Building Bridges Through the Power of Cultural and Linguistic Engagement

teamwork

In a recent episode of “Language is Your Superpower” podcast, guest Samí Haiman-Marrero and host Lisa March had a conversation about specializing in the Hispanic market and exploring multicultural marketing strategies. As President and CEO of URBANDER, Samí, along with her team, delivers culturally relevant and inclusive business strategies and programs that positively impact people of diverse backgrounds and language proficiencies. In 2020, they earned the Orlando Business Journal’s Diversity in Business “Helping Hand” Award for their caused-based work and its impact on underrepresented and underserved communities.

While the conversation was deeply rooted in growing a business with language and cultural proficiency, they pointed out that organizations which are culturally aware and exposed to diverse communities are better able to engage with their stakeholders more authentically. With regard to consumers, they shared three indicators to consider when determining whether your favorite companies are building bridges through the power of language and culture:

They know the demographic profile of the people where they live, work, and play

As the number of consumers of products, services, and multicultural experiences continues to grow, it is important to know that they have power in numbers and buying power. For example, according to the Center for American Progress, in 2018 the Latino segment of the U.S. consumer market reached over $1.6 trillion in buying power, Hispanics accounted for 50% of the net overall growth of new homeowners (2010 – 2020) and “about 50% of all racial and ethnic students want to start their business” (p. 2). With the upcoming U.S. majority-minority demographic shift, it is important to know the demographic profile of where you live, work, and play. Resources such as USA.com provide current data about the demographic make-up of states, counties, cities, etc.

You may be asking, “Why is this important?” As the demographics shift, keep an eye out for companies that are making a concerted effort to understand, engage with, and support communities that are diverse, underrepresented, and underserved. It is their social responsibility to support the very communities they are in and the diverse consumers that support their businesses.

They speak to the community in their preferred language

Are companies speaking to you in your preferred language? Granted, we all understand that English is the primary language used in the U.S. However, according to the World Economic Forum, in addition to English, the most common languages spoken in the world are Spanish, Cantonese, Mandarin, Vietnamese, Arabic, and French. For native speakers or individuals that are more comfortable speaking, reading, writing, or just communicating in these other languages, how well are companies engaging with them as consumers? Tell-tale signs of a company that is trying to reach out to diverse communities may entail language translation options on their website, signage or print material in dual languages, bilingual/multilingual team members within their organization, and more.

They look for multicultural talent

A company’s leadership and team should be reflective of the very communities they do business in and serve. Unfortunately, language diversity is often an area that is overlooked or not even considered. Are companies seeking to recruit multicultural and multilingual talent to join their leadership and teams? Having qualified people within organizations that not only look like, sound like, and culturally understand consumer needs, norms, and desires will go a long way. Multicultural team members can leverage their language proficiency by mapping it back to their roles, responsibilities, and the tasks that they hope to accomplish within the workplace.

Building bridges through the power of culture and language involves knowing the demographic make-up of your community, speaking the languages they prefer, and securing multicultural talent within the community and beyond. It is then that organizations can become more culturally aware and linguistically proficient as they engage with their consumers and stakeholders more effectively and authentically.

LTI offers language proficiency testing that can help boost your career as the demands of an increasingly diverse marketplace will surely require your linguistic skills. It will also better equip you to assess the intentions of companies with regards to diversity, equity, and inclusion and provide you with a tool to better serve your community.

To test your language proficiency, check out LTI today! Learn more here.

Source: https://www.cnbc.com/2020/06/11/companies-are-making-bold-promises-about-greater-diversity-theres-a-long-way-to-go.html

Meet a Language Superhero: Julie Rosa

front cover of March superpower magazineThere is a general sense that being bilingual gives people a competitive edge in many careers. Knowing another language can open up a wider client base, or exponentially expand the network in which a person
can engage. This is true whether the individual is a teacher, lawyer, or business owner.

Julie Rosa, a multilingual professional, took advantage of her multilingualism to become a dual-language teacher. In this month’s “Language Proficiency Is a Superpower” magazine, we share Julie’s story of learning multiple languages, traveling the world, and finding one’s passion. Julie shared her experience of taking two ACTFL Proficiency Assessments (OPI and WPT) with us and how she prepared for the tests. She had a great story to tell, and we hope you enjoy it.

Read: Language-Superpower-Magazine-Julie-Rosa

Navigating Multicultural Spaces in Business and through Entrepreneurship

businessman talking on a video call

In a recent episode of “Language is Your Superpower” podcast, guest Samí Haiman-Marerro shared her experiences navigating multicultural spaces in business and through entrepreneurship. As one of the nation’s leading business development and marketing experts today specializing in the U.S. Hispanic market, she breaks down two ways that bilingual speakers can leverage their language proficiency in diverse spaces.

Being Bilingual in Business

As a Minority and Women Business Enterprise (MWBE) solutions-driven agency that assists the corporate, nonprofit, and government sectors to overcome their Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Marketing challenges, having a team that commands both English and Spanish has become her firm’s value proposition and business differentiator. Essentially, being bilingual in business has its benefits. Here is an example of how not only being linguistically proficient but culturally competent can help you navigate multicultural spaces…

In 2020, a potential client out of New York that sells puppies reached out to URBANDER as they were pivoting from brick and mortar to e-commerce due to the pandemic. With the shutdown and social distancing requirements, they no longer were able to have customers come to the pet store to see, play with, and get to know the puppies before taking them home. URBANDER was retained to help redefine their communication strategy and online engagement with potential and current clients. In an initial meeting, Samí asked the client, “Did you know that Hispanics over-index in pet ownership?” This was a surprising cultural insight that the client was unaware of, missing out on a potentially large segment of the population that they were not speaking to directly. Samí’s team suggested a bilingual campaign stating that “Latinos in the U.S. are English speakers AND Spanish speakers. And they are also Spanglish speakers and everything in between. So, it would behoove you to reach a broader segment of the U.S. population by having an English/Spanish campaign at the very least.” This resulted in a dual language, 4-part video series. They recruited a bilingual student from the University of Central Florida to share tips about bringing your puppy home and responsible pet ownership. The response from the Hispanic community was overwhelmingly positive.

Being bilingual in business is not only a benefit to companies that are seeking to engage with the Hispanic or Latino community. For people who are bilingual or multilingual, it connotes a sense of “I see you. I hear you. I value you.” This then offers the opportunity for those that command multiple languages to leverage this skill to navigate and excel in diverse, multicultural spaces.

Leveraging Language in Entrepreneurship

Many people suffered job loss due to COVID. As a result, people explored having, or have opted to start, their own businesses. Concurrently, URBANDER started working on a major project with three organizations in Atlanta (PRENEURology Global, Georgia Tech, and Morehouse College) to support minority business enterprises in increasing access to resources that will help them start and grow their businesses. Focused on breaking down the silos within the Black and Brown community, the project’s goal was to create more connectivity between them and equitable pathways to scaling, attaining success, and establishing generational wealth.

A perfect example of how to leverage language in entrepreneurship was on full display in a recent Connection Session where participating minority business owners came together to network, learn about best business practices, and become part of this entrepreneurial hub.

While many of the participants commanded English, Paula was the only Spanish speaker on the virtual call. So, when it was time for small breakout groups, the meeting coordinator placed her in a group with Samí as she commands both English and Spanish. The participants were asked, “What is your pain point to grow your business right now?” This offered an opportunity for sharing but also to fill a language gap due to Samí’s bilingual capabilities. What resulted was a safe and inclusive space for sharing between English and Spanish speaking business owners to exchange ideas and learn from each other. What the participants realized was that, like them, Paula had the same wants, needs, and doubts about being an entrepreneur and the only difference was that she was more comfortable communicating in Spanish. Very similar experiences, capabilities, and desires were simply expressed in different languages.

As someone that is bilingual or multilingual and considering the entrepreneurial route, your language proficiency is an advantage that will help you navigate different cultures and different communities.

Whether you are bilingual in business or seeking ways to leverage language in entrepreneurship, you can easily and securely test your language proficiency with LTI. Learn more here.

Reasons for the AAPPL Beyond the Seal of Biliteracy

My introduction to the AAPPL test came with the inception of the Seal of Biliteracy in the State of Iowa. Like many world language educators in Iowa at that time, my department began investigating the different ways that we could help our students prove their qualifications and obtain the Seal. Earning the Seal of Biliteracy is a tremendous opportunity that should be and has been blogged about in detail. However, I’ve heard enough “it’s just a sticker” responses that I came to reframe my view of the AAPPL. There are two angles I use when encouraging students, parents, and district leaders to implement the AAPPL test.

Program Validity and Viability

My husband is a math teacher, and he reminds me of the importance of state testing each year: state and district administrators want to measure the math department’s effectiveness, determine how well core standards are being met, and see data-informed evidence that students are meeting adequate yearly progress at each grade level. While he feels the heat from that situation, I’m over in “elective-land” with no community eyes requesting data demonstrating my courses’ validity through standardized tests. But the AAPPL can offer similar insights. Because it’s developed by ACTFL and scored by ACTFL-trained raters, it’s an objective, standardized assessment that can deliver results measuring the learning in our programming, independent of teacher judgement.

If my students complete four years of instruction and consistently all rate at a Novice level, that might be something my district should be interested in. Looking at AAPPL results can give you great ideas, and sometimes it’s a little scary! Instead of looking at ACTFL results as a reflection of your own teaching, I think it’s more helpful to look at the larger picture and examine the entire program’s viability. Are we scaffolding learning opportunities? Are there significant gaps in our unit design? Are there areas of stagnation? Is there growth within each level of programming, and how do we know?

My district is a small one, and the AAPPL test is only offered to those who want to take it. I’m grateful for the data I receive every year as it allows me to get a glimpse of language learning at the end of our language program. But the best practice for using the AAPPL is to administer the test to learners in all levels of a language program and to do it annually or twice a year.

My math teacher husband can track a student’s math scores over several years and see empirical proof of growth and learning. The AAPPL score reports mean that I can see a student’s AAPPL scores from their 1st year of learning and watch it develop over time. I believe students and parents benefit from data like this too. Today’s generation of students need to know that they are doing things that matter and that have value. Imagine how empowering it would be for them to see a snapshot of their learning at the end of the year to compare with previous years.

Value in Trusted Feedback

There is value in being able to prove what you know and how well you know it. I understand that standardized tests can be flawed for a variety of reasons, but the same can be said for individual teachers. My students have had only two language teachers during their high school years (I am one of them). And unless they are mature and self-aware, they are basing their sense of achievement off feedback and opportunities those two individuals have given them. And I can be quite flawed. Many lessons and unit design ideas have not panned out the way that I would have liked. My interpretation of the ACTFL standards might be slightly different from the teachers in a town across the highway. I often tell my students that my declarations that they are biliterate, an A student, or an Intermediate High writer are somewhat empty. I remind them that’s just what Emily Huff thinks. Imagine using a solidly designed, nationally recognized measurement of language ability that could substantiate such declarations. That has value. Students have done so much work over the years learning and acquiring language skills. The AAPPL is an opportunity for them to finally demonstrate and receive affirmation for how well they have done – beyond a grade I give them or a sticker they receive.

In a nutshell, that is the greatest reason to use the AAPPL test in your classroom: you receive objective and valid evidence of the language skills students are developing. The results can validate your presumptions, and you can celebrate your students. It’s also possible that reality could leave you disappointed. I’d like to think that understanding the truth of any situation is a valuable reward that will help you grow – much more valuable than a sticker.