Spanish language courses offered for those in landscaping industry





By Jen McCaffery
January 26, 2010
VIRGINIA BEACH

In most Latin American countries, there's no such thing as mulch.

So when Spanish-speaking people from Central and South America work here as landscapers, they need to learn not only the word, but what it is and how to use it.

"As with any trade, there's a lot of terminology specific to the industry that you really need to have translated correctly," said Dawn Alleman, education program coordinator for the Mid-Atlantic Horticulture Short Course.

The Virginia Horticultural Foundation featured a workshop, "Spanish for the Green Industry," on Sunday and Monday as part of the conference the organization is sponsoring at the Founders Inn.

This is the fourth year Alleman has coordinated the Spanish course.

Such classes are common at colleges and universities which offer horticulture degrees, Alleman said.

They're important because the work force in plant production and landscape management includes many Spanish speakers, she said. "If you want to be a foreman in those types of places, you've got to have a decent grasp of Spanish," Alleman said.

Instructors Yolima Carr and Liliana VanDam led the class through basics such as days of the week for the beginners and more advanced conversation for intermediate Spanish speakers.

Tom Ritter, who owns Ritter Grounds Maintenance in Norfolk, attended the course because he wants to communicate better with the seasonal workers who come to the United States on visas to work for his business.

He's had workers come for 10 years. But he's had to ask his friends to translate.

"I just want to be able to communicate with them on a day-to-day basis," Ritter said.

Carr provided the class with a book she wrote that included sentences specific to their needs such as: "Take out the weeds in the flower bed, edge the bed, then blow the leaves and the clippings."

Carr, who is curator of gardens and grounds at the Hermitage Museum in Norfolk, also pointed out that many safety guides are available in Spanish versions on the Internet.

She also reminded the people in the workshop to let the workers know it was OK for them to get water.

Carr asked the class to remember that the men who come here to work are far from their families.

Some have a strong Catholic faith and might want a certain day off because it's a specific saint's day, for example, Carr said.

Other ways to bridge the gap could be allowing the workers to play their own music in the truck. Or bring a bag of fresh fruit, which many workers miss from home.

And sometimes, Carr said, it can just be complimenting workers on a good day's work: "Hiciste un buen trabajo."

Jen McCaffery, jen.mccaffery@pilotonline.com


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