Sherman, Texas is going all out to get their patrol officers bilingual. Their plan is to first use Rosetta Stone’s Program, (Rosetta Stone: Free Demo)
then move to formal classes at the college, then -

Sherman Police learning Spanish
In addition to the work on the computer and in the classroom, members of the Hispanic community, like Lupe’s Tamales owner John Arriazola, will be invited to ride along with the officers themselves to better understand one another.

But the final step is a two week immersion trip to Cuerna Vaca, Mexico. A trip Sergeant Steven Dean will make Saturday. “There is a communication problem within law enforcement which is primarily English speaking white males which is typically what we have in this community.”


A multi-pronged attack! Computer work, class room, ride along with someone to practice with (I’m assuming), then immersion. Like the one article I found here, immersion with no basic foundation, is a waste.

The rest of us can take the same course. I’m not sure I can go through a college or adult education Spanish class right now, but going through a computer course, doing some grammar work through books may be just as good. Then finding a Spanish speaking buddy, then taking a two week vacation for an immersion class, sounds like a decent plan.

You may not be able to find someone to ride around with you all day so you can practice with, but there are resources on the net that may come close. I’ll get to those in a later post.

Originally posted 2008-03-03 04:00:10. Republished by Blog Post Promoter