Linguistic and Cultural Proficiency Is Critical in Mitigating Healthcare Disparities

nurse assisting an elderly patient

In 2009, I went to a business networking luncheon. The Marketing Director of a major hospital campus in my neighborhood told me to scoot over in a booth I was sitting at because she wanted to sit next to me to talk. She had heard that my company specializes in multicultural marketing and maybe, just maybe, I could help her tackle a situation she was faced with. The hospital had recently completed a community assessment and discovered that over 40% of the patients that went to their emergency room were Hispanic. “I have no idea what to do with this information!” she added.

The healthcare industry has been an early adopter of linguistic and cultural proficiency for two reasons. First, there is a federal mandate known as the CLAS standards of care (Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services) that offers a detailed blueprint for healthcare providers to follow. Second, and more importantly, medical professionals that do not have the proper language and culture prowess to address the needs of diverse patients can do more harm than good.

From a business standpoint, the ability of a health organization to provide patient-centered care is measured by their ability to create an environment that is conducive to delivering equal access to quality care. It is well documented by research that patients from multicultural communities suffer from heightened levels of fear and stress when they face a language barrier or when their traditions and cultural preferences are overlooked. While there are many other factors that create healthcare disparities for diverse communities, such as income, health literacy, food deserts in underserved communities that limit access to fresh produce, and lack of transportation, language and culture proficiency are factors that healthcare systems can control.

It is becoming increasingly important for healthcare practitioners to create a roadmap to reach, engage, and provide interventions that are linguistically and culturally sound to diverse communities. This can include:

  1. Assessing the language skills of multilingual medical staff to ensure they are able to effectively convey sensitive information throughout the continuum of care, mitigating the risk of misinformation.
  2. Establishing an Interpreting Services team of certified professionals that can provide support in real-time in the languages that are used in the community that is being served.
  3. Developing a Multicultural Toolkit that will prepare caregiving and administrative staff that interacts with patients and their families with insights on how to navigate cultural preferences and traditions.
  4. Availability of Press Ganey and HCAHPS patient surveys in various languages to have an accurate picture of your patient satisfaction score as the U.S. becomes more diverse with each passing Census.

These are some basic measures that URBANDER recommended to the Marketing Director in crisis and helped implement quickly and swiftly while crafting a more comprehensive plan for them. Our role as a cultural lens to ensure that marketing and business strategies were linguistically and culturally mindful allowed them to increase patient safety, equity, and compliance with regulatory agencies in the healthcare industry.

Are you ready to assess your multilingual employees’ language proficiency? Partner with LTI for all your language assessment needs. Learn more here.

Want to hear more from Sami? Listen to her interview with LTI here.

Creating a Linguistically and Culturally Competent Patient Care Experience

doctor consoling patient

In a recent episode of “Language is Your Superpower” podcast, we embark on a dynamic and diverse conversation with Samí Haiman-Marrero, President/CEO of URBANDER. As a Minority and Women Business Enterprise (MWBE) solution-driven agency, URBANDER assists the corporate, nonprofit, and government sectors with overcoming their Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Multicultural Marketing challenges, with a special focus in the Latino/Hispanic market.

More specifically, as an agency of record for a regional healthcare system, Samí speaks about the importance of providing linguistically and culturally competent care to the increasingly diverse demographic shifts that are happening within U.S. society. “More and more people are realizing how important it is to have a certain level of cultural competency and language proficiency when you are living, working, and playing in communities that are very, very diverse…” Samí highlighted. At the same time, there is still much work to be done.

In an article titled Cultural Competency and Ethnic Diversity in Healthcare, the authors state that the healthcare system continues to be challenged “with cultural competency, and racial, gender and ethnic disparities” particularly with issues outside of the healthcare systems which are “social determinants of health (SDH)” (p. 1). These SDHs are inherent in meeting basic human needs, such as access to healthy foods, quality education and affordable housing, that not only contribute to a person’s physical health but also their mental, emotional, and psychological well-being. Therefore, when a patient is seeking care in a healthcare setting, not only do providers have to consider their medical history, current diagnosis, and treatment, but also how a comprehensive plan of care is maintained once the patient has returned home. As such, healthcare organizations must view each patient holistically. Podcast host Lisa March emphasized the importance of taking “care of the patient more holistically—their family, the environment they are coming home to, their diet, who their caregiver will be—as it takes into account how they live their lives beyond the medical setting.”

Here are three indicators that a healthcare provider is offering a linguistically and culturally competent patient care experience:

Recognizes that seeking healthcare can be a bit scary:  Navigating the healthcare system can be complex, and when you couple that with the fact that people seek out healthcare services because they are not feeling well only serves to complicate matters. Therefore, most people engage with healthcare providers with a heightened sense of anxiety, fear, and uncertainty. That’s why it is important for healthcare organizations and providers, from general health and wellness to specialties like women’s health and cancer care, to create a roadmap to improve their outreach to the community so that when patients come into the hospital, they know they will be cared for in a linguistically and culturally appropriate manner.

Assesses cultural competency at all levels in healthcare: “At the healthcare level, there is underrepresentation of cultural, gender, and ethnic diversity during training and in leadership.” therefore, learning to understand and effectively communicate, interact, and collaborate with individuals from different cultures is especially important in healthcare. This can also be enhanced by hiring and assessing the language proficiency of multilingual healthcare providers from the very community that is being served as it has shown to minimize disparities and maximize healthcare outcomes. “From the administrative to the clinical team, it is important to provide a culturally aware team and continuous help [to] provide the best quality care that takes into consideration not only cultural norms, religious belief, socioeconomic status but also in the patient’s native language,” the podcast offers.

Speaks the patient’s language with proficiency: Imagine you are seeking healthcare at a provider that does not speak your native or preferred language. How do you communicate what is wrong? How confident would you be about whether they understand your healthcare needs and can effectively address them in a way that is unique to you? A little nerve-racking to think about it, right? Linguistic proficiency begins with speaking, reading, comprehending, and effectively communicating in two (bilingual) or more (multilingual) languages. Whether in Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, American Sign Language, or another native form of communicating, healthcare providers must either learn another language or use an interpreter service to ensure that patient care needs are met and to also ensure that appropriate medical terminology is used. As a patient, it is your right to have your medical needs explained in the language of your choice.

As a patient, or family member of a bilingual or multilingual patient, you are an active participant in the care needed. You are essential to creating a quality patient experience which requires that healthcare providers communicate in the patient’s native language(s) and in a culturally competent manner. Remember, this does not only pertain to when you are in the healthcare setting, but also extends to a more holistic form of care that considers the social determinants of health that affect you and your family members once discharged. It also ensures that when the patient goes home, they are supported by a healthcare team with the cultural tools and linguistic knowledge necessary to guide in the healing process.

If you are a healthcare professional, the next step in your cultural and linguistic journey starts today. Test your language proficiency with LTI. Learn more here.

Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6571328/

Cultural Competence and Linguistic Proficiency Where You Work, Live, and Play

group of professionals sitting together As the owner of a Strategic Marketing and Business Development firm that specializes in multicultural markets, I am constantly looking for ways to better serve our clients. Corporate, government, and nonprofit sectors often struggle with understanding where to start with their multicultural efforts and still be cost-efficient and effective. Thankfully, my experience working for Spanish-language magazines prior to becoming an entrepreneur has allowed me the opportunity to guide and inform URBANDER clients about how to best harness the impact of diverse consumers on their businesses. Now more than ever, it has become imperative for brands to be adept at speaking to customers in their language of preference and recognizing the value they place on cultural intelligence as part of the engagement process.

For the past 30 years, I have experienced and studied U.S. Census data to tell the story of the importance of cultural competence and linguistic proficiency in business. It’s surreal to look back and remember when Hispanics were approximately 12% of the population, and we were forecasting that this market segment would grow to be 20% (1 in 5 Americans) by now. And here we are. Hispanics and Latinos, (which includes people of any race) reached 62.1 million in 2020—growing 23% in 10 years. And for the first time in history, the White non-Hispanic population decreased to under 60% of the total U.S. population. In addition, the 2020 Census reported that the multiracial population of the U.S. changed exponentially since 2010—from 9 million people then to 33.8 million now, reflecting a 276% increase.

So, it begs to ask: Where do I start? How do I responsibly incorporate a multicultural and multilingual approach to how I work, live, and play in my marketplace?

The following are three steps to begin the journey of aligning your business with the demographic shift that we are experiencing:

Do your research. When you know the demographic profile of your customers and their preferred languages, you can be intentional and strategic as you grow or expand your business. If you do not conduct the necessary research to figure out their exact concerns, perceptions, needs, preferences, and expectations, you will be off the mark with every strategy you try to implement.

Assess and benchmark your workforce. Representation matters, and customers are becoming more vigilant of the demographic profile of your employees, their language abilities, and degree of cultural knowledge. Consumers are attracted, and respond more favorably, to brands that properly represent their cultural identity. Investing in developing a team that can address diverse audiences authentically is paramount.

Take action and calibrate as you go. As business leaders we oftentimes suffer from “paralysis by analysis” which affects our bottom line because the longer we delay, the longer it takes for us to reach the next level of success. You can start by figuring out your company’s most evident voids (i.e., certifying language proficiency of multilingual staff, securing proper multicultural marketing support, hiring diverse talent, cultural competency training, translation services, etc.).

Understanding the culture, values, traditions, norms, lifestyle, history, beliefs, media consumption habits, gender identities, and language preferences of your customers will allow your business to reach its fullest potential by establishing a bond with our increasingly diverse U.S. population. Plus, you will foster an organizational culture that encourages the exploration of new ideas and perspectives, impacting people’s lives and how they interact with each other in society.

Are you ready to take the first step? Why not certify your multilingual employees’ language proficiency? LTI makes it easy. Learn more here.

Want to hear more from Sami? Listen to her interview with LTI here.

Navigating a New Life and Job with English as a New Language

two engineers at a construction site

Imagine you have arrived in a new country where the dominant language is one you have limited proficiency in or do not command. And this is not a vacation. Either out of desire or necessity, you are now living in a new country navigating a new life and new language. To survive, gain some stability, and hopefully thrive, you have to find meaningful employment. Fortunately, if you have decided to plant your roots in Brevard County, Florida, a resource for learning English as a new language is Brevard Adult and Community Education. According to the U.S. Department of Education’s Division of Adult Education and Literacy, Florida is the third state with the highest immigrant population serving over 171,116 English language programs participants under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), which is a “Federal program that provides foundation skills below the postsecondary level and English literacy instruction for out-of-school youth and adults.”

In a recent episode of “Language is Your Superpower” podcast, guest Casie Arellano shares how she supports adult English language learners with the attainment of language proficiency for a diverse workforce. With a career of over 13 years in education and 5 years working with the Adult Education program, she explains how Brevard Adult and Community Education is building outreach centers to help adult learners develop a pathway to achieving their dreams using language as a stepping-stone. Their ESOL program is one of their most successful programs in the state, assisting students who are integrating into a new life and the culture of the United States. Courses cover improving language skills, learning about U.S. culture, and preparing to become a U.S. citizen, to name a few.

Many of the ESOL learners Casie and her team serve arrive with educational achievements from their countries of origin, and they are looking for ways to start their lives in Florida but may not be proficient in English and need assistance with job placement. That’s where Casie’s team comes in to focus on helping them improve their proficiency in English so they can navigate conversations as they go about their daily lives, such as going to the grocery store, taking their children to school, making doctors’ appointments, etc. For job placement, specifically, they partner with collaborators like CareerSource Brevard, to focus on workplace conversation and occupational terminology. For example, if ESOL learners want a job in accounting or tax preparation, there is a program that helps them learn the terminology associated with having a career as a tax preparer. Due to the challenges of securing adequate childcare and transportation, Casie’s team of over 27 instructors support their clientele by also offering these classes virtually.

All of the variables that a native English language speaker or someone that is raised in the U.S. might take for granted, Brevard Adult and Community Education provides as support to those in need. Aimed at identifying resources and eliminating barriers “that lead to educational goals and workforce opportunity,” the program’s mission is to “provide an open door to a quality education to all adult learners and those in the community that seek skills to enhance their life.” Just like Brevard Adult and Community Education, Language Testing International believes that “education is the key to success” and that language education can open pathways to navigating life and work in more than one language.

The next step in your language journey starts today. Test your language proficiency with LTI.

Tune into the podcast with Casie here.

Access to Employment with English as a New Language

customer service representative at a desk

At Language Testing International (LTI), we’ve seen countless examples of how learning a new language can unleash a world of new possibilities and opportunities, for individuals and for businesses.

Focusing on business opportunities, people are often unaware that learning a new language can lead to career advancement within certain job roles, or it can lead to completely new company offerings, or career path options for employees. When individuals migrate to the U.S. from a different country or territory that predominantly speaks a language other than English, learning and being able to communicate well enough to obtain sufficient employment to sustain themselves and their family becomes the imperative. Especially for professionals arriving to the U.S. escaping crisis situations, learning English and finding work is not necessarily about accessing career advancement opportunities, but it’s oftentimes mostly a matter of basic survival.

On a recent episode of LTI’s “Language Is Your Superpower” podcast, special guest Casie Arellano explained how the work she does with her community’s English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) population helps adult learners become proficient in the English language and also apply their ESOL education as a direct pathway to obtaining employment.

Casie Arellano has been in education since 2009 and began working with Adult Education programs in August 2017. She currently oversees all ESOL programs with Brevard Adult and Community Education in Brevard County, Florida, where she has been working on building outreach centers to help adult learners develop pathways to achieving their dreams using language as a stepping-stone. Their ESOL program is one of the most successful programs they conduct, assisting students who are integrating into life and the culture of the United States. Courses cover improving language skills, learning about U.S. culture, and preparing to become a U.S. citizen.

Casie explained that, within her community, “a lot of the [ESOL] population that comes to us, they already have education from their countries, and they are looking to start their lives here in Florida. We help them to get into the workforce.” Casie explained that one of the ways they can accomplish this is through a partnership with CareerSource Brevard. “We teach [the students] English and then we offer the classes at their centers, and they work with a career counselor and the career counselor will help put them into jobs.”

Casie told us that they have various centers that assist with different aspects of ESOL learning. She said, for example, “if they come to our direct center, we’re teaching them more about the language and how to use the language in their everyday lives, such as going to the grocery store, such as making doctor’s appointments and things like that.” However, for those seeking to obtain employment, “when we teach the class at CareerSource Brevard, we’re more focused on the language that they’re going to use in the workforce.” This workforce-focused pathway not only teaches students how to communicate with more professional vernacular, but it also provides additional online resources that help students learn industry-specific terminology.

Casie shared that one of the tools available to the students is “an online program that is phenomenal in helping them with the language.” She went on to provide the example that “if they’re interested in … [preparing] taxes, there’s a program [within] this program to teach them all of the language they are going to need and that they’re going to use if they choose to have a career as a tax preparer.” Additionally, they focus on seeking job opportunities where being bilingual is an asset, such as positions as a flight attendant or as a customer service representative in a call center.

The experiences and stories Casie shared with us illustrate how powerful language learning programs can have in a diverse region. They emphasize that when these language learning programs are supported with job readiness training and services that help immigrant populations integrate effectively in the workforce, this results in increased economic growth for individuals and businesses alike.

Learn more by tuning into our podcast with Casie Arellano.

Finding Success with Language Proficiency in a New Country

businessman on a computer

In a recent episode of the “Language is Your Superpower” podcast guest Casie Arellano and host Lisa March have a conversation about supporting the attainment of language proficiency for a diverse workforce, particularly in the case of adult English learners. As a leader and educator in Adult Education, Casie shares the success story of Han and his family, immigrants from Russia to the U.S., and how their participation in English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) programs with Brevard Adult and Community Education prepared them for success in their new life in the United States.

Han and his family came to the U.S. from Russia and decided to make Brevard County, Florida home. In Russia, he and his wife were engineers with formal education and skills in this field. While they were experienced professionals, the language barriers they faced in the U.S. made it challenging for them to attain employment as engineers in Florida. As a result, Han was juggling various jobs such as delivering pizzas, and his wife was working at Macy’s to keep their family afloat.

Han and his wife enrolled in the Brevard Adult and Community Education program at CareerSource Brevard to learn English, with hopes of acquiring the necessary language skills to propel their careers and better provide for their family. Research findings highlighted in a World of Labor article entitled, “What drives the language proficiency of immigrants?” unveiled that higher wages and better job opportunities, along with the length of time spent in a new country, are incentives for acquiring a new language. While taking English classes, Han became aware of a grant for technology training that CareerSource had to offer. If he had not been participating in the Brevard Adult and Community Education ESOL classes, he may not have become aware of this additional offering. After an assessment confirmed that Han could understand and speak English at a 6th grade level, he was accepted into the CareerSource technology training program and began his journey toward establishing a career in his new country by growing his language proficiency in his field.

This is just one of many success stories about the impact that the Brevard Adult and Community Education program has had in the life of ESOL learners that have decided to make the U.S. their home. If you are bilingual and want to test your language proficiency to propel your career, get certified with LTI today! Start here.

Meet a Language Superhero: Ashley Counahan

language superhero Ashley CounahanA graduate of the University of Tampa with dual BA degrees in Advertising/Public Relations and in Spanish, Ashley Counahan is a passionate advocate for language education, intercultural communication, and cultural awareness. As a bilingual English and Speaking speaker, Ashley is pursuing a career in education, and she shared her inspiring story for this month’s “Language Proficiency Is Your Superpower” feature. In Ashley’s words, “Being bilingual has enriched my life in so many ways and has opened my eyes to new cultural perspectives! I look forward to building out my career, teaching others the irreplaceable value of the Spanish language and culture.”

Read Ashley’s story here: Language-Superpower-Magazine-Ashley_Counahan

Providing English to Speakers of Other Languages Goes Beyond Language

woman deep in thought on a laptop Most people would agree that learning a new language is an invaluable skillset. At Language Testing International (LTI), we know that learning a new language may be done at a leisurely pace for personal pleasure or career advancement, however, there are many individuals who must learn a new language to survive when they migrate to the U.S. In those instances, learning a new language is not a luxury but rather a necessity, and the challenge of learning a new language is usually not the only obstacle English language learners are facing or struggling to overcome.

On a recent episode of LTI’s “Language Is Your Superpower” podcast, special guest Casie Arellano discussed the importance of understanding the needs of and providing the resources to meet the needs of the ESOL student population in her community.

Casie Arellano has been working in education since 2009 and began working with Adult Education programs in August 2017. She currently oversees all English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) programs at Brevard Adult and Community Education in Brevard County, Florida, where for the past several years she has been working on building outreach centers to help adult learners develop a pathway to achieving their dreams using language as a stepping-stone. Their ESOL program is one of the most successful programs they implement, assisting students who are integrating into life and the culture of the United States. Courses cover improving language skills, learning about U.S. culture, and preparing to become a U.S. citizen.

In describing the constituents of her Florida community, Casie explained that “a lot of the [ESOL] population that comes to us, they already have education from their countries, and they are looking to start their lives here in Florida. We help them to get into the workforce.” Casie explained that one of the ways they are able to accomplish this is through a “partnership with CareerSource Brevard, who helps these students of ours get into the workforce. So, we’ll teach [the students] English and then we offer the classes at their centers, and they work with a career counselor and the career counselor will help put them into jobs.”

Casie also mentioned that they realized the benefits of online learning through the COVID-19 pandemic. “We have an online program that is phenomenal in helping them with the language,” she said. The program offers career-specific terminology, so students are learning the English language in a way that is prioritized for their intended job placement. Casie went on to explain that another “great thing about all of the e-learning is that a lot of our English as a Second Language population, they have a lot of different barriers, such as childcare or they don’t have a ride to classes, so it’s great that we can do online classes that help them in helping themselves.”

Casie’s work to intentionally integrate language learning with job placement resources is exactly what helps the new arrivals in their community experience hope. She explained how the partnership with CareerSource Brevard “would bring in career counselors and these career counselors would help our students write resumes. And then we also have a career coach here and she would work with the students once a week and they’d go and use something called Employ Florida” to look at job postings and submit resumes to open jobs. Among many other supporting services for ESOL students who are undocumented or on visas, the program also helps with visas and U.S. naturalization applications.

In addition, many of the student tuition and teacher salaries are covered through the partnership with CareerSource Brevard as well as other grant opportunities. By providing these supporting services and interventions as part of their journey to learn English, many immigrants are able to assimilate to U.S. culture and contribute to their communities and to the economy much faster than they would have if their language learning was conducted without these supporting resources.

To learn more about the program at Brevard, tune into our podcast.

Meeting People Where They Are while Coaching for Language Competency

three women having a discussion in an office

In a recent episode of the “Language is Your Superpower” podcast, guest Casie Arellano shares insights about supporting the attainment of language proficiency for a diverse workforce and provides tips for coaching adults learning English. When teaching a new language and particularly when coaching ESOL learners to enhance their language competencies within diverse workplaces, you might want to apply these three tips that will help not only the individual but their families and communities:

1. Speak the target language as much as possible

In this case, the target language is the language that is being learned, not necessarily the dominant language within the workforce or workplace. Therefore, if Spanish is the native language, then English is the target language that is being learned. Podcast host Lisa March shares, “LTI does quite a bit of education in K-12 and one of the things we always tell teachers is always speak in the target language. Even if it is American students learning Spanish, that you only speak in Spanish, and it should be 95% of the time.” This not only applies to K-12 but also to adult learners that are seeking to command a second language for employment purposes.

At Brevard Adult and Community Education, Casie Arellano shared that most of their teachers with Masters in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (MA TESOL) bring complementary language skills, but primarily command English. They found that when adult learners are forced to speak English, they are challenged to “muscle through” the language barriers and seek ways to acquire the vocabulary and comprehension to ensure that they are understood. So, the saying, “Practice! Practice! Practice!” truly applies when acquiring new language skills in a target language.

2. Train for language competency in high-demand jobs

Language used in conversation differs from vocabulary used in occupational settings. Therefore, it’s not only important to acquire the language skills to communicate in a second or third language, but it is also critical to learn the terminology needed to navigate a particular industry or professional role. There is a demand by employers for qualified talent to recruit and the programs at Brevard Adult and Community Education work to meet that need.

As reported in “Making Language Our Business: Addressing Foreign language Demand Among Employers”,  85% of U.S. employers stated that they not only sought after but relied on Spanish-speaking employees, and 42% were experiencing a shortage of people who commanded Spanish. Therefore, training for language competency in high demand jobs is an effective strategy to address the talent needs of employers. In the podcast, Casie shared that “having two languages in our area [Brevard County, Florida] is a plus. We focus on careers that have a high interaction with bilingual populations, such as call centers.” Therefore, coaching ESOL learners to navigate these employment opportunities with the help of career counselors is an effective workforce development strategy. Learners are supported through an online platform called Employ Florida, where they search for job postings, submit resumes, and have access to interviews for these jobs. One-on-one support is provided by career counselors and coaches to help as many adult language learners as possible secure employment in high demand jobs while completing the ESOL program.

3. Be creative in engaging ESOL learners

Go where the ESOL learner can be found. After Hurricane María there was an influx of Spanish speaking students from Puerto Rico that enrolled in Florida schools. To address the sudden need for language support, Brevard Adult and Community Education established a program in the schools for the parents to learn Spanish while their children were in class. By meeting parents in spaces where they would inevitably go in their daily lives, the program offered a convenient way for them to access English classes. It also gave Spanish-speaking parents an opportunity to learn about career options in Florida and learn about potential employers as well as helped bridge the communication gap between parents and school administration.  Brevard Adult and Community Education’s creative approach in engaging with adult ESOL learners, had a meaningful impact to not only students of all ages, but their families and the community.

Coaching for language competency involves understanding the needs of the ESOL learner considering their context and culture, where they are currently and where they want to go as far as life goals. Taking time to explore and assess their language everyday needs offers an opportunity to develop effective engagement strategies, create space where they can acquire training for high-demand jobs, and ultimately, become proficient in the target language.

Tune into the podcast with Casie Arellano here.

 

Sources:

https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1135835.pdf

Removing the Training Wheels from Language Learning

woman teaching a class

The decision to learn a second language is no easy undertaking. It is in our human nature to want to rely on what is most comfortable to us as we embark on a task that seems daunting. However, studies show that humans learn new skills much faster when we remove all the comforts of the familiar.

While it may sound counterintuitive to have a teacher who is not able to communicate with a student in both their native and target languages, when it comes to language learning, it is recommended that 95%+ of the process of learning a new language be conducted in the target language. In other words, if you’re a student and you are having difficulty finding the correct words to communicate in the target language, you’re likely to rely on your native language to ask questions or circumvent those words altogether. In contrast, if the teacher doesn’t understand the learner’s first language, the learner will be unable to circumvent words in the target language and have no other choice but to find a way to communicate. As it turns out, this potentially uncomfortable and frustrating method of learning affords students a more effective way to gain knowledge and begin mastering a new language faster.

On a recent episode of LTI’s “Language Is Your Superpower” podcast, special guest Casie Arellano, explained how this method of language learning serves the English language learners she works with every day at Brevard Adult and Community Education in Brevard County, FL. Casie has been working in education since 2009 and began working with Adult Education programs in August 2017. She currently oversees all English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) programs with Brevard Adult and Community Education in Brevard County, Florida, where for the past few years she has been working on building outreach centers to help adult learners develop pathways to achieving their dreams using language as a stepping-stone. Their ESOL program is one of the most successful programs they run, assisting adult students who are integrating into life and culture of the United States. Courses cover improving language skills, learning about U.S. culture, and preparing to become a U.S. citizen.

Casie explained that the teachers she works with “found that it holds students back a little bit knowing that their teacher can communicate to them in their own language. So, forcing them to speak English and not letting them lean on that crutch, […] will push the students further.” She mentions that she has “a handful of teachers who speak Spanish. But, for the most part, they are all English speakers.”

Going beyond the classroom, Casie elaborates on how the workplace can provide this same kind of intensive education out of the necessity to meet the responsibilities and demands of a job. “Our classes that we offer at Career Source [Brevard], [students] work one-on-one with a career counselor and their career counselor helps them gain employment. And a lot of the times, we lose students even before they finish our program because they got a job. But the great thing is, a lot of the jobs are in sales, so they must use the English language in sales, which forces them to learn it a little bit faster. [They may] not use it necessarily correctly, but then they can come back to us in our evening classes, or our morning classes and they can fine-tune all of those English skills.”

Removing the training wheels from language learning can sound intimidating to students. However, just like learning how to ride a bicycle, it’s necessary to command the skill quickly. The decision to take the training wheels off will provide language students the opportunity to be courageous as they figure out how to correctly “balance” themselves while learning how to “ride” their target language without falling.

Making the brave decision to take off the training wheels from the language journey of adult ESOL students – even if it means them wobbling or falling a few times before getting the hang of it – is the day they will accelerate their mastery of a second language!

Tune into the podcast with Casie Arellano.