Monthly News & Updates for Educators, Interpreters and Translators

Welcome to 2025! A year of opportunities and challenges that will strengthen our resolve and underscore the importance of our mission. As we step into 2025, we anticipate exciting prospects for growth and collaboration. Together, we will continue to advance quality language access through trained and professional interpreters and translators, and support effective family engagement practices. Let's create language and cultural bridges ensuring brighter futures for children, families, and communities.

UPDATES

Thank you to Our Amazing Human Translators!

We appreciate the Central Indiana Education Service Center for recognizing the skills and quality assurance that only human translators can provide!

We learned, we discussed, we laughed! Thank you to our amazing UGA Professional Interpreter in Special Education students for sharing their experience and knowledge with us. We are better together!

We had a great time collaborating with Georgia teachers to discover new ways to support multilingual learners and their families through quality language access and cultural humility strategies!

RESOURCE CORNER

Resource of the Month

Keep our multilingual families informed with this fact sheet: Information for Limited English Proficient Parents and for Schools and School Districts that Communicate with Them. These resources provide answers to common questions about the rights of parents and guardians who do not speak, listen, read, or write English proficiently because it is not their primary language. The information is available in English, Spanish, Chinese (Mandarin Traditional and Simplified), Cambodian, Hmong, Korean, Laotian, Russian, Tagalog, and Vietnamese.

Translator Tip of the Month

January is the perfect time to revisit the fundamentals of translation. Click below to access the American Translators Association's Guide to Starting Out as a Translator , a comprehensive resource with essential information to help you establish a solid foundation for your new career in translation.

Elevating the Voices of Interpreters and Translators in Education

So, why do we work as translators and interpreters? Because communication is essential. It’s about more than just words; it’s about empowerment. As one interpreter puts it:

'I love the concept of providing the necessary information so that people can act autonomously. Information, and access to information, is powerful. I like leveling the playing field through interpretation and translation.'

Our work ensures that language is never a barrier to understanding, decision-making, or opportunity:

"It’s about connecting people, fostering inclusion, and enabling everyone to navigate their world with confidence."

Idiom of the Month

Let's hit the books! This widely used informal English idiom means to engage in focused studying or intense reading. Commonly used in academic settings, it also applies to everyday situations where someone needs to dedicate time and effort to learning. For example:

"I can’t go to the movies tonight; I need to hit the books."

In this idiom, "hit" signifies starting or embarking on a task—in this case, studying. Despite the absence of a known, specific origin, the phrase is believed to be connected to earlier idioms like "hit the trail," which was popular among cowboys when they began their journeys.

For translators and interpreters, understanding idiomatic expressions is crucial, as while some idioms may have direct equivalents in some languages, others may require more creative solutions to communicate the intended meaning accurately. Instead, their meaning must be conveyed in a culturally appropriate way, which involves either finding an equivalent idiom or translating the meaning directly. Below are potential translations of the English idiom "to hit the books" in different languages, which provide insight into how this idea is expressed across cultures:

Spanish: Hincar los codos – This translates literally as "to dig your elbows into the table," symbolizing someone leaning in to focus and study intensively.
French: Se mettre à étudier or bûcher – These phrases mean "to get down to studying" or "to cram," both of which emphasize active engagement in study.
Portuguese: Cair nos livros or ralar – These expressions mean "to work hard/study hard," echoing the dedication required for focused learning.
Italian: Mettersi sotto a studiare or darsi da fare sui libri – These phrases literally mean "to get under to study" or "to work hard on the books," signifying a commitment to study.
Haitian Creole: Mete tèt nan liv – This idiom means "to put your head in the books," a vivid image of immersing oneself in study.

Have an idiom to share? Email us at sesoincga@gmail.com

READING CORNER

Virginia Advances Bill for Multilingual K-12 Assessments

Virginia lawmakers are advancing a bill to allow K-12 students to take state assessments in languages other than English, addressing barriers faced by English learners. The legislation prioritizes math and science exams in Spanish, aiming to improve equity and accuracy in measuring student proficiency.

North Carolina Launches Statewide Language Access Initiative to Foster Inclusion

North Carolina Governor has launched a statewide initiative to enhance language access, enabling residents who speak languages other than English to engage more fully with state government services. This effort includes a Language Access Plan template, comprehensive policies, and tools to guide state agencies in breaking language barriers.

Multilingualism and language diversity for inclusion in education

This UNESCO’s report highlights how inclusive school policies and multilingual practices recognize and foster linguistic diversity, benefit learning and create cohesion. UNESCO promotes a five-pillar inclusive language policy for schools to support multilingualism and effective learning:

Inclusive Policy Development
Effective Language Learning
Respect for Language Diversity
Use of Multilingual Skills
Support for Indigenous Languages

COURSES AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced Courses for Spoken Language Interpreters

Check out the instructor-led sessions offered by the National Association of Educational Translators and Interpreters of Spoken Languages (NAETISL). Courses feature language-specific support, guest speakers, cultural, linguistic and ethical dilemma discussions, glossary development strategies and more.

Ready to put your skills into practice and receive immediate feedback? Sessions available for Arabic and Spanish speakers with more languages to come. Participants will practice consecutive/simultaneous interpretation skills and note-taking using scripts with basic, intermediate and advanced vocabulary common in early childhood and K-12 settings. In the translation practice series, discuss potential methods, techniques and resources to make effective translation decisions, manage acronyms, symbols, and abbreviations; verb and tense, cultural references, prepositions and more.