companies.
 
Old 08-09-2013, 08:31 PM
 
Location: Downtown Harrisburg
1,434 posts, read 3,915,434 times
Reputation: 1017
Quote:
Originally Posted by Colorado xxxxx View Post
Frankly I would rather learn Mandarin because they are the next super power.
A thousand times this. Hands down, anyone who takes the time to learn Mandarin and the accompanying culture will be guaranteed solid employment for the next few decades -- at a minimum.
 
Old 08-09-2013, 11:42 PM
 
Location: Tucson for awhile longer
8,869 posts, read 16,282,217 times
Reputation: 29230
Quote:
Originally Posted by DowntownHarrisburg View Post
A thousand times this. Hands down, anyone who takes the time to learn Mandarin and the accompanying culture will be guaranteed solid employment for the next few decades -- at a minimum.
I know a young woman of Irish heritage who grew up in Pennsylvania. She went to college in California, earned an IT degree and learned Mandarin. The world is her oyster. She's now married with a couple of kids and she just moved her newly retired parents to California so they can help with her children because she's such a busy executive. Her parents didn't even go to college, so she's bucking the trend that young people today can't do better than their parents. But in this case a willingness to learn another country's language and the foresight to make her career in computers got her there.
 
Old 08-10-2013, 03:35 AM
 
14 posts, read 25,495 times
Reputation: 21
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lindy07 View Post
I see many jobs, general office, clerical, etc. I'm qualified for but they list Spanish speaking preferred or required. Sorry, but I highly resent this requirement. I don't see jobs listing any other language preference except Spanish. I feel this is a form of discrimination since we're not officially a dual language country, we're not even "officially" an English speaking country .
Resent it? Stop complaining and apply for another job. Lots of people in America speak Spanish, so I think this is a good requirement to have. It improves competitive advantage. If USA is not even "officially" an English speaking country, your argument is flawed - meaning businesses can ask for employees with any particular language. Why don't you go out and learn Spanish? Yes - like you say - other languages are taught from youth in European countries - particularly English. But what's stopping you from learning another language now? It's never too late. I'm in my early 20's and I've been learning Spanish on the side.
 
Old 08-10-2013, 03:53 AM
 
14 posts, read 25,495 times
Reputation: 21
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lindy07 View Post
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.

Don't some of the names of cities in America hint that perhaps, English wasn't the only founding language of the USA? "Los Angeles", "San Diego"? Also, perhaps you forget that, first and foremost, USA wasn't even an English speaking language, it was a land mass with indigenous people who spoke their languages, and i'm not so sure if they proudly and easily assimilated.
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