¡Hola! Influx of Spanish speakers plus desire to expand opportunities drive more Americans to learn the language
By DEB ACORD Illustration by NICHOLE MONTAÑEZ THE GAZETTE
There were 20 chairs set up for a beginning Spanish class last fall at the East Library & Information Center. When nearly three times that number showed up for the afternoon class — the first one the library offered for beginners — instructor Jerima King was momentarily speechless. King composed herself, found more chairs and, moments later, launched into the first lesson. “Hola,” she said. “Hola,” the adults replied in unison. “That’s about the extent of my Spanish,” one student muttered to his neighbor with a grin. King, a native of Panama who has lived in Colorado Springs almost 17 years and has taught for 10 years, hopes to take her students beyond “hola” and a handful of words they use to order food at their favorite Mexican restaurant. “Once you know a second language, it opens all kinds of possibilities for you,” she says. Around the country, Spanish classes are full. School districts are initiating Spanish courses for elementary students. And the number of Internet sites and learnhome aids is increasing rapidly. According to the Instituto Mexico-Americano de Cultura, an accredited school that teaches languages in Guadalajara, Mexico, the demand for Spanish-language courses worldwide has doubled in the past decade. In Colorado Springs, that interest has resulted in packed classes like King’s at the library and evering demand for Spanish in schools. The reasons: a fasting Hispanic population, bringing with it a demand for goods, services, entertainment and information in both Spanish and English, and an ever-increasing interest in traveling to and doing business with foreign countries. There are more than 400 million people in the world who speak Spanish as their primary or secondary language. In the United States, 28 million people — about 10 percent of the population —speak Spanish with some degree of fluency, according to the institute in Mexico. The 2000 Census found that Hispanic people comprise 12.5 percent of the U.S. population, up from 8.9 percent in 1993. Hispanics make up 32 percent of the population of California and 17 percent of the population of Colorado. The 2000 Census reported that 28,000 residents of El Paso County were from Spanish-speaking households. But even with that number of people from Spanish-speaking cultures here, few Americans can speak a second language — any second language — fluently. There’s a joke among Spanish teachers: “What do you call people who speak two languages?” “Bilingual.” “What do you call people who speak one language?” “Americans.” A resolution passed last year by the U.S. Senate proclaimed 2005 the Year of Foreign Language Study, stating that just 9.3 percent of Americans speak both their native language and another fluently, compared with 52.7 percent of Europeans. In January, the Bush administration proposed spending more than $100 million on programs to expand teaching foreign languages in public schools. CLASSES AND THE CURIOUS King’s library classes are just one way she teaches Spanish. She offers private lessons and teaches groups such as attorneys and for organizations such as CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) and TESSA (formerly the Center for Prevention of Domestic Violence). Her group classes and private lessons are attended by people planning to travel to Spanish-speaking countries, some who feel they need a grasp of Spanish for their jobs, and those who are curious about the language. Ann Brock is a retired math teacher who signed up for King’s classes at the library to prepare for a trip to Mexico. “After I retired, I thought it was time to dust off the cob-
webs from my Spanish,” she says. Like many Americans, she studied Spanish in high school, and even a year in college, but never used it much after that. “My nephew was getting married in Mexico, and I thought it would be much more fun to go if I had a grasp of the language. I got so much more out of my trip because I could actually understand some of the conversations.” On a later trip to Italy, Brock was surprised when her newly polished Spanish helped her again. “The languages are similar, and having those roots really helped.” Brock appreciated the confidence her newfound skills gave her. “I think people there were appreciative, too, that I had made the effort to know their language.” TEACHING FLUENCY In the 1970s, comedian Steve Martin had a popular routine about visiting France and not understanding the language. “It’s as if they have a different word for everything!” he deadpanned. Americans are discovering that knowing just one language limits their understanding of the world, King says. “And Spanish is one of the easiest languages to learn.” She peppers her classes with anecdotes about her native Panama and her travels around the world, and helps her students learn the “how” of a word, instead of the “why.” Her method of teaching is informal, and is based on the idea that a beginner will first learn to recognize a foreign word by reading it or hearing it, not by speaking it. Another Spanish program that will be presented in Colorado Springs in May works on the same premise. “Our research has led us to the conclusion that reading and hearing a language are the keys to learning them,” says Karen Rowan, a longtime Spanish teacher and director of Fluency Fast, a national program started by a California Spanish teacher. Fluency Fast is based on a teaching method called TPRS — Teaching Proficiency Through Reading and Storytelling. The technique was invented in the late 1980s by Blaine Ray, who taught foreign language teachers. The method involves storytelling using vocabulary. “Traditionally, to teach a language, we have had students practice speaking and practice writing words,” Rowan says. “But storytelling is the oldest method of communicating information, like sitting around a fire. Just like you can remember fairy tales you were told when you were a child, you will remember stories told, even in a different language.” So students in Fluency Fast courses learn by listening to stories and participating in those stories, “kind of like a Mad-Lib,” Rowan says. “That participation, combined with listening, allows them to be able to understand and read Spanish.” BILINGUAL BOOM More Americans are working to become bilingual, Rowan says. “Our first class was three years ago in Worthington, Minn., a small town, and we had 200 people show up.” That trend, Rowan believes, “is an indication of how much smaller the world is now. It’s easier to travel, and people travel more. You can sit at home, IM-ing with someone on the other side of the world. There are more ways you can use a second language.” And to those in the business world, being able to communicate effectively is part of being successful. “If you want to buy something, you can speak any language you want,” Rowan says. “But if you want to sell something, you need to speak the language of the people you want to sell to.” Retired research scientist Doug Smith was drawn to King’s Spanish classes at the library for two reasons. “I go to Denver every Saturday and work with some Spanish-speaking people up there. I also have a couple of grandkids who are now in Panama and Equador.” Smith studied the scientific language in French and German in graduate school, but he says it had been years since he tried to communicate in a dif- ferent language, and he had never learned Spanish. “I’m not to the point where I’m comfortable speaking yet, but I’ve definitely improved.” Smith, 75, is among many retirees who decide to pursue a second language. But more younger people are also studying foreign languages. Colorado Springs District 11, the region’s largest, offers an introduction to Spanish at the middle school level, and Spanish as well as German, French and in some cases Latin, at its high schools. “They are all electives,” says Terry McNeill, facilitator for ESL (English As a Second Language) and foreign languages for the district. “And Spanish is by far our biggest program and is growing steadily.” “I’ve talked with teachers about it, and they say kids simply see it as the most practical language for them.” ABOUT SPANISH c Spanish is spoken by nearly 400 million people worldwide, including half the population of the Western Hemisphere and the entire population of South America (except Brazil, where Portuguese is spoken). c Nine percent of Americans speak both their native language and another language fluently. c In Luxembourg, 99 percent of those surveyed said they could master a conversation in a second language. c Among Europeans, Hungarians have the fewest bilingual people — 29 percent. c In the United States, Spanish is the second-most widely spoken language, trailing English. Twenty-eight million people speak Spanish with some degree of fluency. c California has 5.5 million Spanish speakers (about 16 percent of the population), followed by Texas with 3.4 million, New York with 1.8 million, and Florida with 1.5 million. Colorado has 420,000 Spanish speakers, about 9 percent of the population. c Nearly 6 percent of Internet users speak Spanish (compared with English, 50 percent; Japanese, 8 percent; and German, 6 percent). SOURCES: U.S. Census, Instituto Mexico Americano de Cultura, American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages TO LEARN MORE c Talk Spanish, a program offered at the East Library & Information Center. Current session just ended; another will start in the fall. Classes run for 10 weeks. Classes include: Beginning Spanish, Beginning-Intermediate Spanish, and Intermediate-Advanced Spanish. No registration is required; classes are for adults. For more information, call 531-6333, ext. 1030. c Fluency Fast, a boot-camp style foreign language class for adults. Classes take place around the country; the program will be presented May 4-6 in Colorado Springs. Cost is $149. For more information, visit www.fluencyfast.com or call 1-866-999-3583. c Globelink Foreign Language Center gives group and individual lessons at two locations. For more information, visit www.globe linkservices.com or call 532-0300. c Web sites: www.studyspanish.com www.lingolex.com/spanish.htm www.rocketspanish.com www.learninglikecrazy.com
TALK SPANISH Here are a few commonly used Spanish phrases and words: How are you? ¿Como esta? What is your name? ¿Como se llama? What time is it? ¿Que hora es? Be careful. Con cuidado. I am learning Spanish. Estoy aprendiendo español. I’m lost. Estoy perdido. Nice to meet you. Mucho gusto. I’m in a hurry. Tengo prisa. I feel ill. Me siento mal. I don’t understand. No entiendo. (It) doesn’t work. No funciona. I don’t want it. No lo quiero. Excuse me. Perdon. Get out. Vete. IN A RESTAURANT: Cheese: el queso Cup: la taza Dessert: el postre Fish: el pescado Knife: el cuchillo Meal or food: la comida Napkin: la servilleta AROUND THE HOUSE: Bathroom: cuarto de baño Kitchen: cocina Bedroom: dormitorio Mirror: espejo Towel: toalla Pillow: almohada Coffee pot: cafetera Refrigerator: frigorifico Microwave: microondas Floor: suelo Stairs: escaleras Sources: Jerima King, Talk Spanish, El Rey Enterprises
DAVID BITTON, THE GAZETTE - Judy Murphy, left, talked with Spanish teacher Jerima King during her Spanish class at the East Library earlier this month. King hopes to teach her students the value of being bilingual.
