2008 Woodie Awards
Vote Absentee
Employees Encouraged to Learn Spanish
Janeese Parker
3/27/08
Biz & Tech
Biz & Tech
English has been the dominant language in the United States, but businesses and organizations have been urging their employees to learn Spanish to be in touch with the rapid growth of the Hispanic population.
"The growing Latino population demands concessions from the majority, primarily the ability to speak Spanish," said Eugene Blue, an accounting professor in the School of Business.
In 2006, Hispanics accounted for 14.8 percent of the total population in the United States and is the largest minority group. These statistics indicate that there may be a need for the United States to adjust to a race that could outnumber all others.
Between 2000 and 2003 in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, Hispanics showed the highest increase in growth of 19.4 percent with Asians, whites and blacks following respectively.
The Washington Metro Area Transit Authority (WMATA) began offering Spanish classes in October 2007. A contractor was hired to teach 18 employees--six bus operators, six street supervisors and six station managers-who work in areas with large Hispanic populations. They attended 2.5 hour sessions with the contractor twice a week.
Police officials in various parts of the United States are also being encouraged to become bilingual.
In Tuscan, Texas, police officers are offered an extra pay incentive if they become bilingual. New police recruits in Des Moines, Iowa are required to earn 45 hours of Spanish before receiving their badges, and in Durham, N.C., five levels of Spanish are available for officers.
Many employers in the service industry modified their telephone customer service by offering callers an option to continue a call in English or Spanish in an effort to provide the same service for speakers of both languages. Companies such as T-Mobile, MetroPCS and Sprint have added features to their websites that offer translation devices to help better serve their customers.
However, adjustments are not being made in all workplaces. In fact, some employers strictly enforce rules that require English-only conversation. Two employees of the Salvation Army lost their jobs for disobeying the English-only rule in Framingham, Mass.
"The growing Latino population demands concessions from the majority, primarily the ability to speak Spanish," said Eugene Blue, an accounting professor in the School of Business.
In 2006, Hispanics accounted for 14.8 percent of the total population in the United States and is the largest minority group. These statistics indicate that there may be a need for the United States to adjust to a race that could outnumber all others.
Between 2000 and 2003 in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, Hispanics showed the highest increase in growth of 19.4 percent with Asians, whites and blacks following respectively.
The Washington Metro Area Transit Authority (WMATA) began offering Spanish classes in October 2007. A contractor was hired to teach 18 employees--six bus operators, six street supervisors and six station managers-who work in areas with large Hispanic populations. They attended 2.5 hour sessions with the contractor twice a week.
Police officials in various parts of the United States are also being encouraged to become bilingual.
In Tuscan, Texas, police officers are offered an extra pay incentive if they become bilingual. New police recruits in Des Moines, Iowa are required to earn 45 hours of Spanish before receiving their badges, and in Durham, N.C., five levels of Spanish are available for officers.
Many employers in the service industry modified their telephone customer service by offering callers an option to continue a call in English or Spanish in an effort to provide the same service for speakers of both languages. Companies such as T-Mobile, MetroPCS and Sprint have added features to their websites that offer translation devices to help better serve their customers.
However, adjustments are not being made in all workplaces. In fact, some employers strictly enforce rules that require English-only conversation. Two employees of the Salvation Army lost their jobs for disobeying the English-only rule in Framingham, Mass.
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J.P.
posted 3/28/08 @ 4:36 AM EST
While I am all for diversity in society.....let me be the first to throw this into the pot: If it is advised that Americans learn Spanish to better accommodate Hispanics, could we also advise Hispanics to learn at least some basic levels of English to better assimilate with the American society?
I knew something was amiss when I called Domino's to order a pizza about a month ago and the first thing the automated voice on the phone said was "For ENGLISH, press 2. (Continued…)
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