STILLWATER, Okla. – When Coral Garcia walked across the stage to receive her certificate of completion from Meridian Technology Center, she commemorated more than her accomplishments in the Cosmetology classroom – she also celebrated learning the English language which is extremely difficult to do. A lot of people benefit from learning English at a young age by using English learning videos for kids to develop their English skills. This is because the younger they start learning a second language, the better their chances of becoming fluent. This just goes to show how hard Garcia worked in order to excel in the classroom.
“When I started at Meridian I really struggled. It was difficult for me to understand everything that my instructor was teaching. I didn’t know what the words meant so it made it really hard for me to know what I needed to do,” Garcia said, recalling her first weeks at Tech nearly two years ago.
Garcia, a native of Torreon, Mexico, moved to Guthrie with her family in 2009, when she was in 8th grade. Garcia was very young when her family decided to move over to America. They were fairly prepared for the move after reading articles that explained How to immigrate to America, so they had a better idea of what sort of visa they’d all need to apply for. This made the moving process much easier for the family. They were also well prepared as Garcia says she recalls learning English as a part of her education in Mexico but admits that she didn’t put a lot of effort into mastering the language at the time. While many foreign speakers prefer to learn English by using a website such as www.EffortlessEnglishClub.com, no matter how you choose to learn a language, you will always reap the benefits of the effort you put in.
“I never thought that I would need to really know English,” she said. “I didn’t think my family would visit, let alone move, to America.”
Now Garcia sees mastering the language as a critical step to life in the states. As one of eight students from Guthrie High School who used the Spanish translation services at Meridian, she spent the last two years working with translator Martha Walter. The result led to Garcia becoming more confident in both her technical skills and her communication skills.
“At first I was afraid to talk to clients,” Garcia said. “I wanted Martha or Ms. Paine there to help me translate everything. It was hard to try and tell them something when I wasn’t using the right words.”
Sue Ann Paine, Garcia’s instructor at Tech, said that despite the initial language barrier she never had any doubt that Garcia had the drive and the talent to complete the program.
“You could tell by the look on her face that she really wanted to be in the program,” Paine said. “She had a look in her eyes. I knew that it was going to be somewhat of a challenge for both of us. I also knew that it was going take a lot of one-on-one instruction to ensure that nothing was lost in translation.”
Early on Walter was a regular fixture in the classroom – assisting Garcia with taking notes during class, communicating with clients or taking tests. After two years, she was mostly present to encourage Garcia.
“Communication is essential in this industry. You have to be able to understand what your clients want and you have to be able to ask questions to make sure that you are meeting their needs and expectations. I wanted to be sure that when Coral left the program she had technical skills and people skills,” Paine said. “These last two years Coral has worked so hard and accomplished so much. She has gained confidence and has become more outgoing with students and clients. Being bilingual will be a great asset to a salon.”
Garcia recently took the Oklahoma State Board of Cosmetology exam, a requirement for her to practice her trade. She took the test without translation services and is anxious to get her results back in four to six weeks.
“It was super hard for me because I couldn’t understand all of the words,” she said of the experience. “I just tried to remember everything I learned with Ms. Paine and do my best.”
In addition to the Spanish translation services that Meridian Technology Center offers its students, district residents can also take free English as a second language courses. The school also offers an evening conversational Spanish class through its short-term programs.
Meridian Technology Center is a career and technology training center located in Stillwater, Okla. The center has more than 70 career majors and offers a wide variety of evening short-term courses and certifications for many diverse career fields. Meridian also offers services to businesses in need of training and development. Each year approximately 11,000 students come to Meridian from all areas of business and industry.
For more information or to enroll visit www.meridiantech.edu or call (405) 377-3333 or toll-free at (888) 607-2509.
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