Spanish as an Economic Resource in Metropolitan Miami

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Abstract
This article is a case study of Miami as a linguistic marketplace; its purpose is to inform educational policymakers of the economic and cultural advantage of developing a multilingual workforce. The growth of Metro-Miami’s Spanish language economy is a result of recent demographics and increased international trade and commerce. Although global education and proficiency in languages in addition to English have been recognized as essential in preparing a competent future workforce, serious statewide deliberations about language proficiency development overlook Florida students who already speak those languages. Therefore, national, state, and local policy recommendations are made for promoting bilingualism and biliteracy, countering the current process of language shift in immigrant populations, and changing the attitudes that pose multilingualism as a threat.