It's well known that the United States has a growing population of foreign born people. When completed, the new U. S. Census of 2010 undoubtedly will show a significant increase over the 2000 Census in the different languages spoken in this country by its population Consequently, the need for the business world to connect and communicate with people of diverse backgrounds will only become stronger. In the future, many companies may find it necessary to have one or more bilingual employees on staff.
A bilingual person speaks two languages fluently. A person who speaks more than two languages is termed multilingual. In view of present and future globalization, educators should increase their efforts to teach more foreign languages in schools at all levels to fill the imminent needs of business, government, and organizations in general.
Paulina Thomas
|
An interview with Paulina Thomas, the bilingual human resource coordinator for Temp Systems Inc. and TSI Industrial Inc. provided an interesting insight into bilingualism in the work place. A native of Quito, Ecuador, South America, Paulina is fluent in Spanish and English and understands and speaks some Italian. She has been the company bilingual support employee for three years. She has an associate degree from Pellissippi State Community College and has begun the process of transferring the credits to East Tennessee State University for a B.S. degree.
"I interview job candidates and try to match them to the job orders we receive from employers. Usually it is not hard to place bilingual candidates but there are many candidates that have the skills and qualifications but only speak Spanish and so I serve as an interpreter and assist them with their job interviews," Paulina explained.
"Most of the Hispanic job seekers do not understand any part of the application and I must translate almost all of it. About 90% of the Hispanic job seekers speak just a few English words," she continued. "I would say that about 5% of the applicants I interview are Hispanics. It seems to me that generally Hispanics in this area are close and there have been occasions when an applicant has applied because I had helped a friend. Some have told me that they really appreciate they can come to our office and be greeted and treated with respect."
Paulina interviews job applicants of all nationalities and races and places qualified personnel with employers on a short term, long term, temporary-to-hire and direct hire basis. She provides clients with personnel in the technical, professional, and customer service fields as well as a wide variety of light industrial needs.
"A couple of weeks ago an applicant was from Guatemala and did not speak Spanish or English, but spoke the Indian language of her native country," Paulina replied to my inquiry of humor in language interpretation. "The applicant left and came back with a friend that spoke her language and some Spanish. It took us a long time to do the application."
"We have found a few illegal immigrants among the applicants and when we do we tell them that we cannot employ them," Paulina responded to my illegal immigrant question. "I encourage these individuals to start the process of becoming legal citizens of the United States."
While in high school in Ecuador, Paulina, along with 400 other students, applied with the American Field Service, the foreign exchange student program. Finally, after a year of intense selection, she was approved as one of 40 students to travel abroad. "I attended Avon Lake High School in Ohio during my senior year," Paulina said. "In the beginning it was very difficult because I did not speak English, and except for the Spanish teacher, nobody spoke Spanish. I attended classes and did my daily routines in silence, but after a couple of months I was able to communicate."
Paulina returned to Ecuador followed by her future husband whom she had dated in Ohio. After 12 years they divorced. She was a permanent, legal U. S. resident for 15 years and then became a U. S. citizen. She can relate with foreign born job seekers who are facing difficult economic situations. "I had to start work at the bottom because I didn't have work experience or a college education and I was not fluent in English. We moved often since my first husband was military and I had many jobs including washing dishes at a pizza place and cleaning houses," Paulina explained.
"I am happily married to Michael Thomas of Oak Ridge whom I met 20 years ago while he was in the military. We have been married for 7 years," Paulina said proudly. Her daughter is a Spanish teacher at a middle school in Waco, Texas. Her son lives in Oklahoma and is a mechanical engineering student in college and an officer in the Army National Guard. Paulina has five grandchildren.
"I enjoy the work I do. It always is challenging and extremely rewarding. I receive many thank you calls and notes and have made lifetime acquaintances in this position," Paulina said of her present position.
|
Hayden Evans
W. Hayden Evans is a journalist, author and free-lance writer, a retired U.S. Army officer and a former banker who lives in Clinton. He currently serves as Director of Public Relations/Communications for Temp Systems, Inc. and TSI Industrial, Inc. In addition to his many other activities (such as Tennessee Mountain Writers - of which he is one of the founding members) Hayden has been an active supporter and member of the Anderson County Chamber of Commerce for decades - and also a member of the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce. |
Hayden Evans
|
|
