On November 19, 2019, the Hawai‘i Language Roadmap, in partnership with the State of Hawai‘i Office of Language Access (OLA), convened the 4th Symposium on Building a Multilingual Workforce for Hawai‘i at the Hawai‘i Imin International Conference Center. The theme for the full-day event was “Languages in the Workplace: Customers, Clients and Co-workers — Respecting Hawai‘i’s multilingual heritage” and the goal was for employers to share stories about the realities of language access, model successful examples of language use in the workplace, discuss current issues in language access as well as future steps, and introduce the Global Seal of Biliteracy. More than 50 Roadmap stakeholders participated in the day’s programming, including facilitated discussions (Elizabeth Kent, Facilitator) on professional development possibilities and the language needs of the state. Outcomes of the full-day symposium included identifying numerous common problem areas, developing a shared vocabulary for talking about a multilingual workforce, crafting pathways for next steps, and energetic and fruitful construction of new partnerships between workforce and educational experts.
The program began with a welcome from Dina Yoshimi (Director, Hawai‘i Language Roadmap).
Ariel Chardon, MSgt USAF, (Ret.)
MSgt. Ariel Chardon, USAF, (Ret.) followed with opening remarks addressing the importance of using language skills on the job and in the community. Ariel spoke about his rapid improvement in English proficiency after joining the military. As a military service member, he subsequently used his newfound bilingual abilities to serve as an interpreter for military air crews and high-ranking officials from other countries. He then worked as an interpreter in medical clinics where he valued helping people in their own language. He is now training as a language teacher at the University of Hawai‘i, while also working with local Spanish speaking immigrant communities. His experience shows the fulfilling options available when one can speak more than one language. The video of his opening remarks may be viewed by clicking here.
Four panelists then shared their work experiences with language access in the workplace and the resources they use. Yoko Tomita, a Transportation Planner with the City and County of Honolulu Department of Transportation (The Bus and Handi Van), briefly talked about available resources, including phone interpretation services, a language assistance services page, brochures, and public outreach materials (i.e. bus stop closures) that are translated into different languages including Tagalog, Ilocano, Japanese, Chuukese, and simplified Chinese. She also discussed the challenges the transit system faces with residents and visitors from many different countries using services each day.
Paul Uyehara, the President of Aloha Tofu Factory, Inc., shared his experience running a small, family owned business that purposely employs non-English speakers. Many people he has hired did well at Aloha Tofu Factory and then moved on to other jobs as their skills progressed. He is pleased that the employees gained ESL skills at the jobsite. The current workforce speaks Japanese, Chinese, Vietnamese, Laotian, Ilokano, and Tagalog.
Jennifer Wong, the Driver Education Officer, in the Hawaii Judiciary’s Driver’s Education Division, shared some of the challenges that people with limited English proficiency face when referred by the courts to mandatory drivers’ education classes for violators. Concepts that are foreign to them are difficult to explain because the actions that are violations in Hawaii may not have been violations in the places they lived (such as mandatory child passenger restraints, for example). Jennifer talked about some of the procedures the division uses to enable understanding.
Anthony Young, is a District Chief with the City and County of Honolulu’s Emergency Medical Services Department (EMS). As a paramedic with EMS, he encountered many situations when people who needed assistance were not able to speak English. In those cases EMS staff who are multilingual are of great assistance. When there is a situation when someone needs help and no staff on duty understand the client’s language, EMS staff will use diagrams and body language to help provide care. Anthony pointed out that translated brochures are not always helpful because not all people can read or write. EMS staff also call coworkers that speak other languages for assistance and utilize interpreters who may be at the hospital facility.
Panel Presentations and Discussion
The video of the panel presentations, followed by a Q&A session, may be viewed by clicking here.
Following the panelists presentations and an extensive Q&A session, the attendees worked in groups to address the problem statement and discuss the current status of the state’s multilingual workforce. Two rounds of facilitated discussion on available resources and resource gaps in different areas of the workforce completed the work of the morning session. Outcomes included an extensive listing of resources, best practices, and effective policies in participants’ workplaces, as well as a frank discussion of the gaps, obstacles, and challenges to developing, promoting and deploying these resources, practices and policies more broadly and effectively.
The afternoon session featured a keynote address by Linda Egnatz (Executive Director, Global Seal of Biliteracy) entitled, “Language Credentials that Serve Your Community.”
Linda Egnatz, Executive Director Global Seal of Biliteracy
The video of Linda Egnatz’s Keynote Address may be viewed by clicking here.
The attendees then discussed what they could do to work towards achieving a multilingual workforce. Next steps included committing to understanding existing linguistic resources in their organizations and engaging upper management and administration for support. The group further identified activities and resources needed to facilitate the baseline gathering of resources and obtaining leadership buy in.
BIOSKETCHES OF PRESENTERS
Opening remarks
MSgt Ariel Chardon, USAF, (Ret.)
MSgt Ariel Chardon, USAF, (Ret.) worked as a linguist and as a telecommunications specialist for the Army and the Air Force. During his 23 years of service Ariel used his language skills in DOD Theater Security Cooperation and volunteered in the community as a medical interpreter. While in Hawai‘i, he has volunteered his language abilities at the Hawai‘i Supreme Court, has participated at the Language Road Map initiative workshops at UHM, and has recently joined the state’s Interpreters for Refugees program. He is a graduate student at the UHM Spanish Department where he teaches Spanish 101 courses as a Graduate Teaching Assistant. Ariel is also an aspiring Hawaiian speaker and he is proud to continue his educator training at the Mānoa campus.
Panelists (in order of their presentations):
Yoko Tomita, Public Transit Division, C&C Honolulu
Public Transit Division, C&C Honolulu
Paul Uyehara, President, Aloha Tofu
Jennifer Wong, Hawai’i State Judiciary
Anthony Young, Honolulu EMS
Keynote speaker
Linda Egnatz, Executive Director, Global Seal of Biliteracy
Linda Egnatz (Executive Director, Global Seal of Biliteracy) is known for her role as national cheerleader for the Seal of Bilteracy which recognizes language learners for their proficiency in two languages. Her support for the movement began in Illinois where she testified on its behalf as a 2013 Golden Apple Teacher of Excellence Award Winner. As the ACTFL 2014 National Language Teacher of the Year, she expanded her advocacy for language learners to support other states working to adopt a State Seal. In 2015, Egnatz served on the ACTFL/NCSSFL/TESOL/NABE collaborative committee that designed the National Guidelines for the Seal of Biliteracy. She left the classroom in 2018 to serve as the Executive Director of the Global Seal of Biliteracy, a program designed to fill in the opportunity gap for those bilinguals of any age who want to celebrate and certify their language skills. She strongly believes in the need for language credentials to match and connect bilinguals with the business, government and community service sectors who need individuals with language skills.
Egnatz is Nationally Board Certified and has taught junior high, high school and college levels of Spanish, including AP Spanish Language & Culture and AP Spanish Literature. She is a Past President of the Illinois Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages and currently serves ICTFL as Advocacy Chair and Webmaster. She is a member of the Joint National Council on Languages (JNCL-NCLIS) Board, the ACTFL Professional Learning Committee and the Pulsera Project Education Committee. A frequent conference speaker and World Language trainer, she embraces opportunities to coach teachers on moving their students toward higher levels of language proficiency. Egnatz has a B.A. in Romance Language Education and holds an M.A. in Spanish Literature from Purdue University.