As many teachers and administrators already know, requests for Languages of Limited Diffusion are on the rise among providers of K12 education language translation services. According to the UNESCO , in the world today, the number of people speaking lesser-known languages is 1.25 billion, or 20 percent of the world’s population.
Over the past five years, I have seen language requests expand outside the core languages of Spanish, Russian, Vietnamese and Chinese into languages rarely seen before in the United States such as Twi (Ghana), Karen (Myanmar/Burma) and Ilocano (Philipines).
On one hand, it is of vital importance for educators to be at the forefront of this movement in order to communicate effectively with English Language Learning (ELL) communities. On the other hand, rare languages pose significant challenges for providers of language translation services. These include limited translator availability, cost-prohibitive translations and low literacy rates within the target audience.
I will be spending the next several posts discussing new populations coming to the United States and different strategies to overcome some of the language translation challenges school districts face.
Keep Learning!
Maggie
K12Translate
Tags: Cultural Diversity, English Language Learners, Languages of Limited Diffusion
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