Talk Show Spreads the Good Words in English : Radio Station KSKQ Offers On-Air Lessons in Language for Latinos

The most popular show Sundays on Los Angeles radio station KSKQ offers no Top 40 music, slick DJ chatter, news or giveaway prizes.

Instead, it deals with thousands of questions similar to the one posed recently by a woman caller: “Como se dice himno nacional en Ingles?”

“Oh, that’s easy,” the host began in Spanish before switching to English. “National anthem. Can you say that? National annnnn-them . . . .”

Such is the fare on what some industry observers say is the unique program on Spanish-language radio these days in Southern California--”Learning English with Mario Hernandez.”

Students in Studio

For one hour, beginning at 9 a.m. on Sundays, an audience estimated in the thousands tunes in at home to 1540 on the AM dial, while Hernandez leads a studio full of students through the mysteries of the English language. Topics ranging from negative imperatives (“Don’t drink the water!”) to the proper placement of adjectives are covered.

Countless listeners clog the station’s phone lines with questions. So many call in that Hernandez and several helpers are forced to stay on at the station for an extra hour to field the inquiries. As many as 100 leave their names each week to receive the workbooks and cassette tapes, at a cost of $39.95, to follow the radio lessons at home.

Although the program has been on the air for only two months, KSKQ executives are already thinking of offering the program during the week.

“The response has been, well, outstanding,” said news director Antonio Gonzales. “There’s nothing else like it on the air in Spanish radio.”

Response on Telephone

There are no precise figures or surveys to measure the show’s popularity, but station executives say the apparent large number of calls they receive on Sunday mornings--normally an off-peak time for radio--is indicative of the program’s success.

The success of the program has caught some in the Spanish-language radio industry by surprise.

“They are taking a chance, because they may eventually lose those listeners,” said an executive at a rival Spanish-language station. “I’ve talked to people at other (Spanish-language) stations and they say the same thing. But we have to do something. I mean, we won’t give up listeners easily. And the timing of their show, I’ll have to admit, is perfect.”

Indeed, the program comes in the midst of the passage of California Proposition 63, the English-only initiative, and the signing into law of the national immigration reform bill, which makes an understanding of English a prerequisite for amnesty for illegal immigrants.

“We didn’t put the show on the air with these things in mind,” Gonzales said. “We did it more as a public service. The response tells me that people really do want to learn the (English) language.”

The program is the brainchild of Hernandez, 30, who emigrated from Guatemala in 1974.

He worked his way through junior-high and high-school courses at night, community college and the University of Southern California in eight years, graduating with a bachelor of arts degree in business marketing in 1982.

‘I Do for My People’

He tutored Spanish-speaking students in English, math and science to earn extra money while at USC and found the experience extremely rewarding.

“I remember what it was like for me,” Hernandez said. “Now, what I do, I do for my people. The people are always hungry for help.”

Hernandez founded a nonprofit tutoring program, Desarrollo Estudiantil Hispano (DESH), shortly before graduating from USC. He later founded a second program, Instituto de Desarrollo Academico (IDEA), which is the springboard for the radio show.

The show--which has already been expanded twice to its present one hour--follows a simple format.

Hernandez leads a class of six students--two regulars and four listeners invited each week to come to the studios--in a series of exercises:

- Long vowels. “Let’s pick a word. Map. Now’s that a long ‘a.’ Maaaaaaaaaaap.”

- Telling time. “It’s 25 minutes to eight. Or it’s 7:35.”

- Adjectives. “Please remember, reverse the adjectives when you are going to modify a noun. Example: ‘I have a car . . . tengo un carro. ‘ But if you say, ‘Tengo un carro rojo, ‘ put the adjective in front of the noun in English. ‘I have a red car.’ ”

Part Showman

Hernandez is part showman as he leads his studio class through its paces. “What’s that, Jose? I can’t hear your answer,” he told one timid student in English and Spanish. “That’s it. Speak up.”

Listeners seem to find the show enjoyable and useful.

“The toughest part for me is the pronunciation of the words,” said Jose Sanchez, a machinist. “Sometimes, I think I know too many words and I get confused.”

Added Mayra del Cid, a housewife: “This is productive for me because I haven’t been able to go to school to learn it because of my two children.

“And being on radio is OK.”