We call America the melting pot of the world. That’s never more obvious to me than when I teach food safety to a class that includes several non-English-speaking students, each representing a different national origin.
Once, in a single live class, students represented the nations of the USA, Mexico, Viet Nam, China, Korea, the Philippines, India, Portugal, and one who described himself as a French-only Cajun from Louisiana. It took three extra hours to complete that class, because I had to take time to find common English words that had counterparts in all of those different languages. It was worth the effort, because almost the entire group passed the exam. Whew!
But that’s the extreme case. Normally, my “foreign” students are from Mexico, and speak limited English, if any at all. And there’s the problem, because I only teach in English. So, to protect my precious pass rate, I had to devise a way to get the knowledge across the border, linguistically speaking.
Here’s how I do it. First, I have a large room where I teach live classes. Second, like almost everyone, I use a computer and a projector to present the ServSafe® presentations, both PowerPoint and the training videos. Third, and this is the good part, I set up a DVD player connected to a second projector which shows on a side screen. Then, there’s a small sound system with multiple headphone connections. The DVD player plays the Spanish version of the ServSafe® training videos. My Spanish-speaking students listen through the headphones. Finally, Spanish students are encouraged to bring an interpreter, pre-approved by ServSafe®, to translate, in a whisper, the lessons I speak in English.
The hardest part is starting two videos at exactly the same time, one in the computer and one in the DVD player. But, with just a little practice it becomes almost second nature to synchronize a clicked mouse with a pressed button on a remote control. Why is this important? Because, it’s less distracting when both screens show the same thing.
That’s it. I only teach in English, but Spanish students receive the training almost entirely in their native language.
The disturbance caused by many foreign whispers is minimal. The English students are understanding, patient, even encouraging. The Spanish students and interpreters are cautiously quiet and courteous during the lectures.
The best part is the results. My pass rate for non-English speaking students is above 75%. The national average is well below 50%, so that’s pretty good.
I should add that, just once so far, Spanish students outnumbered English students by 12 to 4. I simply played the Spanish training videos on the main screen for the Spanish students, and swapped the DVD disk to the English version. The four Americans used the headphones and watched the training videos in their native tongue on the side screen. We didn’t miss a beat, and the pass rate for that class was still 92%.
It just goes to show : In any language, give people a chance and they’ll make you proud every time.
Thank you.
Andy Bozeman, CFPM
phone 334-834-1714
internet FoodSafetyTrainingCenter.com
