How Being Bilingual can set you Apart in the World of Sports

English is the most commonly spoken language in the world. About 1.465 billion people speak English. Obviously, not everyone speaks English as a first or second language. A prime example of the language barrier is in Major League Baseball, where for example, in 2019 a little over 25 percent of the Opening Day rosters included Spanish-speaking players. Rookie players are drafted at a young ageThe MLB doesn’t oversee how each non-English speaking player’s native language and culture are incorporated into their teams. Some MLB players have gone above and beyond with learning Spanish to better communicate with their teammates, and show appreciation for their culture. 

I bring this up because I want to be a sports agent that works with college-aged and rookie players. My minor is Spanish, and I’m working towards becoming fluent in Spanish. Partially, because I am part Mexican, and I want to honor that part of my heritage. It’s common in my family (mainly on my dad’s side) to be bilingual. A personal goal of mine is to be bilingual once I’m 25. Additionally, one sport I want to work in is baseball, where a significant amount of players speak Spanish as their first language. I want my potential clients to know that I am someone who will try their best to practice cultural awareness and appreciation. I view that as taking on clients who speak Spanish because I know that I can help eliminate the language barrier many rookies and foreign players experience. 

Being bilingual when working in sports is seen as having a leg up. You are considered to be a more competitive applicant, and can take on more job opportunities. For example, if you’re a sports agent, you could take on a Spanish-speaking client that no one else at your agency could due to their language barrier. Here are some of the benefits of being bilingual: 

• Increasing demand for bilingual and multilingual jobs
  • There has been a 30% increase in bilingual remote jobs since 2020. This trend is not expected to die down any time soon with 9 out of 10 employers relying on employees who can speak languages other than English. 
• Increased job opportunities
  • I mentioned this earlier, but many businesses hire bilingual/multilingual employees to reach consumers who prefer to communicate in languages other than English. A lot of companies are expanding business globally into new markets and need employees who can communicate clearly with their global colleagues and customers.  
• Competitive edge
  • In today’s competitive job market, being bilingual sets one apart from the regular candidate pool. More and more companies are looking for bilingual/multilingual employees who can reach domestic and global clients. 
• Better problem-solving, decision-making, and multitasking skills
  • The National Institute of Health shows that people who are multilingual are better and faster at switching tasks than someone who is monolingual. Those who are multilingual/bilingual can also process information more quickly and efficiently than someone who is monolingual. 
• Improved communication
  • Being bilingual or multilingual can mean that you can help close the cultural and linguistic gap. A report showed that 76% of customers said they’re more likely to purchase a product if information is available in their native language.