Originally published by Today’s Chicago Woman magazine on January 1, 2011.

Multilingual professionals are highly prized, so why not be one?

While English may be the most commonly used language in the global business world, not everyone prefers to speak it. For this reason, bilingual or multilingual speakers are highly coveted by employers. Luis Larrea, a DePaul University professor who specializes in international business and marketing, believes the benefits of being a multilingual professional are endless. “The more you know about the country (language and culture), the better position you’re in to do business,” he says. “It’s all about relationships.” Several foreign language academies around town offer a variety of classes for professionals with busy schedules.

By Audrey Leon

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Multilingual Chicago
2934 North Milwaukee Avenue, Suite C, 773.292.7676

Nestled between numerous banks and furniture stores, on a bustling stretch of North Milwaukee Avenue sits the foreign language academy Multilingual Chicago. The center grew out of owner and linguistic anthropologist Jill Bishop’s primary company, Workforce Language Services, which provides language training and translation services for many businesses such as Orbitz and Lou Malnati’s. Mrs. Bishop turned her attention to providing language-learning classes to both adults and children in her Logan Square offices. Multilingual Chicago – only 11 months old and still expanding – offers the traditional weekly class in Spanish, French, Mandarin Chinese, Arabic, and more. A two-hour, eight-week class starts at $299.

For those with less time to devote to studies, Multilingual Chicago also offers a seven-hour boot camp ($150) on Sundays to quickly expose students to a language through vocabulary and practical applications; students will visit neighboring restaurants in the area during lunch break.

In addition to classes, Multilingual Chicago cooks up fun cultural events for the center’s students and casual observers. “Culture is a very important part of language,” Mrs. Bishop says. “In order to ensure that we’re exposing our students not just to verb conjugations but the real world, we try to include culture at every step.” Attend one of Multilingual Chicago’s cooking demonstration at Real Tenochtitlan (pictured above) to practice your newfound skills with other students.

If you find that you learn better privately rather than sitting with strangers, Multilingual also offers private tutorials both at its facilities or your location. The center also offers a 10 percent “transitional” discount to those who are currently in-between jobs.

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Brazil in Chicago
2212 West Sunnyside Avenue, 312.284.1737

Behind an animal hospital and across the alley from the Bad Dog Tavern sits a charming three-story home with the green Brazilian national flag hanging in the window that doubles as a learning center.

Marcelo Jarmendia, a native of Sao Paulo, founded Brazil in Chicago four years ago, originally in Uptown. Mr. Jarmendia and a team of four other language teachers (three raised in Brazil, one in Portugal) continue to offer private and small class instruction in Brazil’s national language: Portuguese.

Assistant Director Victoria Carmona believes learning Portuguese is extremely important because of Brazil’s growing economy. DePaul University professor Luis Larrea agrees. “Brazil is on the cusp of doing big things,” he says. “It’s the largest economy in Latin America; it’s trade partners with Asia.
“Every global auto company is located there,” Mr. Larrea continues. “It’s a country to keep an eye on.”

And Brazil in Chicago offers a variety of ways to learn Portuguese. The center offers a 12-week, two-hour level one class beginning at $475. The center also offers private tutorials in-house or at your location; the price is determined by the center on a case-by-case basis.

Brazil in Chicago also offers non-traditional events such as happy hours, often held at the Brazilian steakhouse Texas de Brazil, to converse with other students in Portuguese and help build community. Additionally, the center offers an immersion cooking class ($75) where attendees are divided into a five-person team to prepare a six-course Brazilian meal. The event also includes three hours of language practice.

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Alliance Française de Chicago
810 North Dearborn Street, 312.337.1070

The Alliance Française de Chicago is a beacon for all Francophiles. More than a century old and counting, the organization offers classes designed for both children and adults with busy schedules. A 10-week, level one course starts at $340 for non-members and $305 for Alliance members.

Classes at Alliance focus on real world experiences, says Gaël Crépieux the director of Alliance Francaise de Chicago’s learning center.

“We use a functional approach, with an emphasis on verbal skills, so students have the chance to speak about situations that reflect their own experiences,” Mr. Crépieux says. “We also use various teaching strategies to help students use grammar in context: for example, students ask questions of their classmates, then share the responses with the class, which allows them to conjugate verbs in action.”

This interactivity is at the core of Alliance Française de Chicago’s philosophy.

“We have Alliance students who have studied with Rosetta Stone who seek the human, interactive experience in our classes,” Mr. Crépieux says. “You might be able to focus on a specific skill, such as grammar, with Rosetta Stone, but you do not get the cultural references and the contact with a larger community, which the Alliance provides.”

And the Alliance Française de Chicago offers a number of cultural events for those who crave immersion in French traditions, like “Wine and Gastronomy” events led by French chefs. Currently, the Alliance is featuring a year-long retrospective to French actress Catherine Deneuve as a part of its Cine-club film series.

A yearly adult membership for the Alliance Française de Chicago is $90 and includes discounts on both events and classes; it also grants Alliance students access to its vast multimedia library.