What Happened? In January 1990, Avianca Flight 52 from Bogota, Colombia, to New York City, was running out of fuel on approach to John F. Kennedy International Airport. Due to weather conditions, the aircraft was kept in a holding pattern prior to landing, even though its fuel situation was critical. The flight crew communicated the […]
Continue readingHow To Improve Communication With Multilingual Patients In Healthcare Environments
The number of foreign language speakers in the United States has increased an impressive 90% since 1990. There are 38.4 million Spanish speakers reported in the US. The next most common language is Chinese, with 3 million speakers, followed by 1.6 million Tagalog speakers, 1.4 million Vietnamese speakers and 1.3 million French speakers. These populations […]
Continue readingThe Importance of Assessing Employee Language Skills for Specific Positions
Note: This post has been updated on April 2, 2024 to reflect the changes to the ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines. How well does one need to be able to speak a language to use that language effectively and appropriately in the workplace? What language tasks does that individual need to accomplish successfully? How accurate must one’s […]
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