IWC Success Stories

Every since Carlos was hired, I walk past him every morning as he is gathering chairs for his daily set-ups. I would stop by and say, “Buenos Dias, Carlos. Como Estas Hoy?” to which Carlos would respond, “Buenos Dias, Estoy bien gracias.” I will never forget the morning I was on my way to stand up and just like every morning I stopped by to chat with Carlos and said, “Buenos Dias, Carlos. Como Estas Hoy?” to which he responded in perfect English, “Good Morning, I am good today. How are you.” I was so surprised by Carlos’s English skills because they seems to appear just over night.  

Alejandro and I worked together in housekeeping for 2 years. During this time, Alejandro and I would try to carry on conversations which my broken Spanish the best that we could. He would take the time to correct my Spanish if I miss-pronounced a word or used the incorrect wording. One afternoon I was making my way back to the Human Resources Office and I heard someone say. “Hello Nikki. It is nice to see you today.” in a voice I did not recognize. I turned around to see Alejandro at the end of the hall. It was a breath-taking moment to see a long time co-worker of mine who helped me learn his language speak to me in my language.  

Olga would always come to the Human Resources office with a translator shortly behind her. If she could not find a translator, she would come to the office and that would be the first thing that she would ask for. Olga’s English skills and confidence have increased by such a large scope that she will now come to the Human Resources office without a translator and will speak to the team in English and we understand exactly what she is asking for every time. Not only have we noticed her English skills in conversations with Human Resources but Olga has also been overheard talking to English speaking associates in English that she was unable to conversate with prior to completing the ESL program. It doesn’t just stop there, if Olga needs a translator, she is now able to understand if what she is saying in Spanish is being translated to English correctly. Her proficiency in not only speaking but understanding what is being said has been nothing short of inspiring. 

Yuraima comes down to the Human Resources office at least twice a week with questions around Vacation, PTO or just general hotel questions. She would come down to the office and would ask for one of our Spanish speaking team members to assist her, and when they were not available we would do our best with broken Spanish and translation apps to help her. That was until Yuraima started the ESL program with Marriott IndyPlace. Now, when Yuraima comes to the Human Resources office with questions, she will only speak to us in English. If we try to speak with her in Spanish she will correct us and say she wants to speak in English. The level of confidence that Yuraima has developed with her English skills is nothing short of inspiring.