Thread: Builders say sÃÂ* to 'Survival Spanish'

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Article published Nov 27, 2005
Builders say sÃÂ* to 'Survival Spanish'
Manatee Community College's class teaches supervisors the words they need to talk with their Latino workers.

By Julia Glick

MANATEE COUNTY -- Students in Chris Stubenberg's Spanish class learn the words for mortar, chain saw and concrete slab before they can even say, "The book is on the table."

His students are construction bosses, learning how to talk to their employees.

Latino immigration is changing Southwest Florida, and even construction workers, not necessarily known for cultural sensitivity, have had to adjust.

As the building industry in Southwest Florida hires more and more Hispanic immigrants, employers are learning to build better houses and roads by building a Spanish vocabulary.

They learn how to teach their employees safety, job techniques and other important work matters in Spanish.

"Even some of these real redneck guys are seeing the need now," Stubenberg said.

He teaches "Survival Spanish for Construction" at Manatee Community College in Lakewood Ranch, and his classes fill fast. He also teaches courses in specialized Spanish for hospitals, restaurants and landscaping companies.

Changes in the region's work force have made his business a success, he said.

As the building industry booms here and more workers are needed, the industry has turned increasingly to Mexican and other Latino immigrants, his construction students say.

While local statistics are not available, a study by the Pew Hispanic Center shows that Hispanic immigrants filled half of the country's 600,000 new construction jobs in 2004.

"The trend here is very new," said Sara Hernandez, a sociology professor at New College. "Four years ago, most construction crews were Anglo or African-American. Now they are mostly Hispanic."

Just because the bosses are learning some Spanish does not mean the workers will not learn English, she added. It just speeds up communication in the meantime.

Clay Massey, a 28-year-old Bradenton resident who frames houses, takes the class because he manages a crew of 18 men and could not understand what they were saying. The class has helped him to make out whole sentences instead of a smattering of words, he said.

Stubenberg gives the students "cheat sheets" with translations for construction lingo that most laypeople would not understand in English.

He encourages the class to communicate with gestures as well as words and to focus on being understood, not on perfect grammar.

Even a little Spanish helps, because bilingual workers are rare in the business, said student David Kiseleski, 52, a supervisor at Bruce Williams Homes.

Contractors often telephone people to translate instructions to employees.

Kiseleski said workers at one site loved it when he made an effort to speak in Spanish with them. They kept teaching him new words.

"I never dreamed that I would reach a point where I would need to take a class like this," he said. "But for me, if it helps me do my job, then it is worth the effort."

"But for me, if it helps me do my job, then it is worth the effort."

And the fact that non-English speaking workers have taken jobs of US citizens doesn't seem to bother Mr. Kiseleski in the least.