Sodexho Inc., a Gaithersburg company that relies mostly on Spanish-speaking workers to staff its cafeterias and provide laundry and housekeeping services, has developed a set of Spanish-English flashcards featuring words and phrases not part of a traditional language curriculum. Among them, "It stinks" and "recycling."
The cards are used by managers and staff to communicate, said Leslie Aun, a Sodexho vice president.
At Sibley Memorial Hospital in the District, where Sodexho oversees cleaning and bed-making services, workers are shown instructional videos -- with voice-overs in Spanish and English -- covering a range of procedures, including the handling of infectious materials and working with hazardous chemicals.
"We do a lot of show and tell," said Robert Jewell, Sodexho's director of environmental services. "And then we show and tell again so that basic communication isn't an issue. Repetition is very big around here."
Carolyn Harris, one of the few native English speakers on Sibley's housekeeping staff, said being in the language minority hasn't gotten in her way.
"Most of the time I can understand what [co-workers] are trying to tell me," she said. "I think I understand them very well."
And sometimes workers just take matters into their own hands.
Carlos Figueroa, a maintenance crew member at Fairlington Villages in Arlington, said he relies on pointing and other hand signals to indicate when something's not right. Though he is fluent in both Spanish and English, from time to time he finds himself at a loss when trying to communicate with employees who speak Arabic and Korean. His work-team partner, Aron Jones, said he has resorted to drawing pictures in the dirt to get his point across.
"You can get people to understand you if you really try," Jones said. "And that way, it's a lovely day."
