Cultural diversity in today's world makes learning to speak Spanish an excellent decision. Over the years, sheer numbers have made Hispanics a worthy audience for marketers and advertisers:

• A population of 50 million as of 2010
• 132 million by 2050
• $938 million in purchasing power in 2009
• $1.3 trillion in purchasing power by 2014

As the Spanish-speaking consumer market grows each year, it makes sense to learn how to bridge the communication gap and attract and retain these loyal customers. Whether you are a receptionist, cashier, service representative, manager, front desk clerk, or other customer service employee, today's diverse population makes it imperative that you have language and communication skills with which to interact with your prospective Spanish-speaking clients.

For six Saturday mornings, beginning October 5th, VSU Continuing Education will offer "Spanish for Excellent Customer Service" a course taught by native speaker and world traveler, Myriam King-Johns.

Lessons are organized to quickly build vocabulary skills for greeting and welcoming a customer in Spanish with targeted phrases for your industry, including greetings, dates & times, and numbers.

Sharing her skills and knowledge in this relevant subject area is Myriam King-Johns, native Spanish speaker with more than 20 years in the education field. Born in South America, Ms. King-Johns lived and worked in England before moving to St. Louis, Missouri to be close to her family. She worked in several states in the USA and came to Valdosta because her husband's job was in the area.

Myriam completed undergraduate studies in bilingual international business, and business management /counseling in Colombia and California before her BSED and BA degrees were awarded by Valdosta State University. Ms. King-Johns has also earned an MS from Indiana State University.

Truly an international traveler, with family in Europe and South America, Myriam considers England and Austria the most exciting places she has been. Over the years, she has visited many museums including the Louvre in France noting the Mona Lisa and the Creation of Adam among her favorite works of art. Her hobbies also include reading, Latin music and painting.

Ms. King-Johns' resume includes teaching Math, Spanish and Art overseas in Segovia, Spain. She has also taught courses and led seminars in diversity and Spanish for children, seniors, and professionals in various venues. From 1996-2004 she served as a Spanish Court Interpreter/Translator for the State Court of Lowndes County. Most recently, she has been employed as a Spanish Adj. Professor at The Citadel.

Myriam believes that "Living in a global/international society motivates us to remove any communication barriers." Furthermore, she says, "Teaching comes natural to me and I enjoy when people have the desire to expand their knowledge and learn new skills."

In addition to the "Spanish for Excellent Customer Service" course coming in the fall, Myriam will be doing a presentation for the fall "Court Reporters Workshop" on the role of the Spanish court interpreter.

Click here for a complete listing of our courses.