As national debate continues on whether or not Spanish should become our second national language, common sense tells us that it is certainly worthwhile to become at least somewhat fluent in the second most popular language on the continent. First, take a look at these figures:

● The most recent census (2000) projected that the Hispanic population will grow by 25% in the next 20 years.
● Since 2000, more detailed surveys (by Suro and Passel) have found that the Latino population is growing with such tremendous momentum that a 25% growth projection is just the tip of the iceberg.
● Tourism from Spanish-speaking countries has risen more than 35% in the last three years.

What does this mean for the general U.S. population? Take a look at these two examples of how communities are responding to this increased population of Latinos.

1) Communities in South Texas are implementing bilingual education due to the tremendous surge of the Latino population. They have determined that the home, societal and economic benefits of educating Latino children in their native language will do much to improve their local communities.

As a result, entire generations of Latinos are becoming fully educated within the U.S., but they still are primarily speaking Spanish. These individuals are now fully educated, Spanish-speaking members of our society