The Acquisition and Retention of Job-Specific Spanish Vocabulary by English-Speaking Law Enforcement Officers

In the United States, law enforcement officers may need to communicate with suspects or witnesses who are not native speakers of English. We assessed the effectiveness of the Officer Safety and Communication Spanish, Level I course (Alentado, 1995), a three-day workshop designed specifically for law enforcement personnel. Both role-play performance and perceived ability of the officers to use Spanish at work increased as a result of participation, and effectiveness did not decrease significantly six months after the course. Assessment of the effectiveness of study aids was inconclusive. Job-specific short courses in a second language can be effective for teaching limited language skills.