Guest blog post by Yenesis M. Alfonso
Instructor, Miami Dade College
Dianelys Moreno is a Front Desk clerk at Publix in Miami. She is originally from Cuba and a native Spanish speaker. Dianelys has experienced difficulties understanding customers and their needs, specifically when she has to communicate with them over the phone. In her self-evaluation, Dianelys said that due to poor pronunciation, her words have sometimes been misconstrued by customers.
Dianelys joined Skills and Opportunity for the New American Workforce and is attending a contextualized English language class offered by her employer, Publix. She is excited to work on her pronunciation and conversational skills, and enthusiastically accepts constructive criticism not only from the instructor, but also from her peers. Recently, Dianelys took the Assistant Manager exam, which is very rigorous, and felt that for the first time she understood and felt very comfortable answering questions. Since she enrolled in the class, she has gained confidence, expanded her vocabulary, and learned techniques that have helped her better communicate with co-workers, management, and customers. She has learned how to say things on the job without hesitation or worries that it could be misinterpreted. She continually seeks to grow within Publix and we believe that her dream will come true very soon!
For more student profiles and testimonials on Skills and Opportunity for the New American Workforce, please click here.
Skills and Opportunity for the New American Workforce is a project of the National Immigration Forum, funded by the Walmart Foundation, in partnership with Miami Dade College and the Community College Consortium for Immigrant Education.