Berlitz Says English on Tip of Most Tongues

Even though waves of immigrants have increased the number of languages spoken in the Southland, Berlitz International Inc. finds that English is still the fastest-growing language requested at their workshops in the region.

Over the past decade, “there has been an amazing increase in English learning,” said Anita Komlos, the company’s regional sales director, which has offices in Orange and Irvine. English has grown to 33% of enrollment, eclipsing Spanish at 32%, those languages being, by far, the most requested.

The reason often boils down to economics. Most want to speak and understand English better so they can better position themselves for a higher-paying job, or as entrepreneurs to expand their business, Komlos said. “We see a lot of people coming from Central and Latin America,” Komlos said. “A lot more people need help with their English, especially small-business owners who have a hard time establishing trust when it goes through interpreters.”

But the language learning centers are seeing a greater number of small and mid-sized firms looking for language or cultural training too. This segment has been increasing 10% to 15%, as smaller companies compete with larger ones for international sales, the company said.

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Daryl Strickland covers tourism and small and minority business issues for The Times. He can be reached at (714) 966-5670, and at daryl.strickland@latimes.com