It’s tough enough to understand Twin Cities snow emergency rules for native speakers. Imagine trying to decode them if you’ve got a loose grip on English. Here’s some help for limited-English speakers in Minneapolis and St. Paul. Both cities offer … Continue reading →
Looking for a cheap and easy way to learn how to say hello and exchange a pleasantry or two with recent immigrants? Check out the language lessons — many of them free — at the Open Culture website. You’ll find … Continue reading →
Here’s a twist on a communication problem that has bedeviled Minnesota’s emergency management departments. How do you let non-English speakers know about imminent hazards if your audience doesn’t speak English, or isn’t familiar with the nature of the hazard itself? … Continue reading →
A thousand words or a picture? Here are a pair of recent videos from the New York Times and Washington Post that offer a street-side view of the migrant caravan now making its way from Honduras, toward the United States. … Continue reading →
One frequently cited observation in the world of cross-cultural care is that patients feel more comfortable dealing with providers who look like them. How to get there? Here’s an example from the Minneapolis StarTribune. The article, Ladder program helps youngsters … Continue reading →
The annual Many Faces of Community Health conference is set for Thursday-Friday, October 25 and 26, at the Hyatt Regency Bloomington, at 3200 E 81st St, in Bloomington, with registration open now. Conference sessions are aimed at improving care and reducing health … Continue reading →
Immigrants’ lives will become that much harder as the Trump administration imposes new rules on those who legally use public benefits such as food stamps, Part D Medicare drug coverage, or Section 8 housing vouchers. They could be denied green … Continue reading →
Here’s a interpreting/translation-related lawsuit that could have a major impact on your organization. The case started in 2015 when Houston resident Song Xie was sent home from the hospital with discharge instructions in English that his caretaker son couldn’t read. Song … Continue reading →
Let’s take a break this week from wondering how to help English language learners, and stop to think why most people in Minnesota only speak English. For some fresh perspective on how weak this is in comparison to the other … Continue reading →
In case you doubted that it’s a hard language to master, here’s a video that demonstrates the quagmire through which English learners must wade. In this short film, Aaron Alon shows what happens when you apply consistent vowel-sound rules to … Continue reading →