January 19, 2003

Attn: Mr. Damion Walters, C.E.O.
OxyChem Corporation
1578 Nitrate Drive
Buffalo, New York 14222

Dear Mr. Walters,

As per your request, I am sending this letter to summarize the results of the ongoing needs assessment of an employee of yours, Mr. Thani Mai, during the past semester of his speech language therapy. Let me begin by saying that it has been a pleasure to work with Mr. Mai during this time. His extreme motivation and willingness to learn new concepts has made it easy for me, as a clinician, to work with him on achieving the goals that you specified, as well as, on the various English skills in which he personally desired competence. As I’m sure you’ve noticed in the workplace, Mr. Mai has made significant improvements in his ability to orally communicate in group settings and in his pronunciation of the names and uses of the various chemical compounds and lab equipment at OxyChem. I am very proud of how far he has come in this relatively short period of time, and hope that you are equally pleased with the results of his therapy.

Reflecting back to the time you first referred Mr. Mai to me, I recall that he was extremely frustrated and worried that he wouldn’t be able to learn English adequately enough to meet the English proficiency level required for OxyChem employees. One of the first days that I met Mr. Mai, I asked him to jot down a few thoughts about how it felt to work in an environment where a relatively unfamiliar language was spoken. The poem that he wrote was extremely touching and really helped me to better understand some of his expectations for therapy. Also during the initial needs assessment process, Mr. Mai and I both agreed to write journal entries in order to express our concerns, apprehensions, and expectations regarding therapy. By reading these journal entries, I think you will realize just how greatly Mr. Mai desired to be respected not only by you, but by his fellow Oxy Chem employees, as well. Mr. Mai was extremely lucky to have such a supportive family environment during his therapy. On several occasions during the initial needs assessment process, Mr. Mai’s wife, Akha, and I exchanged emails where we discussed some of Mr. Mai's personality traits and pronunciation difficulties. As stated in your letter of referral, you felt that Mr. Mai needed to work on better understanding the speech of his fellow English-speaking employees, pronouncing English words relevant to the workplace environment, and engaging in effective communication with his fellow employees. Clearly, Mr. Mai has increased his proficiency in each of the three areas of concern, although mastery has not yet been attained. Part of the ongoing needs assessment process is to provide the client with questionnaires and surveys designed to measure their own perceptions of their success in therapy. On a recent questionnaire, Mr. Mai reported that he has recently gained the respect and friendship of several of the individuals working with him at the company. He stated that learning proper pronunciation of the chemicals’ names and their uses has been very beneficial to him during the presentations he frequently must give in front of his fellow employees. He also reported that the skills we have targeted in therapy have aided him during his daily conversations with the individuals who work with him in the chemical laboratory. Although this was my first experience working with an ESL client, such as Mr. Mai, I felt very confident in my ability to provide appropriate speech and language services to him. Even though I have been a certified speech therapist for seven years, I decided that it would be in my best interest to consult with Dr. Adalyn Maze, my clinic’s current supervisor, in order to receive guidance and new ideas regarding ESL therapy. Every two weeks, Dr. Maze and I met for a brief interview where I shared my experiences working with Mr. Mai, and she, in turn, offered me advice on the unique needs assessment process and therapy plans required for this type of client. At this point in time, Dr. Maze and I both feel that Mr. Mai should continue to receive therapy services for an additional semester in order to refine his pronunciation skills and his ability to understand his fellow employees when they speak at a moderate to fast rate of speech. Of course, it will not be required that Mr. Mai attend therapy as frequently as he did last semester. However, I believe it is crucial that OxyChem continue to fund his enrollment in speech language services so that he can adequately maintain his newly learned skills. Since I cannot observe Mr. Mai in the workplace every day, I am interested in hearing your perceptions about his current English speaking skills, as well as, his comprehension abilities.

I am very grateful to you for choosing the Justice Nichols and Ash Speech and Hearing Clinic to work with this employee learning English as a second language. I appreciate the opportunity to work with this individual, and I hope to provide clinical services to many more OxyChem employees in the future. If you ever wish to obtain additional information regarding individuals learning English as a second language, feel free to visit the webliography that I created when I was completing my undergraduate education at Marshall University in Huntington, WV. There you will find various links related to individuals learning English as a second language. I feel that you will find these sites helpful in understanding more about employees from different cultures and the hardships they can face, both in the workplace, and in their daily lives, while struggling to learn a new language. Recently, I spoke at a conference for speech pathologists where I showed a Power Point presentation regarding needs assessment in ESL clients. It was actually Mr. Mai who inspired me to be a presenter at the conference. I recommend that you view my Power Point presentation in order to gain a greater understanding of the variety of processes I used this semester during my ongoing assessment of Mr. Mai’s needs. I look forward to hearing from you soon, and, as always, I welcome any additional questions or concerns you have regarding this client.

Sincerely,

Erin E. Burns
M.A. CCC/SLP
Speech Language Pathologist

Justice, Nichols, and Ash Speech and Hearing Clinic
541 Emmons Ave. Suite 5-B
Buffalo, New York 14222
(716) 873-8656

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