Hola Young Entrepreneurs!

Tuesday, December 19, 2006 at 11:32am by David Askaripour in MP News

If you’re like me you’ve probably studied a second language in high school and college. For many years you had your head stuck in a language book memorizing verbs, taking tests, and learning structure. But let me ask you this: Do you now know how to speak that language? I bet the answer is no.

Now, more than ever, it has become quite an asset to know more than one language. It’s time to step it up a notch and actually learn another language. You’ve already studied a bit in school – probably just for a grade – but now it’s time to really dive in and learn it once and for all.

Being able to speak another language as a young entrepreneur can be a very powerful thing. Being able to speak the same language as the person you are doing business with automatically puts you in good standings with that person. People will be impressed that you actually took the time to learn their language, which will reflect highly upon your business.

I recently decided to learn Spanish. After studying it in school for years I never really got to the point of fluency. The problem with learning it in school is that they don’t really teach you how to actually speak the language.

Yeah it doesn’t make sense, I know. From my experiences, school focuses on memorizing words, reading out of a book, and conjugating verbs – they rarely focus on actually teaching you how to speak conversationally which is pretty sad. Think about it, when was the last time you took a language course and was able to speak fluently?

Nowadays, I have taken a new approach to learning the language and it’s a simple approach called: “just speak it.” Yup, that’s right, the best way to learn a language is to constantly speak it with your friends or associates who know the language.

And let’s not forget about recordings. I have been listening to various Spanish speaking lessons that I downloaded online. Every day I spend around half an hour practicing and practicing. And what really seals the deal is when I put what I have learned into practice with my Spanish speaking friends who gladly converse with me and also correct me when I slip up.

The synergy of immersing yourself in the language by speaking in regularly and taking the time to practice on your own with recordings and books, will truly speed up the learning process and get you speaking faster than any professor could ever teach you.

As entrepreneurs we are constantly investing time learning new things to help our businesses and that’s great. But we shouldn’t forget about the advantages of learning a second language. The time you spend now learning a language will pay off in hefty dividends in the future as your business grows.

For those of you not sure what language that you’d like to explore, I’d recommend Spanish as your first. The Latin American influence throughout the world is becoming extremely wide in scope. At this current rate of immigration, there will be more Spanish speaking people in America than English speakers before we know it.

The savvy entrepreneur won’t wait to learn Spanish when that happens, he’ll start learning now. From California, to Texas, to New York City, Spanish speaking people are increasing and Spanish companies are forming at a rate never before seen. And as economic growth continues to flourish in South and Central America, knowing Spanish becomes even a greater asset.

Let’s hear it….

• So tell me, did you actually learn a language solely from school?
• Are you planning/currently learning a language? If so, what language and why?
• Have any learning tips?

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