Recently, I began to work with\u00a0James,\u00a0an ELL student with a strong background in\u00a0English grammar, vocabulary\u00a0and reading accuracy. Yet,\u00a0he struggled with verbal communication and comprehension.\u00a0During our Skype lessons, it quickly became clear that\u00a0James was not\u00a0fully engaged in our lessons. It took him\u00a0a while to respond to my questions or prompts throughout\u00a0the lessons.\u00a0Even with visuals and written instructions,\u00a0James\u00a0really\u00a0struggled to understand\u00a0concepts\u00a0and was becoming frustrated.\u00a0This led me to\u00a0modify\u00a0my\u00a0lessons. Instead of working on\u00a0higher level\u00a0thinking in our discussions,\u00a0we had to work on\u00a0basic comprehension. I needed to find a way for him to\u00a0follow what I was saying throughout the lessons.<\/p>\n
During this time, I was attending\u00a0a technology conference (International Society for Technology in Education\u2014ISTE) in Chicago, and I learned about Microsoft Translator<\/a><\/strong>.\u00a0As I tried out the translator demo, I realized that this was not like\u00a0other translation applications. Microsoft Translator\u00a0(available\u00a0on PowerPoint<\/a><\/strong>,\u00a0as\u00a0an app for mobile devices<\/a>,<\/strong>\u00a0as well as\u00a0on\u00a0the\u00a0web) documents\u00a0your dialogue as you speak into your microphone and provides live captions on the screen of anyone that is part of the conversation.\u00a0In addition, anyone who joins the conversation (from one person to a\u00a0large group of people) can choose which language they wish the information\u00a0to\u00a0be translated into.\u00a0The most exciting feature for me was the one that allowed you to read information in English\u00a0and\u00a0<\/em>in another language, simultaneously.\u00a0I became so excited by the possibilities\u00a0that this would provide\u00a0for my students that\u00a0I decided to try it the next day during my morning lesson with James.<\/p>\n While working with James using the Microsoft Translator, I learned more about him in that hour than I had in the prior month of lessons. I learned that James is a visual learner, and that he learns best when he can\u00a0follow what is being said. I also learned that James is a strong thinker\u00a0who can\u00a0look at\u00a0concepts\u00a0abstractly, but he struggles finding the right words to express his\u00a0ideas.\u00a0For the first time, I saw James smile during our lessons.\u00a0His\u00a0high-level of engagement\u00a0was evident as he\u00a0quickly responded\u00a0to my questions and\u00a0eagerly\u00a0waited\u00a0for my responses. I\u00a0noticed his eyes carefully following the captions on the screen\u00a0to\u00a0make sure he was not missing anything.\u00a0By the end of this transformative lesson, James told me that he could not wait to share\u00a0the\u00a0Microsoft Translator app\u00a0with his parents, who do not speak\u00a0English,\u00a0and his friends.\u00a0He said,\u00a0\u201cMs. Mata,\u00a0the translator helped me feel so much more comfortable during my lesson, and I\u00a0even\u00a0learned new vocabulary!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n During our next lesson, we\u00a0started a young adult novel. As\u00a0we read together, he\u00a0could see the captions in English and Chinese. Throughout the chapter, we stopped and discussed important ideas and\u00a0even\u00a0symbols in the story. Because he was able to understand\u00a0what was being discussed, he was also able to respond \u2014 in English \u2014 and point out different important symbols in the story.\u00a0At certain points in the lesson, I asked\u00a0him to share symbols\u00a0from\u00a0his<\/em>\u00a0own culture and to explain them in Chinese. More recently,\u00a0I\u00a0asked James to challenge himself by\u00a0trying\u00a0to\u00a0use only the English captions without the Chinese ones. Though this has been more difficult, he has been able to\u00a0follow\u00a0our\u00a0conversations\u00a0and effectively\u00a0communicate\u00a0while using this tool to help him stay engaged throughout the lesson.<\/p>\n I wonder how often students are not\u00a0seen\u00a0<\/em>for who they\u00a0really\u00a0are and are instead perceived as\u00a0disengaged and unmotivated.\u00a0Literacy barriers that stem from\u00a0learning disabilities or lack of fluency\u00a0lead\u00a0to frustration and, sometimes, negative behaviors in the classroom.\u00a0As educators, it is our job to find ways to highlight students\u2019 strengths, regardless of these barriers. Tools such as Microsoft Translator<\/strong><\/a> make it that much easier for students to understand ideas and express their own, thus alleviating frustrations\u00a0in the classroom.<\/p>\n By\u00a0using Skype and Microsoft Translator together,\u00a0a whole new\u00a0layer\u00a0of James was revealed, and though his journey to English fluency continues,\u00a0his progress has been remarkable.\u00a0With this new tool, James is more\u00a0capable\u00a0to take on the English language\u00a0than ever before.\u00a0As we head into a new school year, I\u00a0encourage\u00a0other\u00a0educators to take risks and try\u00a0innovative\u00a0techniques, tools and approaches. Microsoft Translator<\/a><\/strong> is just one of many\u00a0incredible learning tools available to educators and students.\u00a0Time and again, I have witnessed\u00a0that\u00a0while\u00a0integrating\u00a0new\u00a0technologies may be\u00a0an\u00a0adjustment at first,\u00a0their\u00a0effect\u00a0on\u00a0student learning\u00a0will\u00a0positively\u00a0impact\u00a0students\u2019\u00a0confidence\u00a0and\u00a0ensure their success in the classroom and beyond.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/unleashing-esl-students-potential-with-microsoft-translator.jpg\"){kind=spacer}
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