Looking into bilingual jobs but need to learn new language(s)

I have been thinking lately of becoming bilingual. More like speaking multiple other languages too it's been a long dream of mine since I was a kid. I see a lot of job postings wanting bilingual speak, write, and read the language fluently. I took Spanish for two years in high school I could never fully develop it as I lost most of my conversational speaking skills. I live in a "neighborhood of some sorts" with Hispanics, but I could never speak Spanish with them because they treated me like **** (still do) and "you got the nerve to speak the language" funny they get offended if you don't like their food! Even if you spoke it fluently, they still wouldn't give you the time of day in my neighborhood.

Anyway, I'd rather speak Spanish with Puerto Ricans, Cubans, the ones from the islands any day. I love languages and culture; I have been seeing on a staffing agency's site (who I went through for a previous job) seeking bilingual candidates. It's truly sad how in America, we are still at the pit of the earth when it comes to languages and we know nothing about them. How could we do business with others when we still expect foreigners to know only English? Sad and funny, how their English is much better than ours yet we still can't speak it properly!

I do remember some Spanish - I possibly can pick up where things were left off. There are too many obstacles in my way: I am full time job hunting still part time at my current job. My job offers language courses, I pay enough for one class and don't want to pay an arm and a leg teaching me a new language when I can go elsewhere for cheaper or for free! I tried to
"date" a Mexican but he had so many excuses why he wouldn't teach me Spanish. As a part time temp, we get zero benefits for tuition waivers gotta pay it all upfront like a regular student. I wonder if there are a good apps to use?

I could use studying new language(s) on my resume as to something I am working on. Adding other skills that require a lot of time; not happening not until I get settled again in another full time job then I can worry about that.
So yea, I am always busy makes it impossible to have any space in my head for anything else. Job searching still is taking up the most of my time - just want a new job elsewhere, why is that still so hard to want? Any suggestions? Studying overseas definitely impossible.

Ah, learning languages. I started "speaking" English at the age of 14, it was my 3rd language. School has helped, Internet has helped. I am in my late 20s now and I have three more languages lined up. Unfortunately, I haven't mastered any of them. Me and my husband speak English at home because he hasn't learned my language and I... I speak some of his language, but it is so crippled I am embarrassed about it. Ah, Europe.

I know some people who learned a foreign language in a year. You have to be committed to learning it otherwise it will not work. I have failed some language courses a couple of years ago just because I didn't have enough time to study for them. I still think I speak only 3 languages because the other 3 are in limbo. I still use them when we travel though.

Learning it from somebody didn't work for me. I didn't pick up my husband's language from my husband because when we are together we want to have a conversation and that can be done only in English. I know, sounds like a silly excuse. We enjoy playing scrabble in his language though. I spend quite some time in his country with his family and still don't speak the language.

Having this said I think the most efficient option is to join a good language course and invest yourself into it. Other options are working online - I am sure you can find some cheap or even free resources for that and finding Spanish-speaking friends who speak very little English. Age seems to be a factor too. My mother is bilingual and she is struggling with English big time. She is in her mid-60s.

Have you thought of changing states? It sounds like you might be living in the South. I have only been to the North of the US and it didn't feel like not knowing Spanish there is a problem.

Who said anything about living in the South?! I live in AZ, you could have asked. AZ is close to the South as I am gonna get!! Change states? What good will that do me? That's a huge expense an expense I don't have for. I have thought about it but see no reason anymore everywhere you go is nothing but lies claiming if you live elsewhere there's always something. Still not understanding why people are suggesting to change states AZ sure isn't the place for jobs that's for sure. I would change states only and only if a company would pay for the relocation that's it.

I know it's a dedication, but like I said my dedication is full time and moving to another city my main two dedications. Yes, it's a dedication, which is why am I asking is it doable considering I have so much on my plate right now? The stress of me having to remake a new resume and cover letter on top of still finding employment. Extra pay sure is looking so good right now. The only way I spoke Spanish with Mexicans was in chatrooms writing it the words helped but verbally didn't help because it was all through a computer that was a long time ago.

Conversationally, it works for me if I can speak with someone one on one with the language. Hmm, so yea, we will see.

I should add I feel like I still can't seem to get a hold of the game since my skills are lacking, but my main happiness and mental well being is far more important until I can get things settled so I don't end up being let go again by another employer. If things had more availability, then I could do a lot more.

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.

That's true. Hiring a native speaker because it gives them more pay is unfair to those who are non-native even non natives can speak a language fluently. I live in a neighborhood with Mexicans I should be speaking it daily but I am not. I have had Mexicans speak Spanish to me in other places but I only spoke a few and didn't bother to have a conversation.

True not the same I wouldn't use Rosetta too expensive. I have been asked in interviews if I am studying any languages and the answer was no, not at this time. Those positions didn't require knowing a language guess they were just asking out of curiosity plus they said "it would look great on your resume." It's not for "fun" for me I hate speaking English - a language we still can't grasp ourselves. I have excelled in languages in high school did so much better in English! I was looked at in a few past interviews how could you not know any languages? I am not just a lot of employers' cup of tea and neither are they for me.

Other skills? I don't have a lot of work history almost 2 years at my current job. I don't know about other hidden talent the only one that I found that came out from me was enjoying working with business partners across the country on the phone. However, I don't want such a micromanaged environment, calls monitor and scored, not up to par we have to let you go. I am looking to stay away from those jobs thank job my current job doesn't do that. My coworker who is Mexican would speak to me in Spanish if I knew more, she encouraged me to learn it again.

I do listen to Spanish music and it does bring back to speaking it again.

I am sorry, I didn't mean to sound rude in any way. It was just a guess based on the fact that the employers in your proximity ask for Spanish, indicating that Spanish is important in your region. Again, sorry if that came out wrong.

I somehow agree with scorpiosis37. Given that you are currently busy with a lot of things, you shouldn't aim for a bilingual job. However, I think it is worth mentioning in your CV that you speak basic/intermediate Spanish (in case you haven't done so already).

Good luck with your job search!

It may be unrealistic to believe one could become fluent in a second language quickly-or even at all-but I wouldn't deter those who wish to try. Remember not to get discouraged if you don't progress as quickly as you would like, as we all learn different things at different paces. I've found that any language is simple once you've picked up the pattern, so my advice would be to find patterns.
I tend to learn languages on my own, as that is how my brain works, so my advice may not be so valuable as a teacher's, but I shall list below habits which have helped me to better understand and speak a new language.
1) Watching films in the language, with subtitles first, so as to learn new words, but then without so that your brain has to work to translate spoken dialogue.
2) Listen to music in said language. Not only is it good fun to discover new artists-new to yourself, of course-but it helps with pronunciation.
3) Speak to yourself in the foreign language as often as possible. Write your grocery lists, if you are the sort to write them, in that language as well.
4) Test yourself frequently without the aid of study materials.
5) Read books (comics as well, if you fancy) in the foreign language. This helps with grammar and spelling.
6) And, though it may seem obvious, find whichever methods suit your learning style. As I stated earlier, I learn best on my own and by finding patterns in things. Some learn best through communication; others learn through pictures.
I do wish you luck in your endeavors.

I'm in the camp that thinks it's not likely that you'll get be able to get to a level of fluency that is needed for a bilingual position. I just think the expectations for those positions are "native speaker" level...

That said, I think learning languages is fun, useful, and you never know when it might come in helpful. Who knows, you might find a job where knowing even a little Spanish is a huge benefit, without requiring you to be completely fluent?

BTW I am working on French. After 4 years in high school, a college certificate (like a minor, slightly less hours), and now almost two years of working on it on my own pretty resolutely (I do something to practice every day), I am definitely nowhere near fluent.

Here are some things I'm using, that you might like to check out:

- http://duolingo.com/ - Duolingo rocks. It's free, you can use it on a computer or download the app, and it has a ton of languages (including Spanish). It's "gamified", so it's set up like a game... it keeps track of the number of days that you log in and practice. There's also discussions and a place to practice translating articles.

It doesn't always do a good job *explaining* grammar, it's more about practice by doing things a million times, but if you have a background with Spanish this is a really good way to brush up on those skills. I really like it.

- Look at the Duolingo discussion board, and maybe check out other language boards (I like to read the subreddit for French, for example). One thing that comes up frequently is tv shows, podcasts, etc for the language you're learning. As you start to improve, you'll really want to look for anything *spoken* online like this, so you can start tuning your ear to the language. If all you do is lessons, it's going to be hard to understand actual speech. Finding short clips is nice, because you can listen to them several times - I read something that said this is similar to how kids learn language when they watch the same cartoon 20 million times, you will understand more each time you listen.

When I was getting started, I really liked finding cartoons on Youtube in my target language, b/c there's often a lot of visual information to help you understand what's going on.

- Check out italki: Learn a language online - I haven't used it yet, but I've seen a lot of recommendations for it. You can find a language partner there (for free, I think) - someone fluent in Spanish trying to learn English. You set up a time to skype, and spend half your time practicing Spanish, and half allowing them to practice English. They also have professional teachers that you can pay for individual lessons.

Obviously, an in-person class is a great option if you can swing it - since you'll have homework, somebody to ask questions of, and somebody who can hear and correct your pronunciation. But, if you can't do that right now, I think you can get a really good grounding using Duolingo, videos online, and Italki.

Good luck!

I agree. I have put basic Spanish on old resumes in the past and was told by employers how that looks tacky doesn't look like professional it doesn't say Intermediate, I was like wtf?! So, I was told to take it off.

I have to check those links out.

That is very very weird, some Spanish is definitely better than no Spanish at all. Are you sure you don't qualify for intermediate? If you can communicate with people it sounds pretty good already.

Regarding chatting - I personally found it very useful when I was learning English. I dare to say it accounted for 70% of my learning success back then.

I am not near an intermediate level, I don't trust myself taking on a job for that level.