English For Restaurant and Service Workers

What you'll learn

OFW's English For Restaurant and Service Workers program is built for the industry. The curriculum is not generic adult English instruction — it's the English you actually need on a kitchen line and on a dining-room floor.

• Kitchen English: tickets, station calls, expediter language, food-safety vocabulary, prep instructions.
• Front-of-house English: greeting and seating guests, taking orders, answering allergen and menu questions, handling complaints, splitting checks.
• Workplace English: reading your schedule, your pay stub, your employee handbook. Asking for time off. Reporting a problem.
• Career English: applying for a higher-paying position. Interviewing. Negotiating a raise.

How classes work

Classes meet in person (in select cities) and online (nationwide). Sessions are small — typically 8–12 workers per cohort — and run on evening or daytime tracks to fit around restaurant shifts. Instructors include native-speaking volunteers and restaurant-industry coaches.

Who can enroll

Any current or recent restaurant worker. There's no test to get in, no immigration-status questions, and no cost. Bring a phone, a notebook, and your shift schedule — we'll figure out a class time that works.

Why it matters

OFW's research shows that limited English is the single biggest barrier to advancement for immigrant restaurant workers — a population that's roughly a quarter of the industry. Workers stuck in back-of-house dish and prep roles because of language earn 30–45% less than workers who can move into front-of-house, line cook, or supervisor positions. Closing that gap starts in a classroom.