I think it is so valuable to be able to speak more than one language. We live in an increasingly multicultural society and many people living in the United States do not speak English as their primary language. If an individual is able to speak another language in addition to English, they will be able to communicate with many more people who they come into contact with. These bi- or multi-lingual individuals are also more desirable when it comes to looking for a job. Typically if all other things are equal, someone who is bilingual would be more desirable for a position, especially in customer service, than someone who is not.
I completely agree with the importance of learning/speaking multiple languages. My school consists of a huge hispanic population! I tell my students constantly that they need to continue practicing English as well as Spanish! This will get them a job so much faster when they get older. They are already translating for their parents at our parent-teacher conferences on a normal basis when we do not have enough translators available. This is a skill worth working for!
Thank you for sharing some of the available real-time translation resources! I have several students with parents that do not speak English, and it can be incredibly frustrating for both the parents and me to try to communicate about grades or behavior. I agree with you that relying on the students to translate is a terrible idea. Too often the students do not accurately translate exactly what you are trying to say, whether they realize it or not. I am excited to try some of these resources that I did not know about until reading your blog! Thanks for sharing!
The more research I did, the more available resources I was able to find! With technology ever-changing I am sure there will be even more available resources in the future! Using what is available now works well to solve our parent/teacher conference issues, however I have seen that some of the translations are not 100% accurate all of the time, which may be confusing for the parents. However, I have had one or two instances where my student was translating and "forgot" how to say the word I wanted them to when it came to conference time. It is funny how they seem to "forget" words like misbehaving or failing when we get in front of their parents. This technology could definitely solve these problems as long as the translations are accurate.
Hey Jessica, Thanks for the information on Real-Time Translation and what it means for education. I work with many students whose parents are less than fluent in English and some of the tools you mentioned are great for bridging these language barriers. While I have picked up some Spanish to communicate with parents, it is tough to communicate with families that are from less common backgrounds. I agree with you about the trouble that can come from having the student be the translator for their parents. I feel that this should be a last resort if there are no other options available.
Daniel, We are lucky enough at our school to have hired translators for parent/teacher confereneces. However, the list fills up quickly! I agree that students should be used as a last resort. With all of the available real-time translation hopefully the future will make it much easier to communicate with parents that speak other languages. I would like to implement these new forms of technology in a parent/teacher conferences to test it out someday.
I think we will see continued growth in real-time translation technologies in the future because of continued changes in student populations. These technologies could actually become a saving grace for teachers who only speak one language since Spanish and other languages are going to be more and more present in upcoming decades.
Hey Jessica great information in your blog. This topic is a great one to discuss or to even research because we live in such a melting pot of cultures like America. I have used the World Lens app on my iPhone while I was in Italy a few summers back and it worked out pretty well getting around the different towns and especially restaurants. I also have used Google Translator which is great to use while reading documents online. It automatically picks the language and translates the whole webpage to what ever language the person speaks. It has come in very handy while researching for school.
All I know is that I want a pair of Google Glasses even more so after watching the video you provided (no matter how weird they would make me look lol),
The World Lens App is a perfect tool to bring with you to Italy! I'm glad that it worked out nicely for you! I agree that the Google Glasses may look weird, but it is like having a computer in your mind! You can do virtually anything with those! Maybe one day, we will move to wearing them while teaching! Then we would know everything like the kids assume we do.
The infographic on your first page is a great image to include because the disparities are so vast between 1960 and 2000. It is absolutely incredible to think that those figures are true.
In terms of your apps that you are looking at, my students are currently using "WordLens" where they can take a picture of the book and have it be translated into spanish for them. The app is supposed to work only for road signs and menus, but I'm trying my best to adapt it into a textbook. It works "Ok" at best, with many words left untranslated and the other half in some sort of weird spanglish. My students do say however that it is better than nothing, and many of them can figure it out through context clues.
What is interesting is the concept of google glass. What if they could combine the hardware and software to use a real time translation app that you could wear on your head. The results would be so language barrier breaking it would be hilarious. With the rise of the hispanic population, this could be an incredible piece of technology that would help out much of america.
Thank you for your insight with the "Word Lens" app. I have never tried it with a textbook. I could see how the words could get jumbled and turn into "spanglish". I wonder if it would work well on parent/teacher conference forms?... Might be worth a try. But first we would have to make sure the parents could READ in their own language, as I have seen this as an issue as well. They can easily speak spanish, but are illiterate. The Google Glasses would be a fun concept to try! I wonder what the parents would think if they walked into a parent/teacher conference with the teacher wearing a set of Google Glasses? Who knows... this could become the new "norm" in the future.
I think it is so valuable to be able to speak more than one language. We live in an increasingly multicultural society and many people living in the United States do not speak English as their primary language. If an individual is able to speak another language in addition to English, they will be able to communicate with many more people who they come into contact with. These bi- or multi-lingual individuals are also more desirable when it comes to looking for a job. Typically if all other things are equal, someone who is bilingual would be more desirable for a position, especially in customer service, than someone who is not.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with the importance of learning/speaking multiple languages. My school consists of a huge hispanic population! I tell my students constantly that they need to continue practicing English as well as Spanish! This will get them a job so much faster when they get older. They are already translating for their parents at our parent-teacher conferences on a normal basis when we do not have enough translators available. This is a skill worth working for!
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing some of the available real-time translation resources! I have several students with parents that do not speak English, and it can be incredibly frustrating for both the parents and me to try to communicate about grades or behavior. I agree with you that relying on the students to translate is a terrible idea. Too often the students do not accurately translate exactly what you are trying to say, whether they realize it or not. I am excited to try some of these resources that I did not know about until reading your blog! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteThe more research I did, the more available resources I was able to find! With technology ever-changing I am sure there will be even more available resources in the future! Using what is available now works well to solve our parent/teacher conference issues, however I have seen that some of the translations are not 100% accurate all of the time, which may be confusing for the parents. However, I have had one or two instances where my student was translating and "forgot" how to say the word I wanted them to when it came to conference time. It is funny how they seem to "forget" words like misbehaving or failing when we get in front of their parents. This technology could definitely solve these problems as long as the translations are accurate.
ReplyDeleteHey Jessica,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the information on Real-Time Translation and what it means for education. I work with many students whose parents are less than fluent in English and some of the tools you mentioned are great for bridging these language barriers. While I have picked up some Spanish to communicate with parents, it is tough to communicate with families that are from less common backgrounds. I agree with you about the trouble that can come from having the student be the translator for their parents. I feel that this should be a last resort if there are no other options available.
Daniel,
ReplyDeleteWe are lucky enough at our school to have hired translators for parent/teacher confereneces. However, the list fills up quickly! I agree that students should be used as a last resort. With all of the available real-time translation hopefully the future will make it much easier to communicate with parents that speak other languages. I would like to implement these new forms of technology in a parent/teacher conferences to test it out someday.
I think we will see continued growth in real-time translation technologies in the future because of continued changes in student populations. These technologies could actually become a saving grace for teachers who only speak one language since Spanish and other languages are going to be more and more present in upcoming decades.
DeleteHey Jessica great information in your blog. This topic is a great one to discuss or to even research because we live in such a melting pot of cultures like America. I have used the World Lens app on my iPhone while I was in Italy a few summers back and it worked out pretty well getting around the different towns and especially restaurants. I also have used Google Translator which is great to use while reading documents online. It automatically picks the language and translates the whole webpage to what ever language the person speaks. It has come in very handy while researching for school.
ReplyDeleteAll I know is that I want a pair of Google Glasses even more so after watching the video you provided (no matter how weird they would make me look lol),
Chris,
DeleteThe World Lens App is a perfect tool to bring with you to Italy! I'm glad that it worked out nicely for you! I agree that the Google Glasses may look weird, but it is like having a computer in your mind! You can do virtually anything with those! Maybe one day, we will move to wearing them while teaching! Then we would know everything like the kids assume we do.
The infographic on your first page is a great image to include because the disparities are so vast between 1960 and 2000. It is absolutely incredible to think that those figures are true.
ReplyDeleteIn terms of your apps that you are looking at, my students are currently using "WordLens" where they can take a picture of the book and have it be translated into spanish for them. The app is supposed to work only for road signs and menus, but I'm trying my best to adapt it into a textbook. It works "Ok" at best, with many words left untranslated and the other half in some sort of weird spanglish. My students do say however that it is better than nothing, and many of them can figure it out through context clues.
What is interesting is the concept of google glass. What if they could combine the hardware and software to use a real time translation app that you could wear on your head. The results would be so language barrier breaking it would be hilarious. With the rise of the hispanic population, this could be an incredible piece of technology that would help out much of america.
James,
DeleteThank you for your insight with the "Word Lens" app. I have never tried it with a textbook. I could see how the words could get jumbled and turn into "spanglish". I wonder if it would work well on parent/teacher conference forms?... Might be worth a try. But first we would have to make sure the parents could READ in their own language, as I have seen this as an issue as well. They can easily speak spanish, but are illiterate. The Google Glasses would be a fun concept to try! I wonder what the parents would think if they walked into a parent/teacher conference with the teacher wearing a set of Google Glasses? Who knows... this could become the new "norm" in the future.