According to Wikipedia, the Spanish language is the second most common language spoke in the United States only after English. Over 35 million people in America speak Spanish in their homes. Of this group of 35 million, only half of them speak English fluently. These statistics were pulled from the last census completed in 2007, and I can guarantee you that there are millions of other Spanish speakers that were not included in this census. If these numbers are not astonishing enough, I am sure that you are well aware of the fact that the Spanish population is among the fastest growing populations in the United States.

So, what does this mean for you? It does not mean that you are going to be required to learn to speak Spanish, because I can assure you that the government will not be changing the official language of America to Spanish anytime soon. But why not learn? For the last five years, I have been the General Manager of a restaurant in Texas. I have been struggling to communicate effectively with my team members. I have been trying and trying to learn, but without assistance, I cannot get through to a lot of my employees. I Just recently I purchased a program to assist me in learning to speak Spanish. It is amazing how much more I am getting accomplished every day because I am finally able to communicate with my employees.

I have always lived by the philosophy, "treat others the way that you want them to treat you" and also, "give the same respect that you expect to receive." I am realizing how it must feel to be like so many of the people that I have been working with for the last five years. They are doing everything that the can to learn to speak English, but it is not easy. Now I am in the same boat. I am now getting a lot more respect from my employees because they know that I care. They know that I am trying. They are feeling the respect that I am showing them, and in return, they are giving me the same respect that they are receiving.

I am not here to tell you that you have to go and learn to speak Spanish, but if you are into learning new things that are going to do nothing but make you a better person, I would definitely suggest investing a little time in giving it a try. You have nothing to lose, but a world of respect and knowledge to gain.

Being a restaurant manager in Texas, I deal with a largely Hispanic population everyday. I know that this is not the same for everybod, but the fact is that the Spanish population is growing, and you never know. Next week you ma be facing the same challenges I was. If you are interested in finding more about the importance of why it is important to learn to speak Spanish, check out my lens on Squidoo.