Facilities workers learn English

Finding oneself visiting a new place where one might not speak the native language can be bewildering, or even scary. Yet, living and working somewhere one does not speak the native language can be a more difficult obstacle.

This is a reality for some facilities workers at the University of San Diego. With San Diego’s proximity to the Mexican border, the city is a popular choice for immigrants to live and work. However, moving to a new country and learning a new language is a challenging transition for some.

Two USD graduate students studying English as a Second Language (ESL), Carli Danaher and Paz Valdivia, are working to help incorporate facilities workers who don’t speak English into the USD community by offering an ESL class to facilities workers. Danaher and Valdivia volunteer to teach this class while writing their Masters research on it. The classes are free for the workers to take, and Danaher explained what the goal of the class is for the facilities workers.

“I’m really striving for (the facilities workers) to feel like they have a stronger English or American identity,” Danaher said. “I want them to feel more comfortable being on campus and at their job, and even if a student or parent were to ask them for directions, I want them to respond with confidence. Just to improve their daily life.”

The class has three frequent attendees: Malena, Jose Anicasio, and Ponsiano Campos, known as Pancho. All three work in Facilities Management, are Mexican natives, and work the night shift at USD, cleaning the buildings and dorms on campus. Their interviews have been translated from Spanish and Malena wished for her last name to not be known.

Anicasio explained how the facilities workers originally heard about the class.

“We were told that we could take classes to learn English,” Anicasio said. “They said if we were interested, that it’s optional, but if we were interested then we could do it.”

Campos believes that his English has improved immensely over the class, and now tries to practice with his coworker Malena.

“Sometimes Malena and I will start a conversation in English,” Campos said. “We pretend like we are speaking English with our supervisor. Before, I told (my supervisor) that I was scared to speak in English.”

Valdivia explained how she and Danaher originally taught English to Linda Vista community members, rather than facilities workers at USD.

“Carli and I were teaching last year to Bayside Community Center members,” Valdivia said. “They came to the campus to learn English. It was part of an initiative called ‘Open University,’ where people from Bayside could come here and take mainstream classes and also an ESL class. So the idea was to open up our beautiful campus to our neighbors, because they see it as a fortress on top of a hill, and they live in different communities, but it’s not accessible.”

The classes for the Bayside Community Center ended due to funding issues, but Valdivia and Danaher still wanted  to teach English.

“Language is so powerful,” Valdivia said. “And we have so many resources in ourselves and we should find another way to teach.”

Valdivia was partly inspired to bring ESL classes into the USD community because she worked at La Paloma last year. She noticed that many of the workers did not speak English and did not fully understand their rights as workers at the university.

“(Working at La Paloma) was one of the most fun experiences here at USD,” Valdivia said. “I think 90 percent of my coworkers didn’t know English and I had to translate for them in meetings with my boss and it was crazy, because we had to tell confidential things. And they didn’t know a lot of things about their rights or about negotiations, absences, or salary. So I thought they should learn English before working here, or a little bit about how to navigate their own rights.”

Valdivia and Danaher were further inspired when they attended an Ashoka U conference, one of the largest international gatherings for college and university professionals to learn and share leading practices for embedding social innovation in higher education. The conference stressed the importance of changemaking in higher education.

Danaher does not speak Spanish herself, but Valdivia does, as a Chilean native. In fact, Danaher  herself has been learning a new language through the class.

“(The facilities workers have) actually been teaching me Spanish, so it’s kind of a win-win situation,” Danaher said. “They’re really willing to share their culture with me, and it’s like we’re sharing our cultures with each other. The first day I ever taught them, they brought me one of their favorite dishes and shared it with me. Maybe by the end of this class, I’ll be better (at Spanish).”

She explained why it is personally important for her to be reaching out and teaching English to facilities workers who do not speak it.

“I think it’s important because we’re advocating for the workers, giving them empowerment opportunities,” Danaher said. “I think it’s important for me as a student to teach the facilities workers. I’ve been making awesome connection and relationships with them. USD is a changemaking school, so we get inspiration. We want to change the lives of other people, even if it’s through English classes.”

The class meets twice a week on Tuesdays and Thursdays, from 5 – 6:30 p.m. at the facilities buildings on campus behind the tennis courts. Danaher explained that every class session is a bit different, but described what a class might look like.

“A typical class would start with a journal or a warm-up question,” Danaher said. “At first, I started with basic topics: housing, shopping. My intention was to teach topics that required them to be empathetic and show empathy. Lately, we’ve been talking about topics like gun control or culture.”

Danaher explained how her and Valdivia’s class is atypical from a traditional college classroom setting.

“It’s a lot of conversation,” Danaher said. “We’re just sitting around the table, and it’s like I’m not even a teacher — it’s not like tests and grading. It’s their space. It’s whatever they want, and what they’re comfortable with.“

Facilities workers landscape, do housekeeping and building maintenance, handle environmental health and safety, manage transportation, and have countless other tasks every day. However, Danaher believes that if they have a language barrier, it can be difficult for them to truly feel like they are a part of USD’s community.

“They all go to work and they’re Spanish-speaking and it’s fine, but I don’t know how the relationship is between the students and them,” Danaher said. “I just want to make sure that they feel just as important as any student on this campus.”

Valdivia echoed Danaher’s sentiments, stressing the importance of building a community for workers at USD.

“There’s so many layers on learning a new language and feeling a part of a community,” Valdivia said. “I feel like USD, particularly, is a campus where you can see this difference between the community of students and community of workers. In my undergrad (University of Chile), it was all blended. And I think one of the reasons why is this language barrier. It seems like they work here, but we don’t really talk to them. So I thought that was one of the things that was key, all being a part of a community.“

Valdivia saw this lack of community among the workers at La Paloma when she worked there last year.

“When I was working at La Paloma, I felt like they were part of a community, but only the Mexican, Latino, Spanish-speaking community that works here,” Valdivia said. “Not related to students, not related to faculty members. Which is crazy, because they’ve been working here for 20 years, which is a really long time.”

Anicasio explained how taking the class has helped him become more comfortable and confident in his working environment.

“On my part, it feels a little bit more reliable in chatting with the people who don’t speak our language,” Anicasio said. “It makes you feel a little better.”

Malena elaborated on how learning English has made her job easier. Although she works the night shift, she noted that sometimes she is cleaning classrooms late at night and students are still studying in them. After starting to take the ESL classes, she was able to communicate with the students and could ask them to push in their chair and turn off the lights when they left.

Additionally, Valdivia noted another reason why the workers should learn English: to fully understand the rights and benefits they can receive from their job. She recalled a time when a facilities worker’s lack of English skills failed them.

“One of my coworkers fell once because there was oil on the floor, and she didn’t know that it was part of her rights to have the school supporting her because it was part of her work,” Valdivia said. “She thought it was her responsibility. So after months of going to the doctor, she realized she needed a sick leave. And they told her, ‘Well, it’s been six months, so we’re not going to help you.’ But it was because she didn’t know it was her rights and I actually had to translate for her, and that was really frustrating. That’s a key element to be able to express what you need and what you feel is your right.”

Campos was interested in taking the class to improve communication between him and his supervisor.

“Personally, my supervisor doesn’t speak Spanish,” Campos said. “And I’m trying to communicate with him. Because all the time I need someone who can translate for me.”

Additionally, he believes that learning English not only helps him in the workplace, but outside of it as well.

“(Learning English) helps us on the outside,” Campos said. “My original intent for learning was that it would help me understand my supervisor. But through this, I’ve learned that it also serves me outside (of the workplace).”

Malena supported Campos’ views, adding how she has seen him become more comfortable over time.

“He don’t need interpreter now, he feels more comfortable talking,” Malena said. “Really, he needed an interpreter before the classes but now he feels more confident going to a supervisor by himself.”

Valdivia is hopeful that the class will continue in the future, even after she and Danaher graduate.

“We want to talk to some of the first-year students to participate (in teaching the class) in the summer, those who are staying here,” Valdivia said. “And if we can’t find anyone to teach in the summer, I think we will continue it by ourselves, even though we’ve already graduated. I just don’t want it to disappear. But I’m positive that it will continue next semester.”

Anicasio is also hopeful that the classes will continue, and offered suggestions to spread the word.

“We would like them to continue,” Anicasio said. “That they don’t stop, that they continue to give to us and to other new coworkers that would like to take this class. I don’t think many people are well informed that there are classes. It would be good to put up flyers so that employees can see if they’re interested in taking English classes.”

All three facilities workers expressed their gratitude for Danaher and Valdivia’s work and patience.

“We appreciate them,” Malena said. “We appreciate everything, and the patience for us, we’re gonna miss them when they leave. But they gave us more: their time. Their time is very important. Thank you very much.”

“We are very grateful for Paz and Carlita, Carli,” Anicasio said. “For the time they have prepared for us to help us learn and we appreciate it very much.”

“It’s worth a lot,” Campos said. “We put a lot of pressure on them, and they have a lot of patience for us.”

Malena also expressed gratitude to the students of USD, who make their jobs possible.

“We also thank the students because thanks to them, we are here for them, for students,” Malena said. “Because if the students were not there, we would not have a job. So hopefully they also have patience with us. Well, we’re grateful for that.”

Being a facilities worker can be difficult — long, late hours and labor-intensive work are often involved. Not knowing the native language of the country is an added difficulty to the work environment. But Danaher and Valdivia are working to help this issue, and hope it can make a difference in the lives of the facilities workers they teach.