Minister of Education and Youth Fayval Williams is encouraging more Jamaicans to learn a second language so as to expand opportunities for employment and better relate to other cultures.

According to Williams, in a globalised world where cross-cultural communication and understanding are important, studying a foreign language helps people to have more positive attitudes towards persons who are from a different culture and will enhance their career prospects as the world becomes more interconnected.

In addition, she argued that having a multilingual population would place the country at a competitive advantage, given Jamaica’s location at the crossroads of maritime and international trade routes.

The minister was speaking at the Spanish Immersion Day workshop organised by the Spanish-Jamaican Foundation at the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Library on Tuesday.

The annual event targets students preparing to sit the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate Spanish examination, providing them with the invaluable opportunity to practise and refine their language skills under the guidance of native speakers and trained teachers.

They benefited from practice and tips for the oral and written Spanish papers.

Williams commended the organisers of the session, which enabled participation from students across the country and the wider Caribbean through online platforms.

She noted the ministry’s goal of promoting widespread second-language competence among students to aid in exam success, facilitate cultural exchanges, and boost their career prospects.