Workforce Language Services

A November 2008 article from the Providence Journal describes the trickle-down effects of a weak national economy on the state’s Hispanic population.  The article quotes a representative from the RI Small Business Development Center as well as the president and CEO of Progreso Latino, an agency that supposedly provides all necessary social services to the Latino population of two cities.  Despite my own beef with the latter agency, Martinez makes a good point about the conditions RI Latinos face:

Martinez, of Progreso Latino, said that as of 2002 there were 3,415 Hispanic-owned small businesses in Rhode Island that added $213.7 million to the state’s economy. Martinez said he can’t cite statistics yet, but he senses that the economic slump is already having a particularly adverse effect on the state’s Hispanic community, especially among those who lack education and a command of English.

The article also cites some stats about the reality of life in RI:

Figures from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey, cited by the Poverty Institute at Rhode Island College, put the Hispanic population of Rhode Island at 115,668, or 11 percent of the population. The poverty rate for Hispanics in Rhode Island was 30.5 percent in 2007, compared with 12 percent for all Rhode Islanders. Median income for Hispanic households was $33,817, compared with $53,568 for all Rhode Island households.

To read the entire article, click here.  Also, make note of the fact that when this article went to press, RI’s unemployment rate was 8.8 percent for all workers but has since passed 10 percent.

An English language textbook, accompanied by a CD, has been a best-seller in Japan.  His clear, modulated speech, repetitive phrasing, and inspirational message has been a hit with Japanese who are learning English. 

“Speeches by presidents and presidential candidates are excellent as listening tools to learn English, because their contents are good and their words are easy to catch,” said Yuzo Yamamoto of Asahi Press, which produced the best-selling text book.

“Obama’s is especially so. His speeches are so moving, and he also uses words such as ‘yes, we can,’ ‘change’ and ‘hope’ that even Japanese people can memorize,” he said.

Speeches by President George W. Bush and former nominee John Kerry’s four years ago did not have the same appeal, however, and nor do those made by Japanese politicians, Yamamoto said.

This could also be a great teaching tool for those who are learning English in the United States.  Not only would his speeches help increase students’ vocabulary and comprehension, but the content would provide for excellent lessons on civic life.

To read the entire article, click here.

An article in the Dallas Morning News describes the current scarcity of licensed court interpreters in multilingual Texas.  This scarcity is attributed to the rigorous certification procedure, which one interpreter points out is a positive thing because Texas is a state with the death penalty. 

As a border state, Texas has a unique cultural mix that integrates Spanish into daily life and Anglicisms which creep into speech in Spanish.  This, along with false cognates and idioms, makes the interpreters job all the more complex and specific to the region:

Precision was at play at a recent training session for court interpreters in McKinney. Elegible in Mexico commonly means a person who legally can be elected. It doesn’t mean eligible.

“It is an Anglocism; but Anglocisms are becoming more and more common,” Holly Mikkelson said as she led the training for the Texas Association of Judiciary Interpreters and Translators.

Mikkelson warns about the word crimen. It doesn’t mean just any crime but is instead reserved for unusually violent crimes. In English, the word “delinquent” refers to a petty offense by a minor. But in Spanish, delinquencia can mean any crime by a person of any age.

To read the article, click here.

In a Newsweek opinion piece, Henry Cisneros shares his thoughts on investing in Latinos as a necessary part of investing in the success of the United States.  His call to action holds both America and its Latino residents as accountable for their part in ensuring that the U.S. continues to grow.

He also speaks to the importance of retaining culture while adding American culture and the English language to Latinos’ American experience:

Of course, Latinos must also take advantage of the opportunities that do exist, and invest in American society. Immigrants must do whatever they can to master English. They must prepare themselves to succeed in the workplace, and to guide their children through the school system. They must save to buy their own homes, and work to provide their families with a health plan, retirement plan and savings account. They should participate enthusiastically in civic, community and religious activities. And they should strive for full citizenship.

To read Cisneros’ thoughtful words, click here.

With minorities representing less than ten percent of the nation’s legal community, a recent educational program in Rochester aimed to strategize how to increase those numbers.  The host groups used role plays to highlight situations that show a lack of cultural competence.

Members of the hosting groups also performed a few skits that highlighted racial problems in the legal workplace, including one scene where a white interviewer assumed that a minority job candidate had “managed to go to college and to law school, overcoming so much.”

After a look of confusion, the candidate replied: “Well, I suppose. But nearly everyone else from Pittsford High School has done pretty much the same,” which drew a big laugh from the audience.

The skits allowed the audience to take an amusing look at racial ignorance in the legal community, but Brown followed the skits with a sobering announcement: Each was an exaggerated example of something that had happened at a local law firm or legal entity in the past year.

During the program, the need to support educational achievement starting in elementary school emerged as an important factor in assisting minorities to be successful later on. 

For the entire article, click here.

An L.A. Times article highlights the Boy Scouts of America’s effort to draw more Latino youth into their programming.  Their marketing campaign seeks to draw the connection between the Boy Scouts values and the strong sense of family in the Latino community to help balance the fact that only 3 out of every 100 Boy Scouts is of Hispanic origin. 

Paul Moore, head of the L.A. Area Council, speaks honestly about how the image of the Boy Scouts repels rather than attracts Latino families:

“We go in in a uniform that looks like the Border Patrol,” said Paul Moore…. “Then we ask [adult volunteers] to fill out complex applications that ask for their Social Security numbers. I think we’ve found some good ways in L.A. to deal with some of these things, but we have to do a better job of getting parents to see Scouting as something that aligns with their hopes and dreams for their kids.”

While some of the BSA’s core values may chafe against less conservative ideals, it is refreshing to see the association come to realize that it has to be more responsive to the needs of the communities from which it hopes to recruit.

The Society for Human Resource Management’s January cover story is about workplace English language learning.  Rich with information, this article includes a key quote:

“You don’t need English to work at Miller & Long,” says Myles Gladstone, the company’s vice president of human resources, who is fluent in English and Spanish. “But you do need English to get ahead.”

The article points out that the initial impetus for supporting English language learning is safety.  But employers who truly support the upward mobility for their foreign born employees create opportunities for them to learn English for personal growth. 

The SHRM story notes that while supporting employees in their English language acquisition improves the bottom line as well as staff morale, few companies are actually providing employees with opportunities:

Despite growing popularity, employer-provided ESOL classes are rare. Only about 10 percent of employers responding to Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) studies in each of the last two years said they offered ESOL classes as a benefit. Last summer, 24 percent of respondents to a SHRM online survey said they cover some or all of the costs associated with English classes.

Click here to read this informative article as well as access several other articles, videos, and white papers dedicated to this issue.

An article in Diversity Executive finds that the majority of corporate directors are against increasing minroity representation on corporate boards.  This is is sharp contrast to the general push to train historically underrepresented demographics and capitalize on their strengths and differing perspectives. 

It is up to companies to take a proactive stance in creating a diverse workforce, he explained.

“If you haven’t hired enough diversity at the more junior levels 20 or 30 years ago, you won’t have the people who have matured and had the business experience to be on par with the rest of the board members today,” Dysart said.

“You do diverse populations a disservice if you make huge compromises and put people in the room when they’re not ready because then the other directors have a negative opinion about a diversity candidate.”

It’s certainly true that companies should be responsible for cultivating the expertise of a diverse population, but whether a candidate is ready to serve on a board is quite subjective.  It’s also interesting that these directors see this issue in such a black and white way, especially as law firms stress the importance of peer mentoring to support minority lawyers.  Why are corporations not willing to mentor board candidates with potential even though they’ve not had decades of experience in upper managment?  By doing this as well as encouraging ongoing professional development, companies would truly be taking a proactive stance in creating a diverse workforce at all levels.

Closed Caption Latina is a Florida company which provides simultaneous dubbing and subtitles for Spanish-speakers and the hearing impaired.  Maria Victoria Diaz, a Colombian immigrant and co-ounder of the company makes the case that their services help non-English speakers and the hearing impaired participate more fully in public life in America:

“Whether it is the visually or hearing-impaired, or the immigrant who doesn’t speak English, we’re not going to be able to fully participate in this society unless we understand how things work here,” said Diaz, a Colombia native. “Television, videos and DVDs are a great way of getting those cultural and social nuances.”

Diaz moved to Longwood from Bogota in 2005 with her mother and her then- 8-year-old daughter.

“I have felt the weight of isolation, the absence of friends and family,” she said. “We have to become more integrated to the American experience to overcome these things. But if you don’t understand what is being said on TV, it becomes that much more difficult.”

Diaz got her start with grant money from the Department of Education to provide video description of Plaza Sesamo (the Spanish-language version of Sesame Street) and from that start, more clients signed on for her services.

To read the entire article, click here.

A recnt article in NJ.com compares the services to Spanish-speakers that Latino-focused retailers provide to those provided by big box stores.   Stores such as Best Buy are hiring bilingual sales associates and linking their staff to online help when they need to communicate with limited English speakers.  Stores like La Curacao are taking customer service to another level by truly focusing on the things that make a difference to Latino customers:

For example, La Curacao offers to send staffers to the homes of first-time computer buyers for two hours of in-home training in Spanish if they buy a warranty package.

In stores, signs in Spanish — such as one hawking a remote control that reads “No se complique la vida — Todo en un solo control universal” (Don’t complicate your life — everything is one universal control) — are scattered across the sales floor.

The company also recognizes many of its customers don’t have established credit or hefty checking accounts, so it will work with them on payment terms. La Curacao can’t always keep up with the chain stores on prices, but that kind of flexibility helps the store compete, Fux said.

When buying his TV, Turan opted to pay $99 each month over nine months instead of $77 each month for 12 months. To be approved for the loan, he was required only to produce an ID from the Mexican consulate, not a California driver’s license.

To read the entire article, click here.