Here’s an opportunity via Planned Parenthood for African immigrant adults to: get training on topics including sexuality, reproductive anatomy, healthy relationships, female genital cutting, contraception, child spacing, STIs and HIV/AIDS, parents as sexuality educators, and lay health adviser skills. collaborate … Continue reading →
How many miles of new wall has the Trump administration constructed along the 1954-mile border between Mexico and the United States over the past two years? Check out this graphic analysis by the New York Times for an answer. Though … Continue reading →
How many patients are capable of fully understanding the care instructions they’re given? The answer: barely one in ten. A 2006 national survey found that 12 percent of patients fit the “proficient” health literacy category. Things get even more bleak … Continue reading →
With the Trump administration poised to deport a large group of legal Cambodian immigrants to the United States, among the questions that arise is, How will those booted from the US adapt to Cambodia, a country that in many cases … Continue reading →
Want to be viewed more often as a liar? Try telling the truth in another language. That, roughly speaking, is the conclusion of research conducted by University of Würzburg psychologists Kristina Suchotzki (photo, right) and Matthias Gamer. In their experiment, … Continue reading →
Here’s another way to keep up with the myriad local events that open up a window to the greater world. Check out Global Twin Cities, a website that features an extensive calendar of cross cultural events, a listing of community … Continue reading →
Looking for a compendium of recent news and scholarly articles on immigration issues? Take a look at a special section of the online New York Times, Immigration and Emigration. The most recent iteration includes news coverage of the clash at … Continue reading →
Here’s another note on the consequences of inadequate language services, this time from the St. Paul public school system. Como Park high school student and Karen immigrant Lor Ler Kaw got placed in mainstream English and social studies classes with … Continue reading →
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 →
“On the Autism Spectrum: Families Find Help and Hope,” is a series of five short films produced by the Minnesota Department of Human Services that raise awareness and understanding of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and services available to Minnesota families. … Continue reading →
Here’s a thought-provoking article from Psychology Today that explores how language can affect memory and behavior. Author Viorica Marian, Ph.D., psycholinguist at Northwestern University, describes how memories of multilingual people are linked to the language used while the event occurred. “Memories,” she … Continue reading →