Bilingual communication has become an important component in today’s global business world. And, students at Texas A&M are getting a little help thanks to the Hispanic Business Student Association (HSBA).

Sponsored by Deloitte and Touche, HBSA hosted a Spanish business terminology workshop, which was open to students from all majors. Although students did not merely sit back and listen to a list of foreign terminology. Instead, they were required to put their knowledge into action.

After dividing into teams, each group presented a two-to-three minute speech focusing on creating a business and determining the major business issues involved. The catch? Each team had to use as many Spanish business terms as possible.

“I think students learned a little about globalization, the use of business terms in different Latin-American countries, and basic common Spanish terms because of the workshop,” says Mayra De Leon, HSBA vice president for external affairs and a junior accounting major.

In addition, students received feedback about their presentations from Victor Bustamte, a senior manager at Deloitte and Touche. Bustamante not only critiqued each speech, but also discussed how being bilingual had opened many doors throughout his career.