Workforce Language Services

An older post on the LatinoLA website offers a humorous piece on relative levels of Spanish-speaking in the U.S.  Well-meaning first generation immigrants often don’t push their children to learn Spanish because they want them to succeed by speaking English, but in many cases this is to the detriment of people growing up with Hispanic looks and surnames.  Even I admit to being taken aback when I meet Latinos who speak very little Spanish. 

Al Carlos Hernandez ends his humorous editorial with the difficulties of taking Spanish study seriously as an adult:

I really wish I could converse in Spanish but there is too much pressure. If you take an adult class as a Latino they will expect straight A’s and think that you are there to pick up women. You can’t practice on native speakers because they will clown you and player hate you because you drive a German luxury car.

Recently, I’ve realized that I have reached a point in my social career where I can understand about 70% of what someone is saying to me in the mother tongue if I can watch their lips. Since many Latinos have big lips, this has made my job easier. I have been able to lay out several sentences together and have received in-kind reciprocal response.

To read the entire article, click here.