Since 2006, English at Work has partnered with Caritas to provide work-based language instruction to newly-arrived Cuban refugees. Many of these individuals come to the U.S. with professional degrees. However, because of the language barrier, it is difficult for them to find work in their field. In 2003, the New Immigrants Survey found that around 60 per cent of immigrants experienced an occupational downgrade when they moved to the U.S.

Fortunately, this was not the case for Osmany Moncada. Osmany arrived in Austin in August 2009. Originally from Cuba, Osmany worked as a Specialist in Animal Quarantine Services in his home country before moving to Djibouti, in East Africa, where he worked for the Director of the Livestock Department for a few months before moving to Austin.

Osmany working in Djibouti

Osmany is very happy with his job at Banfield, where he says he is learning a lot. His coworkers are “very friendly, very, very professional.” He feels the same way about Austin. “The city is very quiet, very safe, very friendly,” he says, adding, “I didn’t like the winter.”

We are proud of what Osmany has accomplished and wish him warm, sunny days from now on.

Thanks to all who came out and enjoyed our Holiday Party, especially the teachers, volunteers, and board who make this organization great.

Thanks to all who came out, participated, and volunteered. The night was a great success in every way. We filled all our trivia team table, everyone had a great time, and we met our fundraising goal of $6000. Can’t wait for next year!

Maile tells everyone about the important work English at Work is doing in Austin.

Our MC David did a great job.

Bekah and Chrysy running registration.

The winning team: The Daddy Warbucks.

Thank you to our sponsors and partners:
Professional Janitorial Services
Sam’s Club
Guero’s Taco Bar
Blake Magee Company
Seton
Law Office of Tom Esparza
Tacodeli
Anderson’s Coffee

Sponsorships are still available! Contact maile@austinenglish.org for more information.

In 1965 the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) designated September 8th as International Literacy Day. This year’s theme, the Power of Literacy, highlights the empowering role of literacy and its importance for participation, citizenship, and social development.

Here are some ideas for how you can celebrate International Literacy Day:

Sign up to volunteer with English at Work (email: dawn@austinenglish.org) or any of the hundreds of literacy providers in Central Texas.

Donate to English at Work by going to the Contribute page of our website

Educate yourself about literacy in Central Texas by going to the Literacy Coalition’s website: www.willread.org.

Thank you to everyone who bid in English at Work’s online auction. We will post the total amount raised once all the payments have come in.

In the meantime, please continue to support the artists and local businesses that donated items to the auction. Businesses with asterisks are those that also host English at Work classes:

Guero’s Taco Bar*
Hotel San Jose*
Home Slice Pizza*
Holiday Inn Town Lake
Hertz
Woodland
Finn and Porter
Botticelli’s
Uchi
Cap City Comedy Club
Continental Club
Antone’s
Ashley Daniel
Theo’s Personal Training
Ellis Montet
Yoga Yoga
Laurie Winfield
Round Rock Express
Maya Star
Eco-Wise
Vulcan Video
Primadora
Jodie Holland Photography
Chia Hat
Ten Thousand Villages
Tesoros
Shiner Beer
Cookies in Bloom
Ellyn Hickey
David Gibbs
Emily Tracy
Carl and Ingrid
Bluebird Photography
Dream Dinners
La Petite Peche
Brooklyn Pie Company
Magnolia Café

Like many nonprofits, English at Work is feeling the pinch of the economic crisis. Therefore, in order to help cover the cost of providing summer and fall classes at the workplace, we decided to run an online auction. Board members, staff, and volunteers first turned to EW host businesses for cash and in-kind donations. Then other Austin businesses jumped on the bandwagon. In the end, we came up with over 40 great items for bidders to choose from, and all the money goes right back to English at Work.

Below is the list of items that are available for bidding. To see a description of the items and to enter a bid, go to:

http://shop.ebay.com/merchant/englishatworkgiving

If you would like to make a donation directly to English at Work, go to the “Contribute” page of this website.

Thank you for your support!

English at Work Online Auction Items

Staycation/Travel
One weekend night at the Hotel San Jose (EW host business!) plus bar tab
Two weekend nights at the Holiday Inn Town Lake
Weekend full-size car rental from Hertz

A Night Out
Dinner and drinks for up to 15 people in the Guero’s Oak Garden (EW host business!)
Dinner for 4 at Home Slice Pizza (EW host business!)
Dinner for 4 at Woodland
Dinner for 2 at Finn and Porter
Dinner for 2 at Botticelli’s
Dinner for 2 at Uchi
Passes for 20 people at Cap City Comedy Club
Passes for 4 people plus bar tab at the Continental Club
VIP passes and drink tickets for 2 people at Antone’s

Fun and Fitness
3 Airrosti sessions
1 hour massage with Ashley Daniel
2 personal training sessions with Theo from Theo’s Personal Training
1 training session with Ellis Montet
8-class pass from Yoga Yoga
Used Hobie Maui kayak
8 Tickets to Round Rock Express game on July 23rd plus 2 parking passes

Shopping Items
Gift certificate from Maya Star
Gift certificate from Eco-Wise
Gift certificate from Vulcan Video
Gift certificate from Primadora

Gift Items
Custom Pin-Up Shoot from Jodie Holland Photography
White Chia Hat with red brocade lining
Football signed by legendary UT quarterback James Street
Carved wooden mirror from Ten Thousand Villages
Mexican Revolution serving tray and coasters from Tesoros
T-Shirts and Shine On book from Shiner Beer
“Bouquet” from Cookies in Bloom

Art/Decorating
Hand-painted birth announcement from Wimberley artist Ellyn Hickey
Framed, matted print of your choice from Austin photographer David Gibbs
Framed Leslie Knowlin photograph depicting English at Work student
Home and art tour with Emily Tracy

Services
1-2 Hours of on-site tech support
1-Hour photo shoot, restoration, retouching
Photo shoot with Bluebird Photography

Food and Cooking
Sample menu from Dream Dinners
Cooking class for 2 at La Petite Peche
Large pizza and drinks at Brooklyn Pie Company
Meal for 2 at Magnolia Café

For more details about any of these items and to make a bid, go to:

http://shop.ebay.com/merchant/englishatworkgiving

Each time a class completes a 6-week English at Work course, we hold an end-of-course ceremony. The purpose of this ceremony is to celebrate the students’ hard work and their progress. Host business contacts usually join EW staff, the instructor, and students, to congratulate the class, hand out certificates and gifts, and eat cake.

In April, Byron, one of our Guero’s students, had a surprise in store for us. He had written a note of thanks and asked Beverly, the instructor, to help him translate it into English. Then he courageously read his note during the ceremony. Standing to face Rob and Cathy, owners of Guero’s and his bosses, Byron read the following:

Dear patrons (employers, advocates, benefactors, sponsors, supporters), Esteemed teachers,

Many thanks,
Byron
Guero’s Taco Bar Employee
English Language Student

Chef David Garrido visits Guero’s Taco Bar

On Tuesday, January 27th, employees at Guero’s Taco Bar welcomed special guest David Garrido. Mr. Garrido is the former Executive Chef of Jeffrey’s. He has also worked for Chuy’s in Austin and is in the process of opening his own restaurant.

But Mr. Garrido’s current success owes a lot to the long hours he put in working in restaurants and learning English when he first came to the U.S. The goal of his January visit was to share his story with English at Work students in order to encourage them to keep attending class and practicing their English, no matter how frustrating it can be.

Mr. Garrido was the first member of English at Work’s new Speakers Committee to visit one of our workplace classes. We created the Committee after noticing that student attendance dips approximately mid-way through a course. We thought that if we could bring a guest to class who shared our students’ struggles and has been successful in the business community, it might provide the motivation they need to continue.

The Committee members come from a varitey of backgrounds but they all have one thing in common: they came to the U.S. knowing little or no English and learned the language while working their way up.

English at Work is grateful to the Kellogg Foundation for supporting this exciting new project. We also want to thank JP Kloninger for recruiting our fantastic speakers. Here are some of Mr. Garrido’s comments on work and language:

Working in a kitchen is like working in a mechanic shop. You can read 10 books about how to change a tire, but if you haven’t changed a tire, you don’t know how to do it well.

Practice English with everyone, especially your co-workers, every day.

Mexicans have a reputation for being very hard workers. So if we learn English, it’s one step further for all of us.

Sometimes you’ll say, “I feel dumb when I speak English. No one understands me.” But it’s the only way to learn. Don’t take it personally if people laugh when you speak English. They think it’s charming. But if someone starts to get mad, then you know you’ve said something really bad.

Work is like going to college. It doesn’t matter how old you are. If you don’t have money to go to college, you have to use work like a university. If you put “Jose Luis, Kitchen Manager,” on your resume, no one can take it away from you. Your experience is your degree.