- Working for the success of employees who are English Language Learners
- Fostering a diverse and productive workforce
- Expanding communication opportunities across varied languages and cultures
Our Mission:
Cultural Linguistic Services strives to strengthen the cultural and linguistic competencies of all staff at The University of Iowa.
We work in support of the University’s increasingly diverse and inclusive campus community.
We support the University’s core values of diversity, community, and respect by encouraging an environment in which cooperation, communication, and respect can flourish among persons from a variety of backgrounds.
Check out our progress! View last year's Annual Report:
- Download/View/Print the 2007 Report (pdf)
Some Quick Facts:
- Culture shapes how you define time, family, cooperation, ambition, friendship, and more. For example, being “on time” could mean arriving 15 minutes before a meeting is scheduled, or an hour after it was set to start.
- The probability that you will learn to speak another language well decreases significantly as you get older. In fact, the best time to learn another language is before age 12.
- Body language is affected by culture. In many Asian cultures, looking someone in the eye is rude, and smiling may signal embarrassment or anger, not happiness. For many Indians, shaking your head side to side means yes not no.
- In 2004, Johnson County had the second highest percentage of people of Asian descent in Iowa. (State Data Center)
- In 2004, about 3.5% of Iowa’s population was Latino. This is expected to more than double by 2030. (State Data Center)
Our Goals and Services:
Our main goal is to assist English Language Learning (ELL) employees and those they work with at all stages of employment in order to advance the employee’s productivity and success in the workplace. Language consultants and specialists do not have to speak the native language of the employee to be of assistance. Some examples of the services we may provide are below:
Job Recruitment
Attend meetings of community groups and minority organizations. Assist at job fairs. Translate job announcements.The Application and Hiring Process
Translate employment applications. Interpret job interviews. Spend extra time assisting English Language Learning applicants.Work Orientation
Facilitate special work and safety training for English Language Learning hires. Translate training and safety documents. Spend extended time at the workplace with the employees and their supervisors to facilitate the work orientation and training process.Communication in the Workplace
Deliver cross-cultural communication training. Lead problem-solving and cross-cultural conflict resolution sessions for work groups with English Language Learning employees. Interpret supervisor comments. Explain injury reporting and employee assistance programs.Professional Development
Teach workplace-specific English classes for English Language Learning employees. Provide workplace Spanish classes for co-workers and supervisors. Interpret at professional training. Orient employees to the management styles of different cultures.^ Top
