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Sunday, October 08, 2006

Ind. Courts - Allen County court employees learning Spanish

The Fort Wayne Journal Gazette has a story today by Dionne Waugh headed "Court officials add Spanish to their tools to assist residents." A quote:

Though this class might seem just like any other group of people learning Spanish, it’s not. The class is made up of about a dozen Allen County Courthouse employees, from court reporters to administrators, who are trying to learn enough of the language so they can communicate with the rising number of Hispanics who are coming to the Courthouse.

“I schedule a lot of weddings and interpreters, and sometimes we get people coming in that can’t speak English very well,” said Rose Moya, who works in Courthouse administration. “This is helpful to be able to converse.”

The goal for the court officials in the class is not to become fluent in Spanish but rather how to communicate information they most often handle in court, such as greetings, dates, times, telephone numbers, as well as how to explain courtroom procedures and give directions.

The courses are taught and designed throughout the state by Ivy Tech Community College. The project was created by and paid for by the Indiana Judicial Center, the Indiana Supreme Court and the Division of State Court Administration.

See also this ILB entry from Sept. 25th about federal interpreters flying from federal district court to court.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on October 8, 2006 10:39 AM
Posted to Indiana Courts