Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) - Not Just Buzzwords

Diversity, equity, and inclusion are not merely buzzwords in your organization. You want to reach people in your community in their language.

How?

Let Midwest Language Services, LLC be your partner to help you with language training, translations, and interpretation services. Contact us at (317) 296-7997 or by email at info@midwestlanguageservices.com.

We offer Spanish classes for after-school programs and English classes for parents with limited English proficiency who need to communicate with teachers.

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We recommend that students meet for classes at least twice per week to help retain information and gain more practice speaking the language.

Language classes may start at a time that is convenient for you and your instructor with at least two weeks’ notice.

Free Arabic Classes

The International Marketplace Coalition, also known as “IMC,” in partnership with Midwest Language Services, LLC, will offer FREE Arabic classes every Friday from 5:30 PM to 7:00 PM for four weeks in July. The first class will be on July 9, 2021.

Register now by contacting Eli at info@midwestlanguageservices.com with your name, phone number, and email address.

This free introductory course will be offered for a limited time, so be sure to register! After the introductory course, Arabic will be offered as a class that students will have to pay for in advance.

The classes will take place at the Global Village Welcome Center located at 4233 Lafayette Rd., Indianapolis, IN 46254.

Beginner Spanish Conversation Club - FREE

Join us for Spanish Conversation at the Southeast Community Center (901 Shelby St., Indianapolis, IN 46203) and then practice what you learn at one of the local Mexican restaurants in the historic Fountain Square neighborhood.

Dive right into Spanish with this free 8-week program! The main focus of the group will be to get people conversing in Spanish in order to develop critical speaking and listening skills. The group is designed for beginners, and for those who know some basics but need to brush up, but more advanced speakers are welcome to show up as well.

Classes will meet on Thursdays from 5:30 PM to 6:45 PM June 3 thru July 29. Register online on our website today!

Engaging International Employees

Do you want a more efficient and effective workplace that helps employees feel more connected and invested in their work?

Business English language training is a business necessity for international corporations to work more effectively and efficiently. It is essential that employees are able to listen, understand, and respond to requests, make requests, learn industry-specific terminology, and be active participants in meetings. Business English also includes composing e-mails and other writing that coworkers are able to understand.

Midwest Language Services, LLC has been helping business executives communicate more clearly and effectively since 2006. Contact us about a business English language training program for your company.

#internationalbusiness #manufacturingindustry #manufacturingnews #automotivemanufacturing #automotiveindustry #kaizen #5S #corporatelanguagetraining #businessenglishcoach #MidwestLanguageServicesLLC #HR #professionaldevelopment #Japanese #Spanish #English #englishlearning

Moving to the United States from France

Audrey Ruel is a former journalist from France who takes one of our English conversation classes. I asked her about her expectations about moving to the United States and what the reality has been. The following is what she shared with us:

Living in a foreign country since January 2019 has been a new experience for me. It was on my dream board to have the opportunity to spend more than vacation time outside of France. We have had this opportunity thanks to my husband's work. We moved with our two young daughters. We thought it would be a good experience for them too, and speaking English will help them throughout their entire lives. We moved 3 months before the COVID-19 pandemic. In fact, we were lucky because living in the countryside during this period has been easier than it would have been in the big city where we previously lived in France (Nantes). 

I didn’t expect there to be a big gap between French and American cultures because we are both Western and we know about each other, but I was wrong! If you spend more than vacation time in a foreign country, you will understand the way of life of the local population, and I can now say that it’s really different here from my country! 

For example, my husband and I were really surprised at the beginning to see people going to restaurants at 3:00 or 4:00 p.m. In my country, dinner time is from 7:00 - 9:00 pm. American people wake up earlier, eat earlier, and go to school earlier, (and consequently go to sleep earlier), compared to France. 

Before moving, I was anxious about not speaking English well. I knew that the American accent was hard to understand, and I thought I could stay alone a long time or stay only in the French community, but I can now say that it’s really easy to form new relationships with American people. You can easily find a club or association where you can volunteer your free time and meet nice people. School is also a good place because they hold a lot of events with students and parents. You also have opportunities in your church community. My Hoosier neighbors are such nice people that I really enjoy having small talk with them. 

Living in America

We asked Audrey to share her expectations of what it would be like to live in the United States, the reality, and any advice she might have to newcomers.

Another big challenge when you move to the USA is to buy or rent a house. Real estate prices are really high compared to Europe and for less quality. Take your time to find a good place. Hopefully, we will be here for more than one year. We really enjoy our place. My family and I adore traveling in this huge and wonderful country. 

If I have advice to give, it would concern official documents. As a foreigner, there are a lot of documents to be careful with. If you can have a new passport when you move, that can help, because when the passport expires, you have to ask for a new visa, etc. If you don’t want to have immigration problems, take care of all those forms, and be as smart as possible. 

My last point is about electricity! In Europe, it is 220 volts, and in the USA it is 110 volts. You have to be aware of that point when you are packing all your stuff if you come from Europe. 

Spanish and French Lessons Now Available

Do you want to travel soon? Now is the time to brush up on your Spanish, French, or both. Register for private online lessons with a live tutor or take group classes at a time that is convenient for you.

FREE English for Work Lessons on Tuesdays from 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM Eastern Time

English for Work

Do you need English for work, but don’t have a lot of time or extra money to take English lessons?

Midwest Language Services can help. Register for our free classes that will meet online every Tuesday via Zoom from 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM Eastern Time.

English for Work

Do you want to improve your English speaking and listening skills for work? Join us on Tuesday evenings from 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM Eastern Time on Zoom.

Learn how to talk about:

• schedules

• common phrasal verbs for work

• numbers

• describing trends

Register today for online group classes. After you register, you will receive a link to join our Zoom classroom.

What is OPI and VRI?

OPI stands for Over-the-Phone Interpreting. In some cases, when someone has an OPI account, they call a phone number and then make a request for a particular language. Within seconds to a few minutes, depending on how common the language is, the caller is connected to an interpreter and the conversation begins. If the caller wants to contact someone who is not in the same room, as in when a doctor’s office wants to remind a patient of an upcoming appointment, a third-party dialout may be made. That means that the caller provides the operator with the patient’s phone number.

Later this year, Midwest Language Services, LLC will have OPI on-demand, which means that our clients will be able to use our app to quickly be connected not only to OPI interpreters, but also VRI interpreters. VRI stands for Video Remote Interpreting.

Be sure to check our website regularly in the coming weeks to find out when this service becomes available. Most of our current clients will be able to keep their current PIN to be connected to OPI. New clients will be assigned a PIN for their accounts.

Human-Powered Translation vs. Machine Translation

Human translation is necessary when conveying written text into other languages. People understand the nuance of word choices, sarcasm, idioms, and humor. Although machine translation has recently made great advancements, there is no substitute for human translators…or is there?

Whether clients are aware or not, machines are often used to help professional translators parse text into shorter segments, create client glossaries based on translation memories, and help translate repeated words automatically. This is not to say that human translators aren’t doing their jobs. They are finding ways to do things faster. There are CAT tools to help them do this. CAT stands for Computer Assisted Translation. This helps with consistent terminology for specific clients. It also helps with overall quality and increased productivity by pre-translating using a translation memory.

Completely human-powered translation, while certainly useful, is not scalable for large projects with tight deadlines and limited resources (available translators and funds). Enter human-edited machine translation, also known as MT + PE (machine translation plus post-editing). As I mentioned, the human touch must be added to the translation process to help improve the overall quality of the resulting message. There are lots of funny, shocking, and cringe-worthy examples on the internet of bad machine translations that have not had human editors as part of the process. Also, whether using human-powered or machine translation, it is important to have an editor and/or proofreader as part of the process.

A simple example of a translation that was not proofread in a low-stakes situation was seen at an international supermarket in Chicago. The store was selling broccoli, but the handwritten sign read, “bloccoli” which got the point across, but was misspelled. Such mistakes aren’t as cute when the text is used in advertising campaigns, on a website, billboard, etc.

Human-edited machine translations are faster, less expensive, and more scalable than fully human-powered translations. The resulting text will be understandable in the target language. The downside is that there may be some non-native sounding sentences in the resulting message.

In summary, human-powered translation, editing, and proofreading, are the way to go when quality is of the utmost importance, the message will be client-facing, and when time and budget are not of concern. Human-edited machine translations are useful for internal documents and large volumes of text for which human translation, editing, and proofreading would neither be practical nor affordable. MT + PE is also helpful when a faster turnaround time is needed. As with everything, there are pros and cons.

The best translations are the ones that don’t seem like translations at all. Whatever you choose, please be sure to have a person be a part of the editing process. There is no substitute.

Open in Indiana Interview with Tanya Hoover

Our Owner and President Tanya Hoover was interviewed by Open in Indiana. Tanya discusses how she utilizes Midwest Language Services to help others connect in over 200 languages.

Click on the link below to listen to the Open in Indiana podcast episode:

https://openinindiana.com/oiipodcast/meet-tanya-hoover/?mc_cid=e48fef5653&mc_eid=2a209e61d3

Watch Our YouTube Videos for English Mini-Lessons

Be sure to watch our YouTube videos to learn how to improve your English. Each of our English Mini-Lessons will teach you how to improve your English in less than ten minutes. This is one way for busy people like you can learn to improve your intonation, grammar, and vocabulary.

Our FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions About Midwest Language Services) video talks about our translation and interpreting services in addition to our private and group English lessons.

Now Interviewing Kirundi, Mina, Nepali, and Somali Interpreters in Iowa, Indiana, and Ohio

Are you a professional interpreter of Kirundi, Mina, Nepali, Somali and English? We are interviewing potential interpreters online for opportunities in Iowa, Indiana, and Ohio. Please send your resume and cover letter to info@midwestlanguageservices.com to be considered. This is a part-time job for freelance interpreters. Thank you.

See, Look, and Watch

English has many words with similar meanings. In some languages, one word has multiple meanings. Here is a basic breakdown of what these words mean:

see = to open one’s eyes

When your eyes are open, you can see if there is light. If your eyes are closed or there is no light, you cannot see.

To see can also mean to understand. People often say, “I see” instead of “I understand.”

To see is automatic. It is something we do with no effort.

To look is to focus your eyes on something.

Look at the picture.

I know you are listening if you look at me while I am speaking.

To watch is to look at and wait for an action to happen.

People usually use “watch” before “tv,” “a movie,” or a sporting event, but sometime “watch” can mean you are looking at something while you wait for something to happen that is very slow.

“We watched the turtle slowly come out of its shell.”

To watch can also mean to take care of someone for a short time.

“His grandmother watched him while his parents were away.”

Easily Confused Words by Non-Native English Speakers: Most and Almost

Most/Most of

Almost all/Almost every/Almost none

Most + plural noun

Most people

Most Americans

Most cars

Most of + a particular group

Most of the people in this building are under the age of 50.

Most of the Americans who live in Indiana are familiar with the Indy 500.

Most of the cars that are made in the United States are manufactured in the Midwest.

A common mistake I often hear is the use of “almost” in place of “most.”

INCORRECT: Almost people have brown eyes.

CORRECT: Most people have brown eyes.

INCORRECT: Almost Americans like to drive.

CORRECT: Most Americans like to drive.

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Almost all + plural noun

Almost every + singular noun

Almost none + of + particular group

Almost no + plural noun

INCORRECT: Almost sidewalks are made of concrete.

CORRECT: Almost all sidewalks are made of concrete.

INCORRECT: Almost none of the sidewalks are made of asphalt.

CORRECT: Almost every sidewalk here is made of concrete.

INCORRECT: Almost nothing sidewalk here is made of asphalt.

CORRECT: Almost no sidewalks here are made of asphalt.

Say Something and Tell Someone

Say something.

Tell someone.

A common error I hear is misuse of the words, “say,” “tell,” “said,” and “told.” To say something is to speak words. We can say something to another person. We can say something to ourselves to help us remember something. The past tense of “say” is “said.” In sentences, “say” and “said” should not have a pronoun or proper noun like a name of a person in after them. For example, it is incorrect to use “say” like this:

INCORRECT: He said me he is going to check the status of the project.

CORRECT: He told me he was going to check the status of the project.

INCORRECT: She said me she was sick yesterday.

CORRECT: She told me she had been sick yesterday.

Notice that when we report what someone told us, the verb becomes a past tense verb. He is going to check the status (now or soon), but we change “is going to” to “was going to.” This is because it is not direct speech, but reported speech. The original speaker is not saying the words. We are reporting what the person said. Past tense becomes past perfect.

When using the word “tell” or “told,” we use a pronoun or a proper noun (a name) after the word. We tell someone something.

The pattern is (Subject + tell/told + someone + independent clause)

Example: He told me he was going to back to Japan later this year.

The independent clause is “…he was going back to Japan later this year” because it expresses an entire idea with a subject and verb.

In short, remember this:

Say something.

Tell someone.

Julie Metz Interviews Tanya Hoover, President of Midwest Language Services, LLC

Julie Metz, Execuitve Director of the Shelby County Chamber of Commerce, Interviewed Tanya Hoover of Midwest Language Services, LLC last week. Click here to listen to the interview.

Julie Metz, Executive Director of the Shelby County Chamber of Commerce interviewed Tanya Hoover, President of Midwest Language Services, LLC on Giant 106.5 FM.

Midwest Language Services was On-the-Air with Julie Metz

Julie Metz, Executive Director of the Shelby County Chamber of Commerce, interviewed Tanya Hoover, President of Midwest Language Services on Giant FM, 106.5 in Shelbyville, Indiana.

Tanya Hoover, President and Founder of Midwest Language Services, was invited to talk about her business on a radio show this morning that aired on 106.5 FM, The Giant. Executive Director of the Shelby County Chamber of Commerce, Julie Metz, invited Ms. Hoover to speak on the Chamber Chat radio show. While Tanya is not new to Shelby County, Midwest Language Services, LLC is. She started English as a Second Language teaching adult students from Yuma Industries when she started her business as a sole proprietorship nearly fifteen years ago.

A new English as a Second/New Language (ESL/ENL) class is being offered by Midwest Language Services in Shelbyville, Indiana that will meet on Thursdays from 11:00 AM to 12:00 noon for non-native speakers of English. For more details about this and other services Midwest Language Services provides, such as sign language (ASL) interpreting, document translations, and other interpreting services, please contact us at info@midwestlanguageservices.com or call (317) 296-7997.

Eikawa English Conversation Group

Join us for a weekly English conversation group that will meet on Thursdays from 11:00 AM to 12:00 beginning in March. The cost for each class is $12.50. We will meet at 735 Shelby St., Suite #106, Indianapolis, IN 46203. Class size is limited to five students.

Lost in Translation - Busting Common Myths While Saving Your Organization's Reputation and Money

“Translator” seems to be used by the general public to mean “interpreter,” but be sure that you know the difference, so that you get what you need. A translator is a person who conveys written messages from one language into another. An interpreter is someone who conveys spoken or signed messages from one language into another.

Myth: If someone is bilingual, they can translate my document.

False: While a translator must be bilingual, a bilingual person does not necessarily have the skills to be a translator (or an interpreter, for that matter). Professional translators do this for a living. They have knowledge of specialized vocabulary for the type of documents they work with.

Some translators work mainly with vocabulary in the medical field, while others may work with legal matters or words related to automobile manufacturing. By choosing to work with a professional, you are choosing an expert who will accurately convey your message. Most of us have seen examples of bad translations. The best translations are the ones that don’t seem like translations at all.

Myth: I can just use Google Translate.

False: While Google Translate might help you get the gist of what someone is writing on the Internet, it is not good for complete paragraphs. It is much more efficient and cost-effective to proofread and edit a translation that has been done by a human than it is to completely rewrite jumbled words from Google Translate. When you or your organization’s reputation is on the line, always use human translators.

What about machine translations?

CAT tools are computer-assisted translation tools that parse text into separate sentences. These are useful for large translation projects that have rigorous need for consistency and style. They include translation memories and are useful for legal, financial, technical, and scientific translations.

We have someone in the office who can speak that language. We’ll just have him/her do the written translation.

Proceed with caution. Not everyone who can speak English can read or write English well. The same holds true for speakers of other languages. Linguists often specialize in either translation or interpreting. Also, consider whether or not this is the best use of the employee’s time. Isn’t the person’s time better spent on what they were mainly hired to do?

To reduce the risk of translation errors and save money on proofreading and editing, be sure to have someone translate the document, website, etc. into the person’s native language. For example, if you have a document that needs to be translated from English into Japanese, choose a translator whose first language is Japanese. If you have a document that needs to be translated from Japanese into English, then choose a translator whose first language is English.

Three tips to remember to make money and save money:

• People tend to read websites in their own language. Translate your website to draw in new customers.

• Use infographics when possible.

• Hire human translation experts.

INTESOL and Pronunciation - by Lauren Li

This year’s INTESOL Conference was another great opportunity to share ideas with our fellow English language instructors. There, I attended a colleague’s presentation on the various kinds of stress in English pronunciation. I was drawn to the topic since I regularly teach accent training and pronunciation to my own students. After all, learning a new language is not only about grammar and vocabulary. If you want to become fluent and intelligible to native speakers, you naturally have to spend some time improving your pronunciation.

There are three basic levels of stress — syllable, word, and sentence. In my lessons, I introduce each level in this order. This allows me to build on the student’s knowledge gradually and naturally. Typically, this process takes several weeks from beginning to end with continuous practice and reinforcement thereafter.

During the conference presentation, I enjoyed learning some new techniques to enrich this rule-heavy task of teaching stress patterns. One in particular involved creating a physical representation of sentence stress, the last level my students learn. To replicate this task yourself, you’ll need to cut apart printed sentences into their thought groups (the natural divisions in native speech). Then have students fold each focus word — the main stressed word(s) in a thought group — to illustrate how the voice will rise and fall as the sentences are said naturally. In the end, you will have strips of paper that contain peaks at the folded words and thus create a visualization of the speaker’s voice. I think it’s simple but effective and conveniently appropriate for any learner.

I’m looking forward to implementing this and other ideas from the conference in my upcoming lessons.