Frequently Asked Questions       [Submit a question]

Why should I learn Spanish?
The Hispanic population of the United States has more than doubled in the past ten years.  Hispanics now account for over 15% of the US population – that's more than 44 million Hispanics.  Hispanic growth in the workforce and as a segment of the economy has increased proportionately.

This immigration has been fueled by the search for better jobs, better health care and a better lifestyle.  Many industries (e.g., landscaping, construction, food service) have huge Hispanic workforces and it's a must to be able to communicate clearly with them to improve teamwork and productivity as well as to avoid accidents and quality mistakes.

In other occupations, such as health care, banking and retail, it's also critical to speak an appropriate amount of Spanish for situations ranging from life-threatening injuries to opening a bank account or buying a car.

Like it or not, you will become a more valuable manager or associate in your company or government agency by learning the Spanish that will help you in your daily occupation.

What is Workplace Spanish®?
Workplace Spanish® is a series of job-specific Spanish learning programs (English learning programs too!) that are designed to enable basic, effective communication in Spanish without having to learn the language in the traditional, academic way.  

Our materials contain both workplace and conversational expressions.  Each program contains the meeting & greeting phrases, time & timing, days of the week, etc. that you expect in a "conversational" program.  They also include the key terms & expressions, organized by topic, that are critically important for a specific occupation or industry. 

Rather than having to learn grammar, rules, verb conjugations ,etc., you learn by identifying and repeating carefully selected terms and expressions that are pertinent to a particular work environment.  By narrowing the scope of language that must be learned, it is much easier to master those expressions that are important to know. 

Academic Spanish Differences
Studying academic Spanish requires learning all the elements of the language – vocabulary, grammar, rules, conjugation, etc.  This is important if one's objective is proficiency or fluency in the language.  It takes a great deal of time and study.  Experts state that it takes 4 to 5 years of study and practice to become fluent in a language.

Which one should I study?
Only you can determine your needs.  Certainly, becoming fluent or proficient in Spanish can be very beneficial.  Key factors in determining your goals are your language needs and the time, effort and cost you must devote to materials and study. 

If your objective is fluency or proficiency, by all means take the steps and devote the time to learning the Spanish language.  However, if your needs are more basic and revolve around work, then Workplace Spanish® is right for you.

Is Spanish hard to learn?

• Compared to French, German and the Asian languages, it's much easier.  There are many similarities between Spanish and English -- and thanks to the growth of the Hispanic population and the many Mexican restaurants, you already know many Spanish terms and pronunciations.
  

• Unlike English where we have long and short sounds for vowels (e.g., the "a" in "A-OK" vs. the "a" in "ah choo") -- Spanish vowels always have the same sound -- master the vowel sounds and you're off to a great start.
  

• Certain consonant sounds (like the "LL") are a bit different but they are easily learned as well.  Once you master the pronunciation all you need to do is learn the right vocabulary.

How do I use Workplace Spanish® programs for self-study?

• The first step is to look through the manual to understand how it is organized and put together.  It's divided into sections that begin with an introduction and end with a glossary.  Read through the upfront material so you get a feel of what you are going to learn

• Follow our "Golden Rules" suggestions to get the best results.  Break the program down into small sections in order of importance to you.  Ignore anything that you don't need – leave that for later or forget it totally.  Less is more and confidence is everything – so learn gradually.
   

• The second step is to master Spanish pronunciation.  Look at that section in your manual and listen to it on the audio CD.  Go over it a number of  times until you gain some confidence and believe you are on the right track.  
   

• After pronunciation, pick out the key topics and expressions that you absolutely HAVE TO KNOW!  Work on those first -- using lots of repetition until you become comfortable and confident.  Listen to them on the CD – if you are a newcomer to Spanish, repeat them with the American speaker who pronounces them "phonetically".  If you have some Spanish experience, then repeat them with the native speaker.
   

• The biggest mistake people make is trying to say everything too quickly!  At this early stage, don't strive for perfection – strive for becoming good enough to be understood!  So slow down.  Even if you have to drag a word or phrase out, and repeat it a couple times, you'll be understood – your goal is to communicate in Spanish – you don't need to be perfect.
   

• Use the "Drills" to quiz yourself.  Picture yourself playing a role using the practice conversations.  But above all, practice aloud!  The biggest hurdle most newcomers to Spanish have is gaining the confidence to "say it in Spanish" -- so repeat, repeat, repeat.

Why do your audio CDs use both a native and an American speaker?

• Our audio CD's are unique in that we use BOTH a native speaker and a non-fluent American speaker to pronounce the Spanish terms and phrases.
  

• In our classes, we have watched well over 1,000 students, from all types of occupations, struggle to replicate the sounds made by a native speaker.  We determined that newcomers to Spanish learned much faster listening to an American pronounce the Spanish "phonetically", rather than trying to imitate (or even understand) the native speaker.
  

• Typically this is very to those new to Spanish.  Although we have heard some complaints from traditional instructors that we are not teaching "perfect pronunciation."  Of course our goal is NOT perfect pronunciation; it's to help you communicate in Spanish so you are understood.

Where do I find a Workplace Spanish® class?
We teach group classes for companies and government organizations (no open enrollment classes) in the metro Atlanta area.  Please contact us for details or visit our class information page.  For classes outside the metro Atlanta area, please contact one of the many language schools and colleges that teach our programs across the country.