I’ve been taking lessons in America’s most useful language

By 2050 the US will have more Spanish speakers than any other country

My pandemic teacher signs in from Guatemala to teach me Spanish (Sarah L. Voisin/The Washington Post)

Few things are more important to a journalist than the ability to communicate with the person you want to interview.

Fifteen years ago when I first tried to learn Spanish, it seemed like a handy addition to the toolkit of a reporter working in the United States. Today, it is more useful than ever.

Shifting demographics mean that “Latinos” – an admittedly controversial term the government uses to refer to people of Latin American origin, as many prefer the gender-neutral “Latinx” – now account for 60 million people of the country’s population of 320 million, and are the second largest group.