Pairing Students with Non-English Speaking University Employees SPELLs Success

We have all had the opportunity to use Google Translate at some point in our lives, only to realize that many times it botches the translation we were looking for, or chooses words that would not make sense in the desired language. I'm reminded of a sketch from The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, where Jimmy and Anne Hathaway sang songs which were translated out of English into another language and back to English. The results were hilariously terrible:

Now, I am imagining living a life where I have to rely solely on Google Translate, and the certain confusion that would come with using this tool. Sure, Translate gets the idea mostly across, but is it really an effective way to communicate with those around us?

When a student from the University of Texas (UT) saw a new program at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) called Project SPELL (Students for Progress in Employee Language Learning), Madelin Chavez was inspired to start the same at UT. This program focuses on university students teaching English to the non-English speaking staff of the university. Chavez grew up in a house with parents who themselves had to learn English, and she saw just how difficult and how vital it was for them.

Through this program, students who are fluent in both English and Spanish are partnered with custodians, maintenance staff, and food service employees whose first language is not English. The students then work with these staff members in a one-on-one setting to improve the employee's English skills. By University estimates, about 60% of the nighttime facilities employees do not speak English as their first language and many work second jobs and are unable to take the time needed to work on their English skills, so this is something that students at the University hope to change.

Larrimie Gordon, the employee engagement program coordinator of Facilities Services at UT found great value in the program and noted, "If we could figure out the logistics part of it, it'd be very beneficial because I have a hard time communicating with folks and letting them know the resources available to them. Google Translate can only do so much, especially if you're talking about more technical stuff like paid leave and the Employee Assistance Program."

I can see such a significant benefit from this program in two directions. First, the obvious one of the English language learner becoming more fluent in English and consequently being able to communicate with more of the people around them and to better be able to self-advocate. The second benefit being to the tutor themselves. When we interact with people we wouldn't have otherwise, we have the opportunity to experience new perspectives; working with these university employees could open the eyes of the college students who might not understand the struggles of a person who doesn't understand or speak the prominent language. Moreover, I could definitely see this program working well in school settings between students, where one student who is fluent in both languages works with a student or students who are learning the second language--many times students learn more from other students than from the teachers (I'm only slightly hurt by this).

Project SPELL and others similar can only bring benefits both for the ELL and for the person tutoring, and I hope that more companies and schools can implement a similar program in their setting as well.


Source:
Hernandez, E. (2019, October 9). "Students working to bring English tutoring program for employees to UT". The Daily Texan. Retrieved from http://www.dailytexanonline.com/2019/10/09/students-working-to-bring-english-tutoring-program-for-employees-to-ut