Matthew C. Winner

Translation

May 30, 2006

Lost in Translation

Text translation websites can be an invaluable tool in the classroom when used in the right context. The ability to translate foreign text or have English text translated into a foreign language can be a great asset in a number of instructional situations.

1. They can be beneficial in communicating with ESL parents (English as a second language). Documents concerning classroom supplies, field trips, orientations, report cards, and test results can be translated for the benefit of the foreign language-speaking parents, thereby supporting the school community and strengthening teacher-parent communication.

2. Text translation sites can be used by students in corresponding with pen pal students and schools in foreign countries. Students can compose letters, poems, or songs and translate them so pen pals can read them in their native language.

3. Music teachers can use text translation sites to translate songs into English from their original publishing language. Much of the classical songs and traditional pieces were written in German, French, or Latin. When a translation isn’t provided, these sites can be used as a simple and effective solution.

4. During a Time for Kids reading, students often learn about foreign events but receive very little information about how students their ages in those countries react to the events. With a text-translating tool, students could access foreign children’s new publications and understand the event from a different perspective.

5. While maintaining a classroom website, a text translation site could be helpful in providing the site’s information in various languages so that it is more globally accessible. This may also be a way to provide a strong home-school connection with families of students where English is not the primary language spoken at home.

6. I plan to use one of the text translation sites in a reading group with my students in the near future. We are reading a book called Esperanza Rising and the text introduces a number of Spanish words and phrases without formally defining any of them. A translation site can be the quick solution we’re looking for to support our understanding of the words used in this text when context clues don’t give enough information.

Experiment in translation:

Original English text:

After an exhausting first year of teaching, I cannot wait to relax this summer by reading some great books, visiting my family, spending time with my beautiful wife, and camping in western Maryland.

Translated to German:

Nach einem ermüdenden ersten Jahr des Unterrichtens kann ich nicht warten, um mich in diesem Sommer zu entspannen, indem ich einige große Bücher lese, meine Familie besuchend, Zeit mit meiner schönen Frau verbringend, und im westlichen Maryland zeltend.

Translated to Portuguese:

Depois de um primeiro ano extenuante do ensino, não posso esperar para descansar neste Verão lendo alguns grandes livros, visitando a minha família, passando tempo com minha bela esposa, e acampando no Maryland ocidental.