Construction Curiosities #78
Top 8 Benefits of Learning Spanish for Construction
Hey! Happy Saturday! Matt here.
Welcome to the Construction Curiosities newsletter! Especially to the 29 new subscribers!
This weekly Newsletter explores my Curiosities about the Construction Industry. It's meant to make you think, smile, and become a better, more thoughtful Construction Professional.
Summary
This week we will look at:
One Guest Article: 8 Benefits of Learning Spanish for Construction y mas!
One Article: Commercial Plunge Pulls Planning Down
One Meme: Construction Sign Language
One Guest Article
This week’s guest article comes from the most entertaining and passionate Foreign Language teacher that I’ve ever met, Elizabeth Mack.
Elizabeth is the Founder and CEO of Freestyle Languages, where they help construction companies like DPR and Turner break down the Spanish/ English language barrier through a fun and engaging style.
This ain’t your 9th grade Spanish Class:
Anyways… that’s enough from me. Take it away Elizabeth!
Top 8 benefits of learning Spanish for Construction
+ 2 mythbusters
+ 2 fun test-your-Construction Spanish activities
Top 8 Reasons why speaking Spanish gives you Construction Superpowers
With 75% of Construction workers speaking Spanish, the construction industry has the largest language gap of all industries in the US (over manufacturing and hospitality…)
85% of US employers say they’re reliant on Spanish
AND: According to the ACTFL report, employers in construction reported being unable to pursue or losing business in the past 3 years due to a lack of foreign language skills.
The construction sector had a 49% rise in demand for foreign language skills over the past 5 years
54% of employers surveyed in ‘trade’ expect an increase in the demand for foreign language skills on the jobsite in next 5 yrs
25% of worksite accidents are related to a language barrier
Bilinguals make more $ It literally pays off to learn a language. Bilingual employees can earn between 5 % and 20% more money per hour than those who speak only one language.
DEI goals - Language builds empathy & equity. What is more inclusive than speaking another’s language?
Brain benefits - increases cognitive abilities (and even grows gray matter!) - and delays the onset of dementia by 4-5 years (who doesn’t need that?)
Employee retention and the ROI of your Language learning program. We have English learners (who speak Spanish as a 1st language) who say they’re ‘doubly committed’ to their employer now for offering this opportunity to learn English.
2 Mythbusters:
Adults are inherently bad at learning languages. F.A.L.S.E.
The human brain is specifically designed for language. Yes for adults. (If I can do it, anybody can do it!) and YES for you. If you’re one of those saying’ I’m not good at language’, one thing you need to know: IT’s. NOT. YOU.
Adults actually possess a cognitive advantage. We understand how to build habits and how to self-correct, etc.
Children up to the age of 7 are great at acquiring a native-like accent, but adults can learn multiple languages (!) late into life (70’s, 80’s, etc.!)
AND
per Adam Grant’s newest ‘Hidden Potential’ when adults learn languages using the flipped model classroom (ahem, that’s us ;) It's particularly advantageous. It’s more time-efficient, more effective for memory and more fun! What’s not to love?!
It takes 3 months to become fluent. F.A.L.S.E.
According to ACTFL (and us) it’s about 750 hours to proficiency. (Fluency doesn’t have to be the goal - proficiency will mean you’re conversational in all the important stuff.) But when you’re having fun learning, time flies.
IF, however, adults have a solid base already and then go to immerse oneself in the country where the target language is spoken, then yes, it’s possible within 3 months to get closer to fluent (But be careful of all the false advertising out there…)
Considering it’s 10,000 hrs. to acquire excellence in anything (like you are in construction….) , we think this time commitment for a super-powered LIFE SKILL is pretty great!
2 FUN GAMES:
Construction Tools Crossword (w/ answers): https://freestylelanguages.h5p.com/content/1292140021221720708
Construction Safety Gear (Matching):
https://freestylelanguages.h5p.com/content/1291904178799509868
Thanks, Elizabeth for sharing those facts and participating in the Newsletter!
If you want to learn more, check out Freestyle’s Language at Work Program LinkedIn page!
Ps- Elizabeth gave me source links for all those facts, but I left them out for brevity and to make room for more gifs. If you want to see the sources, hit me up and I’ll send your way!
I’m always looking for more Guest Articles!
Want to be featured in an upcoming Newsletter and have your article Gif-ified and meme’d? Shoot me an email at matt@constructionyeti.com. And let’s do it!
One Article
Commercial plunge pulls nonresidential planning down
High interest rates, supply chain disruptions and stricter lending standards continue to weigh on the commercial segment, which includes office, retail and warehouse projects, said Martin.
Excluding data center activity, all commercial segments posted declines in planning levels in November, according to Dodge. This negative trend has dominated much of 2023, as planning activity in the commercial segment now remains down about 20% from year-ago levels.
Now I’m far from an economist, but maybe we will see a bounce back in 2024 if rumors are true that interest rates have indeed topped and will start to be cut.
One Meme
I guess if you choose to not want to learn Spanish you can always just go with Construction Sign Language. 😆
See y’all next week! ✌
