With one in every ten people in the U.S.A. now born outside of the country and Hispanics forecast to be the largest minority group in the U.S.A. by 2005, industries with large numbers of entry-level jobs that require hard work and stamina but no previous training are struggling to communicate with new workers who speak little or no English.

Green industries such as golf course maintenance, landscaping, and horticulture form a case in point. In many areas the only people willing to do these jobs speak more Spanish than English and supervisors are desperate to improve communication by training themselves in workplace Spanish as quickly as possible and training workers to speak English. Both types of training are badly needed along with training in cross-cultural communication.

Why Spanish? Constant turnover means that new workers are continually coming in with little or no English. Usually at least one of the workers speaks a bit more English and translates for the others, but there are days that the translator may be absent. If supervisors and mechanics speak Spanish they can guarantee that instructions will be understood without depending on the presence of translators who also may not entirely understand what they are told. An additional advantage is that when supervisors and mechanics try to speak Spanish and understand the culture of the workers, the end result tends to be greater loyalty (and lower turnover), higher quality work, and higher motivation for workers to learn English.

Why English? When workers understand English, they tend to have fewer accidents, make fewer errors in following instructions and using equipment, require less intervention of a translator, finish work faster, and are able to communicate with clients. All of this can save money and increase quality. This is a win-win situation for both the worker, who becomes more valuable and has the opportunity for higher positions and higher salary, and for the business.

The bottom line. Language training saves time and money, increases quality, and results in happier clients. In golf course maintenance, one machine can cost thousands of dollars. By preventing just one machine from being damaged, training more than pays for itself. Hiring and training a new worker also costs time and money. Improved retention rates save time and money and result in more highly trained workers. Lower accident rates reduce insurance and avoid potential OSHA investigations and fines. Higher quality and better client communication retains customers.

Development of language specific training materials and programs. This is the position taken by the Language-for-Specific-Purposes program in the Division of English as an International Language (DEIL) at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign. So far we have worked intensively to create materials and training programs for golf course ground maintenance and landscaping and have helped develop a bilingual training workbook for pesticide applicators. Materials for horticulture, tree-cutting, and seed farms are next on the agenda.

After spending a full year researching language needed for golf course maintenance, we now have a 44-page Golf Course Grounds Maintenance Dictionary of English-Spanish Phrases which can be carried around in the pocket for quick reference. The handbook contains phrases for salaries and schedules, expressions of good work, checking and using equipment, mowing greens and fairways, raking sandtraps, cleaning up, trimming and pruning, planting flowers, raking leaves, painting, care of golf carts and irrigation systems, and safety. Flashcards have native-language phrases plus digital photos and/or symbolic drawings on one side and English phrases on the other.
The combination of illustrations and text means that cards may be used with workers who can use reading to help them learn a second language as well as with workers who do not read well. This is important since the average educational level for "Green" workers is third grade.
English and Spanish training programs, which use games and a lot of realia and physical involvement, are short and involve supervisors and workers who then become mentors so that training can continue without the presence of a teacher. Programs encourage mentoring in both directions: supervisors teach English to workers and workers teach Spanish to supervisors.

DEIL has joined forces with the Illinois Landscape Contractors Association to research language needed by landscape contractors, develop bilingual materials for teaching English to workers and Spanish to contractors, supervisors, and mechanics. A bilingual illustrated phrase dictionary will be ready by February both in pocket version and on CD ROM so that needed phrases can be heard in both English and Spanish. Phrases on trimming, pruning, planting and clean-up will be more varied and detailed in this dictionary than in the one on golf course maintenance. The Landscape dictionary will also contain phrases for construction, loading and un-loading trucks, giving directions for traveling to different locations, mowing yards, laying irrigation systems and keeping records, among others. Flashcards and audiotapes form part of the training program, which again will be offered in the form of seminars with an option of distance education follow-up. The goal is to set up either a mentoring situation or train trainers who can continue providing Spanish and English learning support.
Various materials exist for training field workers in basic pesticide application safety. The EPA has several of these available in bilingual form with illustrations. Larger landscape companies have also developed special training materials in pruning, planting, etc., though these tend to be either in English or in Spanish and are rarely shared with competitors.

"Green workers" have many needs and all are urgent. For example, as more Hispanic workers become involved in pesticide application, they need to be able to read pesticide labels, which are written only in English. Too often the workers have learned English orally and find it difficult to associate oral and written language even when they know how to read in their native language. They need training in reading these labels, particularly if they wish to reach greater levels of responsibility and become applicators.
Training in reading is also needed so that workers can obtain a Commercial Drivers License. Landscape contractors and seed farms that are looking toward the future are trying to prepare workers in this area with the belief that the CDL will soon be required for driving even small trucks. Horticulturalists, arborists, and seed farms are also hiring more and more Hispanic workers and need help in communication. All areas of green work need cross-cultural communication training to help both supervisors and workers understand each other. Differences in body language and cultural expectations can cause misunderstandings or accusations of sexual harassment. How many supervisors know that if they shout at a Hispanic worker when angry that worker may leave and never return? How many know that directions in Latin America are usually given in terms of landmarks and not in terms of north or south or maps? Do supervisors realize that workers may not know how to read well in any language, much less how to read the map they have been handed? Do supervisors know how to handle misunderstandings caused by differences in toilet facilities?
As the number of Hispanics continues to grow, the need for good training materials and for language and cross-cultural communication training programs will also grow‹in both English and Spanish. It is easy to say that this is not a problem, that immigrants have the responsibility to learn English by themselves. Yet people who say this lack awareness of reality. When a minority group is so large that it has its own grocery stores and radio and television channels and when members of that group spend 12 to 16 hours a day working overtime or working at two separate jobs to survive, they have little time or motivation to learn English. When educational levels are low, they may also not realize how important it is to study. In these situations, much of the responsibility for guaranteeing that workers understand enough English to do their jobs safely, efficiently, and with high levels of quality falls on the business. Most jobs require knowledge of specific phrases in English not taught in general English courses. An understanding of all the English language would be helpful but is not necessary. Businesses that recognize this and begin providing work-related language training will find that the return is much higher than the cost.

Dr. Judith Gordon is Chair of TESOLıs English for Specific Purposes Interest Section and Coordinator of English for Specific Purposes in the Division of English as an International Language teacher training program at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.