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Wisconsin attorney Nicole Marklein recently earned a Spanish Proficiency Certificate at Madison College to enhance her career and communicate better while traveling.
Nicole had taken several Spanish courses during her undergraduate studies at UW-Madison and even spent a month studying abroad in Oaxaca, Mexico. Despite feeling fluent in Spanish upon graduating in 2005, Marklein found that her language proficiency eroding.
"After visiting a remote area of Mexico in 2020, I realized my disappointment in not pursuing my language skills further and found myself frustrated with how many of my skills I had lost due to nonuse over the years," Marklein says.
Newly motivated by that experience and a goal to become proficient in Spanish to help her legal career, Marklein enrolled in Madison College's Intercultural Experience Practicums and Spanish 5, with real-life language skills for her legal profession. She earned her Spanish Proficiency Certificate with just four courses over four semesters.
“I have found that formal learning at this age is so much more fun and enjoyable than when I was younger,” Marklein says. “I enjoyed doing my Spanish homework and considered this personal enrichment and an interest to pursue outside of work.”
Marklein uses her new language skills in her career to communicate with Spanish-speaking individuals, translate documents, and make her husband’s business and their community more welcoming to Spanish speakers. Her law partners were also impressed with her motivation to upskill.
She hopes to take more non-credit Spanish conversation courses and uses daily Spanish practice activities, such as DuoLingo, podcasts, audiobooks, and reading and listening to Spanish music and books.
Elevating careers with language skills
Madison College language instructor Carolina Bailey sees students in her classes who are specifically motivated to enhance their language skills in the workplace, including medical professionals, community and business leaders, entrepreneurs, and government workers. She observed Nicole benefiting from her studies.
“The Spanish practicum provided her with legal vocabulary experience, which was great because she is a lawyer and she needed that. That’s something Madison College offers that others don’t,” Bailey says.
Employers are also seeking employees with strong language skills, says Jeff Close, Madison College Career and Employment Center Student Support Advisor.
“Workplace demographics and customer bases are evolving as our overall population evolves. Employers need workers who can communicate and work effectively with co-workers and customers of all backgrounds to remain relevant in the marketplace,” Close adds. “It is not unusual to see employers express a preference for language skills in their job postings.”
Obtaining a proficiency language certificate can lead to employment in different fields and companies are paying more for this skill. Currently, the need has increased for translators or interpreters in the medical field, businesses, community service, and government. Employers may also sponsor their employees to upskill with language classes.
“While it would depend on the resources and policies of the individual employer, if an employee is in a position in which language skills would help them develop a market or serve their customers, there is the possibility that the company would provide financial support to the employee’s efforts to upgrade their language skills,” Close says.
VR is a language learning game changer
Madison College is at the forefront of using virtual reality technology to immerse students in language learning more effectively.
With a 360-degree view, students can virtually travel to Spanish-speaking countries, engage in everyday situations like ordering food, discuss different topics, and practice communication. This kind of immersion also reduces the anxiety associated with language learning. We are currently working with Immerseme platform for this virtual experience.
“Students tell me that having the VR goggles on and being in their own environment where nobody is watching, creates less anxiety," Bailey says. “They feel like they are in an actual conversation without the stress of others watching them speak.”
“VR technology is also an effective way to prepare the student for the workplace,” Close said. “And Madison College is the place to come and prepare for that.”
Learn more about Madison College language classes and Spanish Language Proficiency Certificate and French Language Certificate.
