With the various ethnic minorities of the U.S. set to be the majority by 2050 (as reported by the Pew Research Center), Language Line Services recently launched a new center for government agencies. Language Line Services serves a number of individuals and groups with telephone interpreting and language solutions in more than 170 languages. The Foreign Language Center of Excellence (COE) will increase operational efficiency and lower operation costs for limited English proficient (LEP) populations.
The U.S. population is expected to grow tremendously in the next few years, driven in a large part by immigrants. The COE will be an online portal that provides streamlined language access. With the new system, government agencies will be able to complete a number of tasks, including cultural sensitivity training, document translation, and phone interpretation among other services.
“The idea is to provide limited English-speaking populations with efficient and streamlined access to a full complement of language services from the federal Government,” said Louis F. Provenzano, Jr., President and CEO of Language Line Services, in a statement. “The Foreign Language Center of Excellence represents a new way to provide language services in a comprehensive, automated and cost-effective manner. In addition to helping reduce government operating costs this program will help enable a more consistent and positive customer experience. The options can be tailored to each agency’s unique needs, and all language access activity can be channeled through a central Web-based portal.”