Is Spanish Useful in Your Daily Life

[tulosai]

I know only the tiniest  bit of Spanish, but going through my life in the USA I am frequently struck by the idea that it would be really useful to learn more.  Especially for those of you in the USA, does your Spanish help you and if so how?

[wannalurnspanish]

In my part of the country, if I were fluent it would definitely help. There are many hispanics (read Mexicans) in my area, and being bilingual with Spanish as that second language would definitely boost any job prospects one may have. NOT knowing it also could prevent you from getting certain jobs here, so it really is a great skill to have.

If you wanted it could also help at stores and restaurants, but usually the people they have working the counters are bilingual, and it's not an issue if you don't speak Spanish in everyday situations like that.

[altrouge]

Well I don't live in America so there's not really a huge Spanish speaking population here, but the only time Spanish comes in handy for me is when we go to Spain for holidays. For every day life though, not really. Everyone here just speaks English.

[GetFresh]

In the area that I live, learning Spanish would make my life easier.  Majority of people speak Spanish and I forgot everything I learned in Spanish class.  It takes me forever to buy get things since my vocabulary is so limited.  Funny thing is that I look Hispanic, so everyone I encounter starts off by speaking in Spanish.

[rgaz83]

Spanish would be extremely useful for me, were I actually fluent. You can get jobs more easily and the pay can be at least a little higher as well. I live in a predominantly Hispanic area (though mostly relatively affluent) and am always getting bilingual or just Spanish flyers and whatnot posted on my door as a result.

[Trellum]

Some of my relatives are living in USA and Europe, some of them speak spanish, and the ones who live in USA find it really useful.  I think it really helps them to stay connected with their roots! As for my relatives in Europe... not really, since the only place in Europe where they speak spanish is spain and they're not living there.  There are some spanish speakers where they live, but most people avoid speaking it in public.

[polybus]

I wish Spanish was more useful in my daily life. I am pretty fluent in Spanish but I live in Canada and although there are a lot of Spanish speakers here, in my daily life I don't meet too many. It would be nice if I had more opportunities to speak Spanish everyday, but right now I mostly only use it when I travel.

[RomanAnthonysMama]

I've lost track of some of my Spanish-speaking skills, but it definitely used to help me in everyday life. It helps some now, but mainly only with basic things, such as reading signs or instructions that may be in Spanish as opposed to English in town. It used to help me communicate with people at work, since I lived in Boston and most people were primarily from the Dominican Republic at the branch I was working at.

[asiong123]

I was required to learn Spanish in my Catholic university. Unfortunately, I was not able to use it outside the classroom. I had no one to converse with, and no one to share my knowledge of the language, which perhaps contributed to why I am no longer able to speak it well. The instruction of the language in my university was very academic (and religious) in nature, and so I felt that it was not very practical when it came to real life. We were asked to translate English prayers into Spanish, and recite traditional English poems in its Spanish equivalent. I never felt this type of instruction was helpful at all.

Nevertheless, I am still hoping to improve on my Spanish through this website, and hopefully someday, I am able to use this beautiful language when I visit Spain.

[bonniea]

That depends on where you live. When I lived in Florida I used Spanish a lot more than I do now. I do keep my eye out for opportunities to practice. I have a lot of friends who speak Spanish so I get a chance to practice. But if I did not look for opportunities I would not find as many as I do.

[limon]

I'm in California, so it definitely comes in handy.

Which is not to say that you have to use it here, but there are a lot of Spanish speakers and it can also be useful for work purposes.

[Dame6089]

I live in Brooklyn, so I hear Spanish a lot. I mostly use Spanish to eavesdrop on people who aren't aware that I speak Spanish

Truthfully though, you never now when Spanish will come in handy. From getting a job to reading a restaurant menu, you never know when being able to speaking Spanish can help you out!

[bonniea]

My husband speaks fluent Spanish so for me it is yes. He has tons of friends who speak mostly Spanish and they have been very supportive in helping me practice my Spanish. I feel very very lucky to have so much opportunity for practicing what I am learning.

[KC]

Spanish is useful in many areas of my life.  Between dealing with hispanic people at work and where I live, I need to understand and be able to communicate.

[ollie]

There are always areas of any city, even in the Midwest, where you can practice or hone your Spanish skills. You might have to go out of your way in order to find it more in daily life, but when you do, I think people may be more impressed with you.

[MyDigitalpoint]

Have you visited lately some of the US Federal online services?

Most of them have a Spanish version available, the same as many large banking institutions and a series of different organizations.

Even GoDaddy has a Spanish speaking team and website version.

In the USA speaking Spanish is being necessary in daily life, and contributes to understand the cultural fusion that Americans are living today.

[caparica007]

It's very rare for me to speak Spanish, just if some Spanish Erasmus student comes to my office and can't speak English I start speaking Spanish, but this is not common.

[sillylucy]

I live in a neighborhood that is predominantly Hispanic so if you want to work around here are you have to be bilingual. Spanish is useful even when shopping. If I go to a restaurant around here and I order in Spanish I get better portions and sometimes my meals are cheaper.

[PSLoveCharli]

Of course. In the area I live and work in, Spanish is the primary language. So I'm the outsider -- which pushes me to want to learn it fluently or at least confidently. I should already know the language, but never took it serious until now. Playing catch up!

[DaBlink182]

No, not really. I live in The Netherlands and I've never met anyone who spoke just Spanish and nothing else. But I'm learning it for the future. I'm planning to move to America (North or South, haven't decided yet) and I know for sure that it'll come in handy, especially in South America, duh

[Astdua]

I live in an area with a lot of Spanish speakers, so naturally It comes in handy in day-to-day life, casual interactions can be especially fun. I could easily see some people say "but I don't live in such a place". Well, if you made it a habit to be a worldly person, like me, you would find yourself using your Spanish very often, it is one of the most widely spoken languages after all. I have had my fair share of encounters, both casual, and a bit more private and close, with native Spanish speakers.

[Lola]

I live in America and we have a good bit of Hispanics here. I always see the older ones fumbling with English or have their kids translate. I figure with me working in a pharmacy it might come in handy to just speak to someone directly in their language. Any language is confusing and I just want to make things easier for everyone. It never hurts to be bilingual on an application, too.

[SpringBreeze]

Definitely. It is especially important if you live in Florida. Many of the jobs here now require someone who speaks both Spanish and English fluently. It can be very frustrating. The other thing is in cities with a lot of Spanish-speaking people like Miami, you can go to a store and not be able to get service because the workers don't speak English.

[dorannmwin]

In the area that I live in here in Kentucky, we have a lot of residents that are native Spanish speakers. I find that knowing what Spanish I do know is a good thing because it does lessen the communication barrier.

In fact, I think that it is important for young people to know Spanish in this area to the extent that my son is in a Spanish immersion program at school. This means that he will be fluent by the time he is 11 years old (he is seven now and already knows more Spanish than I learned in four years in school).

[True2marie]

Spanish is useful in my daily life because many of my neighbors are Latino. Talking to them and patronizing stores/restaurants with Spanish-speaking natives causes me to use my Spanish often. It's just a fact of life.