Pete Thelen, a 44-year-old Chicago property manager, started learning Spanish a year ago to be able to talk to the staff of the vacation home he bought in Costa Rica.

• 四十四岁的塞伦是芝加哥一家房地产公司的经理，他为了要与在哥斯达黎加所买下的度假小屋的工作人员沟通，而在一年前开始学西班牙语。