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In Bethlehem, many children grow up in Spanish-speaking households and become fluent in English once they start attending school. When I volunteered at an elementary school, most of the students were Latino and were bilingual. While I mainly communicated with them in English, some of the younger students would switch to Spanish when speaking with Spanish-speaking classmates.

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In response to the influx of Spanish speakers, many in my hometown have attempted to learn Spanish, myself included. However, most of our local schools teach Spain Spanish differing from the versions of Spanish that are actually prevalent in Bethlehem, which can cause barriers in communication.

In addition, many of us my learn some Spanish words and phrases out of necessity. As Blommaert explains, "we see very fragmented and 'incomplete'--'truncated'--language repetoires, most of which consist of spoken, vernacular, and non-native varieties of different languages." For example, I've attempted to learn a few Spanish phrases to better communicate with Spanish-speaking customers at work, but I struggle to carry on full conversation with them.

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In my experience, English has been the dominant lingua franca in my hometown. While at work, I have communicated with individuals whose first languages were Spanish, German, or Arabic through English. Many of these individuals speak a World English different from the English vernacular I'm used to, but we still communicate effectively and meaningfully.

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Since English and Spanish are becoming dominant languages in Bethlehem, many individuals are expanding their linguistic repertoires even further and learning additional languages out of personal or professional need. For example, one of my coworkers spoke Spanish as her first language but also spoke fluent English for her job and fluent German to communicate with her German husband.

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Many native English speakers in Bethlehem have begun to realize that being fluent in English and Spanish is valuable. As David Crystal states, "these days, there are clear signs of growing awareness, within English-speaking communities, of the need to break away from the traditional monolingual bias." In my experience with employment, many local employers have specifically sought out bilingual employees, who are fluent in English and Spanish.

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Many native English speakers in my hometown have resisted learning Spanish or allowing Spanish to become a dominant language within the town--meaning that many of them have fallen into linguistic complacency.
However, many have also made an effort to learn Spanish to better communicate with Spanish speaking individuals in the community or at least provided a translator. For example, as a healthcare worker, my mom and her colleagues sometimes work with translators to best communicate with Spanish speaking individuals.

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With a growing Latino population, the number of Spanish-speakers in Bethlehem has risen quickly. In order to encourage the linguistic diversity, numerous businesses have begun including signage in both English and Spanish

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While my hometown has long been represented by its German heritage, a growing Latino population has brought new cultural diversity within the town and has also led to the blending of multiple cultures.