In the U.S., 37 million people speak Spanish, the highest spoken non-English language among people five and older, according to a survey done by American Community.

The number of Spanish speakers rose 233 percent since 1980 when there were only 11 million Spanish speakers in the U.S.

Learning a second language can be difficult, but programs such as the Hispanic Resource Center’s Poquito a Poquito make it easy for non-Spanish speakers to learn the language.

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Leslie Delgado, a freshman from Elgin studying sociology, said the Hispanic Resource Center created Poquito a Poquito because they wanted a way to create a program for Spanish speakers to bond with non-Spanish speakers.

“We wanted to get them involved with Spanish culture,” she said. “It’s just a group of students and we come together once a week to eat food and speak Spanish to each other.”

The program is fairly new, but Delgado remembers how difficult it was to learn English when she was a small child.

“Everything I thought was in Spanish, I was speaking Spanish and then they put me in a school where I was supposed to speak English and I was scared,” she said. “Learning a new language is scary, but once you start getting the hang of it, you get better at it.”

James Berry, a lecturer in the linguistics department, said as far as difficulty goes, learning a second language, depends on the language.

“There are theories in language called source language and target language,” he said. “So, if you’re a Spanish speaker trying to learn Portuguese, it may not be so hard for you because both Spanish and Portuguese have the same source language, which is Latin.”

While there are tools, such as Rosetta Stone, to make learning languages easier, Berry said it is not very affective.

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“What the Rosetta Stone doesn’t do is make the language your own,” he said. “It doesn’t make you use it regularly or constantly, and just as soon as you learn something is just as soon as you forget it.”

Berry speaks French, German and Old English. He said it is better to learn a language at an earlier age and grasping language concepts is easier when immersed in the culture.

“When you’re young, you learn the language easier and faster,” he said. “The older you are really makes it more difficult. However, traveling to where the language is most commonly spoken also helps you retain information.”

Delgado agreed with Berry and said the more a person is surrounded within a culture, the easier learning a new language gets.

“The more you speak it, the more you hear it. The more you surround yourself in a specific culture, I think it is helpful to second language speakers.” she said.

Poquito a Poquito is just one of the many programs offered at the university for second language speakers.

The program started Feb. 26 and meets every Wednesday in the Student Center on the third floor.

Delgado said she enjoys being in a position to help others, something she has done since traveling to Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic to teach children English.

“Remembering that experience helps me with this program. I knew if I needed help, there would be people willing to help, and I’m glad that I can now take that role,” she said.

Delgado said the best part about teaching someone a new language is helping them accomplish their goals.

“I remember how hard it was,” she said. “ I always enjoyed helping people and I like that we started this program because not only are we being a help to the campus, but also we are getting to know peers.”

Kia Smith can be reached at [email protected]