In the United States, the demand for Spanish speaking teachers is on the rise due to the ever changing population and the amount of Spanish being spoken at home. According to a Pew Research Center study, 37.6 million people in the U.S. now speak Spanish at home.
Teachers who can communicate in both English and Spanish are essential to the growth of students as well as the students’ understanding of all subjects being taught, nowadays. During the 2010-2011 school year, 10 percent of all public school students in the country were English learners (ELs).
While teachers who specifically work in ESL classes are still needed, Spanish speaking teachers who can contribute their communication skills in teaching other subjects such as math, reading, science and history, are wanted, as well. States such as Florida and Texas have seen the need for Spanish speaking teachers grow as the Latino population in those states has increased at a steady amount in the past few years.
Now that the need for Spanish speaking teachers is known, the next task is to actually find these individuals, which is really the obstacle at hand. Forbes Magazine states that across the entire U.S., only 18% of the population speaks a language other than English. Cutting out all the non-educators from that group, as well as those speaking a language other than Spanish, leaves a woefully small pool from which to hire teachers.
Even though the public is aware of the need of Spanish speaking teachers as well as the importance of bilingual education, there is still a necessity of recognition and application to this concern that looms our U.S. education system.
Recent Comments