Dr. Doreen M. Blandino, who was recently promoted to professor of modern and classical languages and liberal arts, and Dr. Mark G. Rivardo, assistant professor of psychology, recently had an article published in the Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology, Fall 2006 edition. Their article, “The Acquisition and Retention of Job-Specific Spanish Vocabulary by English-Speaking Law Enforcement Officers,” assessed the effectiveness of the Officer Safety and Communication Spanish, Level I course, designed by Jose M. Alentado. The course is offered in several states with the Pennsylvania State Police Southwest Training Center in Greensburg as one of the sites. Officers from Arizona, California, Illinois, Tennessee and Pennsylvania participated in the study.

The purpose of Dr. Blandino and Dr. Rivardo’s research was to evaluate the three-day course that is designed specifically for law enforcement personnel to learn simple phrases and basic job-related Spanish vocabulary. The Saint Vincent professors were specifically interested in determining whether the course increased the officers’ knowledge of and ability to use Spanish on the job and whether these officers also felt the course was beneficial. A Saint Vincent College Faculty Development Grant supported the research, which took more than two years to complete.

“Courses like this one help officers to be more efficient, effective and safe,” Dr. Blandino explained. As part of the study, the officers were asked to role-play typical scenarios that they would encounter on the job. The scenarios reflected two task areas under investigation: ability to conduct a vehicle stop and ability to make a felony arrest. Dr. Rivardo completed the design and analysis of the project after data were collected.

Prior to the start of the course and at the conclusion of the course, the participants completed a questionnaire assessing their motivation to learn to use Spanish effectively. The three-day course included learning the Spanish alphabet, pronunciation practice, appropriate vocabulary for vehicle stops, felony arrests, interviews and basic report information, aspects of Hispanic culture and slang vocabulary for drug, gang and danger phrases. The participants were given mnemonic devices, gestures and graphics to help them remember Spanish words. “In psychology these techniques have long been known to facilitate learning and the course designers did a great job incorporating them in the course,” Dr. Rivardo added.

Participants were reassessed three and six months after the workshop to see how well they retained the knowledge. Drs. Rivardo and Blandino said based on the research they conducted, the course is successful in teaching survival Spanish skills and the retention rate six months after the course was high.

Dr. Blandino said the study is timely because Hispanics represent the largest minority group in the United States and public servants must be able to communicate with those whom they serve. The project was initiated when Mr. Alentado, creator of the course, became interested in analyzing the effectiveness of the program. Prior to this study, a former student of Dr. Blandino’s, Lt. Kevan Dugan of the Pennsylvania State Police, had asked her to pose as a native Spanish speaker during role-play activities at the training center. Dr. Blandino, a proficient Spanish speaker, and Saint Vincent students, who are native speakers, would frequently serve as role players in a variety of crime scenarios to test the officers’ ability to communicate in Spanish.

The professors noted that this was an interdisciplinary effort and such projects are important and valued at a place like Saint Vincent College. Dr. Rivardo said, “The research also serves as a bridge between Saint Vincent and the local community.” This was the first time the two professors collaborated on research.

Saint Vincent College professors Dr. Mark Rivardo, left, and Dr. Doreen Blandino, right, had their research appear in the Fall 2006 issue of the Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology.

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