Job Discussion Forums

[john_n_carolina]

...excellent post you could put that in the TESOL monthly mag.

[logicpocket]

Very interesting discussion happening here, figured I'd throw in my two cents (or, these days, two colones).

I was amazed at the severe -lack- of culture shock I had upon arriving in Costa Rica, and even after spending some time here I still don't feel terribly out of place nor unnecessarily perturbed as a foreigner might expect to be.

I chalk this up to the constantly increasing influx of Spanish speakers in and around where I had been living in New York. The language of the street was Spanish, promotional material and forms in Spanish, Caribbean and Mexican music stations popping up all over the place, employees at banks and restaurants that speak better Spanish then English, etc.

Honestly, I had more of a shock going to Miami where /I/ felt like the idiot for not knowing any Spanish... a situation I have taken great pains to change over the past three years.

So, what is my point aside from a personal digression? Not much except to point out that Spanish has been on the rise in the States for some time, and competency in it has become a deciding factor in employment (albeit mostly lower level service industry jobs).

It will be interesting to see how the language climate changes in the coming years with this sort of relationship in mind. English and Spanish will continue to meet, in various ways, in the middle.. just like a lot of the conversations I have here with Ticos who speak half English while I speak half Spanish.

[john_n_carolina]

yes, ive been watching this very carefully for a few years now. there are several big jobsite now for bilinguals. www.latpro.com, diversity-jobs.com, www.hispanic-jobs.com.

especially, marketing -- will be a big field for bilingual workers. and, of course telephone customer service, hospitals, courts, public sector...

[MELEE]

Bilingual paralegal is a very good job for those so inclinded.

Bilingual ER nurse is another one.

both require specialized education on top of being bilingual.

It is interesting to see how English and Spanish interact with each other. So much of it is pop culture related. I have one lesson for beginners that I like and have repeated many times over the years. It is set in a Lost and Found office. Until last year, the students never knew the word Lost before the lesson. (and often couldn't remember it the day after the lesson) but now, thanks to a popular TV program, all young people in Mexico know the word LOST. I wonder if it will have staying power, or be forgotten in a year or two? I've been away from the US for so long to know if more Spanish words are slipping into the general English speaking populations vocabulary. Thanks to Dora the Explorer, I can guess some words and phrases the next generation might use !

[John Hall]