| Your Workplace Spanish Selections | | | | campus instructor who will hold classes at your |
| Consider this. You have a significant amount of | | | | company site. Envision a company in the community |
| Spanish-speaking clients or employees in your | | | | contracting with a community college. “Community |
| company who have trouble conversing in English. | | | | helping community.” It’s an inspiring match! |
| Although they may be attending English classes at the | | | | For a workplace Spanish course, the college instructor |
| local adult school, you are wondering if contracting a | | | | should be able to adapt language basics, vocabulary, |
| few Spanish classes might help your supervisors and | | | | and contextual scenarios to the specific needs of your |
| managers communicate better with their | | | | business. Again, those rote sentences will not leave |
| Spanish–speaking partners. With government | | | | you with enough grasp of the language to continue |
| mandates for diversity training in American | | | | speaking in Spanish when the lessons are over. So |
| corporations, learning Spanish for work is a growing | | | | be sure the course offers well-rounded material for |
| interest for business professionals. Along with this | | | | real and continuous communication to take place! |
| rising interest in Workplace Spanish come several | | | | With your specific needs and time frame, you can |
| options to contemplate for the type of training program | | | | contact Workforce Development (colleges may also |
| that best suits your company. | | | | list training under Contract Education or Corporate |
| | | | | Training), the division that specifically deals with |
| A training provider company is probably the most | | | | customized training for businesses in the community. |
| well-known option for businesses seeking customized, | | | | |
| on-site training in Spanish. These companies offer a | | | | Probably the least utilized and most viable option for |
| wide range of job-specific training (Spanish for Law | | | | Spanish training in the workplace is, as they say, right in |
| Enforcement, Spanish for Tax Preparers, Medical | | | | your own backyard. If your company has a staff |
| Spanish and the like). However popular, these | | | | trainer who is bilingual or at least fluent in Spanish, s/he |
| courses can be quite costly. Not only that, many | | | | serves as a tremendous in–house resource for the |
| offer instruction based on sample sentences that you | | | | kinds of communication situations managers and |
| must memorize in hopes that they will be the exact | | | | supervisors experience on the job with their |
| sentences you’ll need for the exact situation | | | | Spanish-speaking employees or clients. Needless to |
| you’ll be in to communicate with a | | | | say, the costs for using a staff trainer are dramatically |
| Spanish-speaking employee or client. If this is the | | | | lower than the above options. Furthermore, because |
| case, recommendations are to look for a training | | | | the trainer is also an employee, s/he is an immediate |
| company that offers a basic Spanish course, | | | | “fit” to the company’s philosophy and |
| specifically for the workplace, with well-rounded | | | | framework. With a good workplace Spanish text that |
| language basics in terms of useful grammar, pertinent | | | | includes a teacher’s guide, a company can save a |
| vocabulary and contextual conversation practice. | | | | sizeable amount of money with “in-house |
| Only this kind of course will allow you to generate your | | | | instructor” training and reap the course benefits too! |
| own sentences in Spanish for any given scenario in | | | | |
| which you may have to communicate. | | | | Whichever option your company chooses, learning |
| | | | | Spanish in the workplace had proven to encourage |
| A somewhat less familiar but perhaps more practical | | | | better communication among employees, advance |
| option for workplace Spanish training is the local | | | | teamwork and trust, and strengthen company |
| community college. Most community colleges offer | | | | profitability. It is a great return on investment for all who |
| customized training in all sorts of subjects, and their | | | | participate. Good luck, and enjoy learning your |
| prices are generally lower than private training | | | | “new” language! |
| providers and consultants. The college contracts a | | | | |