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Old Dec 31, 2015, 09:14 PM
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scorpiosis37 scorpiosis37 is offline
Magnate
 
Member Since: Apr 2010
Location: USA
Posts: 2,302
It's probably unrealistic to think you can learn Spanish in a short enough time to be eligible for bilingual positions. Learning a second language as an adult (even with 2 years of high school Spanish) is incredibly hard and you will probably never be fluent. The only way to become fluent in a language is to live in a place where they speak that language, and you are forced to use it full time (which I know is not an option for you). Jobs that require bilingual employees usuallu want to hire someone who is a native speaker, because onlu they will really understand the slang/casual way of speaking that people use on a daily basis, as well as the cultural norms and expectations of the community they are serving. In places where they need bilingual employees, they usually want to hire Simone who clientd will see as an "insider" and not an outsider who learned their language on Rosetta Stone. It just isn't the same.

As part of my doctorate, I had to pass fluency exams in 2 foreign languages (Spanish and French) and I still don't think I would be qualified to work in a place where they needed me to be bilingual. I mean, I speak well enough to communicate, but I just don't have the facility with either language that a native speaker would and slang is often lost on me. I think a client would prefer working with someone who had more native fluency. Of course, there are naturally gifted people who speak multiple languages and have spent long periods of time in other countries, learning the culture and linguistic patterns. Those people would probably be ideal for such positions. But as an American learning a second language as an adult, I just don't think it's realistic. I'm sure you have other skills that make you employable and, if you want to learn Spanish for fun, I'm sure there a lot of great classes you could take for more exposure.
Thanks for this!
MiddayNap, venusss