Calvary Brighton waves the flag for starting conversations
News
At Calvary Brighton in Adelaide, one simple gesture of inclusion for non-English speakers has become a conversation starter in many languages.
Not being able to understand the spoken language in your new aged care home would be confronting for anyone but for Polish resident Halina Wilkosz it triggered her first question on arrival – ‘Who here speaks Polish?’
As a proud Pole, Clinical Care coordinator Amanda Bartosewicz’s warm greeting in Halina’s native tongue sparked a response that has changed how staff and residents can interact, no matter which language they speak.
“Upon hearing I spoke Polish, Ms Wilkosz immediately suggested including a small national flag next to staff name tags to assist a conversation starter,” said Ms Bartosewicz.
“It is one of the most simple yet effective icebreakers you could imagine to break down barriers.
“Almost everyone identifies with their national flag, and understanding where someone comes from is one of the first pieces of information we ask when communicating with others.
“I can still remember travelling to Europe as a child and air hostesses would wear small national flags to indicate which languages they spoke,” Ms Bartosewicz said.
Ms Wilkosz said being able to speak with Amanda from the very start made her feel very welcome.
“I thought it would make such a difference for other non-English residents like myself to be able to have a chat with staff based on their nationality and where they come from.” Ms Wilkosz said.
Calvary Adelaide Brighton Home manager, Bertha Nyoni said the idea appealed immediately and was open to all staff and residents.
“We have a Sri Lankan personal care worker who speaks Russian and four other languages, so we thought this could be a great project for the residents to be able to identify any staff who spoke languages other than English,” Ms Nyoni said.
“Our reception desk has introduced flags for visitors to see the variety of languages spoken here, and we have a flag board identifying all the nations under our roof”.
According to Ms Nyoni, the staff’s reaction has been fantastic as they take pride in wearing their national flag and sharing where they are from.
“Now their country of origin can be identified easily and residents’ bond with staff who speak their own language and have a shared understanding of place,” Ms Nyoni said.
From this small but important initiative, residents have expressed they want to learn a new language, which has since become a lifestyle activity.
Nepalese speakers have held introductory language lessons to give residents an understanding of some basic words to communicate.
Calvary general manager Aged Care SA Ryan Midgley said the success of the initiative at Brighton could see a roll-out at other homes.
“Sharing a common language with others is something we can easily take for granted, but I’m keen for our other homes to get on board in breaking down language barriers and helping start conversations,” Mr Midgley said.
“Coming into the home and seeing all the flags reminds me of how lucky we are to have such a diverse workforce with such a rich culture to share proudly.”
