I remember the first time I had a level 1 ESOL student in my civics and economics class. As a second year teacher I was already overwhelmed with the content, let alone trying to make it accessible to a student who only spoke spanish. I wish I had this “hack” back then but am happy to at least have it now. My hope is that at least one of my readers will be a new teacher and that I have made your first few years just a little easier.
The document above is one of the study guides I used with my Life Science students during virtual instruction this year. The best part was that the entire document was translated in less than 1 minute.
Tips before you begin
- Save your document as a copied. I recommend adding spanish, or any other language, version.
- Open up Microsoft Word in the desktop version
Translation Steps
- Click tools
- Select Translate
- Select Translate Document
- Select your original language and the language you would like to translate to.
Uses
This quick translator feature in Microsoft Word is a great tool for you when creating materials.
For our older ESOL students or more tech savvy ones this could be a gamechanger for them. They could write their assignments in their native language before translating it. Or the reverse by translating from english to their native language to better learn the material.
I almost forgot to mention, this feature is available on the desktop versions of PowerPoint, Excel, and OneNote as well. Think about how quickly you can provide your ESOL students with a copy of your powerpoint slides translated into their native language!
As with every translation site or resources you will want to double check if possible. This is perfect for the day to day paperwork with school but you should always check the translation prior to using it for communication with families and the community.