Why learn a foreign language? Many of us take foreign language classes because of a degree requirement while others want to learn for future travels. What you may not realize is that in the near future it could become a handy tool for everyday use, even here in Cincinnati. In a recent report by the US Census Bureau, about one in five Americans speak a language other than English and of that number, 62 percent speak Spanish. With the surge of Hispanic immigration into the US over the last 10 years they have surpassed African-American as the largest minority group. As you may suspect, the largest number of Hispanic increase has taken place in the southwest but don’t think that it hasn’t affected our area. Over the last few years school districts all around Cincinnati have been scrambling to find teachers that can teach English as a second language.
In addition to the increase in Spanish speaking Americans, there has also been an increase in Americans who speak Chinese, French, and German.
As these numbers continue to rise, more and more employers are looking for bi-lingual employees in order to reach a larger market in their industries. So for college students to be competitive in the job market it will be important for them to learn a new language and the culture associated with it.