If you are a security officer whose first language is English and you

are communicating with an ESL or non-English speaker, keep these

communication tips in mind:

 

• If it appears you are not being understood because the message

• recipient is an ESL speaker, use different words to communicate the same message to see if this helps your message to be

• understood. Remain calm and professional as you work towards message understanding.

• If you do not understand a message from an ESL speaker, ask them to use different words to communicate the same message to see if this helps you understand their message. Remain calm and professional as you work towards message understanding.

• Be aware of any of your cultural dispositions or body language that may be misinterpreted by ESL or non-English speakers.

• Be aware of any cultural dispositions or body language of ESL or non-English speakers that you may misinterpret.

• Use a translator (person) to translate your message from English to the speaker's native language.

• If you have access to the Internet, you can use sites like https://babelfish.yahoo.com/ to translate written words.

• If you frequently need to interact with ESL or non-English speakers, investing in a handheld, portable electronic translator may be beneficial. These electronic translators can be purchased over the Internet. These translators are expensive, but used ones can be found on Internet sales and action sites.

• Use a bi-lingual dispatcher or a dispatcher with access to ways to translate non-English phrases or words.

• Pantomime and use gestures. Gestures can communicate a lot of information between speakers of different languages. Just be careful your gestures are not offensive.