It’s hard to believe it is already October! The fall foliage outside my window is a reminder of how I can find beauty all around me if I simply look for it. The colors and varied leaves create a patchwork quilt of loveliness just as the traditions, cultures, and languages of our students weave together the tapestry of our schools.
When your classroom is chosen to host students of other languages and cultures, how do you step up to the challenge and turn it into an opportunity of learning for all students? How do you communicate with parents when you do not speak their language? This post will offer solutions that will assist you with the following: 1) messaging parents, 2) translating documents, 3) using a translator app for dialogue.
1) Messaging Parents
One app that I find VERY useful in communicating with EL families is called Talking Points. Teachers sign up for free and create a “class.” You can download this app to your phone and also login from the computer – messages are visible both ways.
The thing I love about Talking Points is that parents select their language of choice. When you type in English, the text is run through a translator and they receive it in their language. They can reply in their language and you receive the message in English. This app is recommended by the ESL Consortium that I participate in..
Another app recommended by the ESL Consortium is https://www.classdojo.com/new-index/
While I personally have not used this, the Head Start program in our area uses it effectively.
Keep in mind that everything in these apps is run through a translator. As a result, you will want to keep your sentences short and use about a 5th grade vocabulary when possible. Sometimes parents receiving the messages have lower literacy levels. Furthermore, simplified sentences and vocabulary makes it easier to translate. Beware, too, of multiple meaning or word phrases in English. An example would be to use the phrase “exclude your child” instead of the phrase “opt your child out.”
2) Document Translation
When you are looking to translate documents, there are several ways to go about this if your district does not have a human translator. I use multiple apps/translators and then compare. I also run the translation back into English (from Spanish or other language) to see if it still makes sense. Or, I translate from English to Spanish (or other language) in one app and then take the Spanish (or other language) and translate back into English in a different app to check for accuracy.
Here are some translator pages I use. Most of these have limitations on the amount of text to translate.
https://translate.google.com/ I then backwards check the translation as I mentioned above. This page can also translate uploaded documents.
https://www.spanishdict.com/ is a good option for Spanish. This is also a good place to backwards check the google translation. There is a limitation of how much text you can translate.
https://www.linguee.com/english-spanish is an app I have used mostly for French. It does a good job.
https://www.deepl.com/translator is another I have used mostly for French but seems to do a good job with Spanish as well.
3) Dialogue Translation
Finally, I highly recommend the Microsoft Translator for your handheld device, whether phone or tablet. Look for the green square icon in the app store. It is a free app. The wonder of it is that you can translate live two way conversations with one device.
I hope you find these tools helpful. They have worked well for me. If you have others that you use and want to share, please post them in the comments.
If you are struggling in communicating with your non-English speaking parents, I encourage you to reach out to your ESL specialist or someone who can help you communicate with all families in your classroom.
Also, always remember to make time for yourself – to relax, to renew, to refresh. No one else can do this for you.