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My Linguistic Career

Nataly Kelly looks at full-time and freelance opportunities for world languages teachers
in translation and interpreting

Translation and interpreting offer two distinct career paths with ample opportunities for linguists to put their skills to use in exciting areas. From video game localization to interpreting for astronauts in outer space, from translating Harry Potter books to accompanying heads of state on diplomatic missions overseas, translation and interpreting offer many career opportunities to inspire and encourage students to learn foreign languages while allowing them to pursue other interests as well.

A Fast-Growing, Recession-Resistant Industry

The market for outsourced translation and interpreting is worth more than US$33 billion globally in 2012, according to the latest estimates from Common Sense Advisory. The market is divided into numerous segments with written translation making up by far the largest component, followed by on-site interpreting, which refers to spoken language interpretation services that are provided in person. Another important segment of the market is software localization, which involves not only translating text so that software can be used in other languages, but preparing the software for international use and acceptance in a given market.

Other services exist too, such as telephone interpreting (in which interpreters render information verbally over the phone), multilingual subtitling, and trans-creation (also known as cultural adaptation or multilingual copy-writing). Within the U.S., many industries have suffered job losses due to global economic uncertainty – but the opposite has occurred for jobs in translation and interpreting. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that from 2010 to 2020, the number of jobs for interpreters and translators will increase by 42%, compared with just 14% for all occupations, and only 13% for other jobs classified in the “media and communications” field.

Where the Jobs Are

The vast majority of translators and interpreters are freelancers, but there are many organizations that offer full-time positions too. Full-time positions for interpreters are available at hospitals, courts, and schools in nearly every major city in the U.S. Most cities also have translation or interpreting agencies serving the local market. These firms do not usually employ translators, but they hire individuals with language backgrounds for other jobs — such as project management, account management, and sales positions. Typically, they offer freelance assignments to translators and interpreters. However, students need not limit their dreams of job prospects to within U.S. borders. The Canadian government’s Translation Bureau has more than 1,700 employees. Many international organizations, such as the United Nations, have an ongoing need for translators and interpreters. Some even visit universities in the U.S. to recruit students on campus.

The European Commission’s Directorate-General for Translation employs 2,500 people who translate information into and out of 23 different languages, and the European Parliament has 350 full-time interpreters on staff. Even some manufacturing companies — including major European automobile companies — hire in-house translators for their research and development or technical documentation teams. Nearly every industry that requires companies to communicate across languages relies on translation at some point. If a company sells its products to customers who speak other languages, chances are there is translation taking place at that company.

This means that students can find work in areas that combine their other interests with their language skills. For example, many Major League Baseball players come from Japan or Latin America, so there has been an increase in demand for interpreters who not only speak those languages but who also are knowledgeable about baseball. Similarly, professional players in other sports — such as basketball, hockey, and golf — require professional interpreters too. Interpreters who are specialized in sports can end up interpreting for the Olympic Games or the World Cup. Even the astronauts working with the International Space Station depend on teams of full-time interpreters and translators.

As another example of how passions and interests can combine with language skills to become a career, students who are passionate about engineering or technology can work in the field of localization. In fact, there are many translators who spend their workdays testing the newest video games and coming up with the best ways to translate the information that appears on the screen or recording voice-over material. Similarly, there are many translators who are highly specialized in a given area, such as health care, financial, or legal fields. Some translators even earn a living from translating material related to fashion or cosmetics, while others translate breaking news from around the world.

Getting Started

Translation and interpreting require different skill sets, so the choice between the two tracks generally needs to be made before choosing program.

Prospective students are expected to have advanced fluency in two or more languages before they can begin studying translation or interpreting, and language proficiency tests are often required before students can enroll. For both professions, additional education is a must. Translators must learn to use computer-assisted translation tools and terminology management software. Interpreters, on the other hand, must learn how to take notes, improve their memory skills, and quickly render information accurately in different modes, such as consecutive and simultaneous. Unfortunately, there are not many formal degree programs in the U.S. for these fields, but the number is increasing. The Monterey Institute of International Studies in California offers some of the best-known graduate-level degree programs for translation and interpreting.

Many of its graduates go on to interpret at the United Nations, to translate for the Department of State, and to work in prestigious positions throughout the world. The University of Arizona has a program that prepares students to take the federal court interpreter exam. In the U.S., there are several universities that offer undergraduate programs and certificate programs, such as the University of Minnesota, Century College, Virginia Commonwealth University, Bellevue College, and University of Wisconsin.

There are also several community college programs. The American Translators Association (www.atanet.org) publishes a helpful list of relevant schools worldwide. Some certificate programs are offered online as well, although these often do not prepare students well enough to pass professional examinations. Once students graduate from a degree program, they can sit for professional exams and certifications. Usually, professional accreditations are available for the most commonly requested languages.

In the U.S., the American Translators Association certification is the most widely recognized for translators. For interpreters, various certifications exist. Court interpreters can be certified to work in state courts, but they must take a different test to work in federal courts. Medical interpreters are not generally required to have certifications, but there are programs currently in development. Conference interpreters often take exams depending on where they wish to work – for example, the Department of State has exams that are different from the ones administered by the United Nations.

Earning Potential

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that the median annual wage for interpreters and translators in the U.S. was $43,300 in 2010. However, the top 10 percent earned more than $86,410. How much a person earns can depend on many things, but there are several main determining factors. The languages a person speaks will dictate to a great degree how much work is available for them. Translators and interpreters for less common languages can typically charge more for their services because they are more difficult to find. However, there is no shortage of work for interpreters and translators who speak languages that are commonly needed, such as Spanish in the U.S. One of the biggest factors that influences how much money an interpreter or translator can earn is how specialized they are. Some translators have doctoral degrees in specialized fields such as microbiology, so they can be trusted with highly technical patent applications for life sciences firms, and they can charge more for this work.

Others might have a talent for advertising or marketing copywriting, so they can command a higher hourly rate for this kind of creative work. In general, translators charge by the word for translation services, but many also charge by the hour for other services, such as developing glossaries. Translators often charge a minimum fee and will charge more for expedited or quick-turn projects. Some translators do also charge by the page or by the line, but this is less common. Interpreters charge differently depending on where they work. Conference interpreters normally charge a minimum daily rate. Interpreters who work in courts or hospitals are often paid by the hour, but some charge a minimum fee in order to cover their travel, because they may need to drive from one city to another or across town in order to get to an assignment. Interpreters who work via telephone may be salaried, paid by the hour, or paid by the minute. Another major determining factor with regard to earnings potential is the amount of work the individual accepts.

Freelance translators and interpreters can take on as much or as little work as they wish, but they generally have to build up their own client base over time in order to ensure a steady stream of work. Translators and interpreters who are self-employed can experience peaks and troughs in income. However, given the demand for these services, most freelancers report that they have no problem getting enough work. For some languages, translators must compete with individuals who live in other countries and might be able to charge less. Interpreters who provide their services in person generally do not have this problem because they tend to work near where they live.

The need for translation and interpreting is not going away. In today’s globally connected world, demand for these services is at an all time high. Governments around the world are clamoring for more interpreters and translators. Advances in technology, such as Google Translate, only appear to be fueling demand. As more people see the possibilities offered by translation on the internet and on their mobile phones, their tolerance for language barriers is decreasing, thus fueling demand. The professions of translation and interpreting show great promise for the years to come, making the work of language educators and trainers all the more necessary.

Nataly Kelly is the chief research officer at language services industry research firm Common Sense Advisory. Her latest book is Found in Translation: How Language Shapes Our Lives and Transforms the World, which features stories about interpreters and translators working in many of the settings mentioned in this article. She publishes a free newsletter for interpreters at www.interprenaut.com.

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Growing Gains

Diane Glass explains why measuring reading growth should be a top priority for educators

The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) are transforming the way that reading is taught and assessed. The complexity of texts associated with the CCSS exceeds the level of the reading material typically used in our schools. New proficiency standards are more rigorous and link directly to more sophisticated texts, some of which are intended for post-secondary readers. To reach the goal of college and career readiness for literacy involves improving rigor in actual content and materials. The instructional implications for all teachers, not just those who specialize in English Language Arts, are enormous.

The CCSS aim to coax out analytical depth through increased text complexity, which will define a new role for teachers. In this new role, teachers will facilitate content discovery, collaborate across grade levels, and use data to refine and differentiate instruction. Students will have new roles, too. They will no longer be passive consumers of instructional content. Rather, they will be expected to take ownership of their own learning. The changes brought about by the CCSS are far-reaching. Nextgeneration assessments, in development now, will change the face of accountability and proficiency testing, with a new emphasis on analytical thinking and performance tasks. At the same time, new teacher and principal evaluation systems are putting a premium on student growth as a key metric in career development. To foster the needed growth in reading, educators can no longer rely solely on the curriculum-based measures of quizzes, tests, and unit exams to interpret reading proficiency.

Curriculum-based measures can be self-reinforcing and do not always indicate if readers are growing. To improve literacy development, educators also need assessments that track to an objective outcome, which could be addressed using growth measures. Growth measures provide the road map to the CCSS by:

  • Quantifying literacy goals to college and career readiness;
  • Broadening responsibility for literacy development across the content areas;
  • Improving student ownership in learning.

Growth measures reflect the rate of academic progress students make over time. Quantitative, equally incremented, and typically on a single scale, growth measures are objective and outcomes-based, targeting a specific goal. They differ from other forms of assessment, such as curriculum-based measures, which tend to report on the students’ mastery of the actual content. Growth measures do not identify whether standards-based content was covered in the classroom. Instead they report on the student reading progress demonstrated as a result of appropriate curriculum and instruction. Growth measures focuses on what was learned rather than what was taught.

Accountability Growth measures broaden accountability for literacy development to content area teachers and, importantly, to our students. When curriculum- based measures are used as the only measure to describe student progress, the underlying questions remain:

  • “What content has the teacher imparted?”
  • “Were the standards covered?”
  • “Was the curriculum taught?”

If standards and content are the central focus, and achievement is recognized through curriculum-based measures, the subject-area teachers are held accountable, usually in isolation. This ignores the interconnected nature of learning: that a child’s literacy skills must scale to the science classroom and to the social studies text. All teachers need information on student readiness for instruction to differentiate learning and maximize instruction. By measuring growth, schools can set clear, targeted goals.

When reading goals are quantitative and objectively based and not solely qualitative and subject specific, then all texts — nonfiction and fiction — books and articles, print or electronic — can be accessed in the service of these goals. Because of their objective nature, growth measures can encompass all reading — not just growth in the English Language Arts or Reading classrooms, where responsibility has historically been quartered. The use of growth measures should not be interpreted as a call to sidestep explicit reading instruction for primary students and older struggling readers. Growth measures are best used in tandem with curriculum-based measures especially for struggling readers. These measures add flexibility to instruction.

A teacher may find it difficult to make adjustments to instruction if the gist of the assessment process concerns itself with reporting on curriculum and standards. By measuring growth, schools can interpret how students respond to instruction and understand the effects of change and innovation. To meet college and career readiness goals, new gains in literacy proficiency depend on students developing skills to comprehend nonfiction and informational texts — the natural domain of content area subjects like science and social studies.

Meanwhile the texts associated with literature serve to develop critical thinking skills and help students derive meaning from their worlds. Text associated with science, history, and technology track higher on quantitative readability measures. They are denser, more complex, use specific vocabulary, and are less subject to interpretation. Non-fictional texts and the involvement of content area teachers in literacy development are the essential drivers for college and career readiness.

Student Ownership of Learning Growth measures can drive student ownership of learning. When teachers set individual, obtainable, realistic goals that both honor and challenge the student, that student can be expected to participate in his or her literacy development. Growth measures provide data that can inform such goal setting, thus reinforcing student ownership.

Students who take a growth assessment in the fall can work with their teachers to review data, understand what it means about their unique academic needs. Children will challenge themselves, set goals, and then use the results of subsequent tests to monitor their own progress. When setting individual goals for students, a key understanding is that while growth rates may vary, an interim decline in a student growth trajectory is a signal to educators that immediate action should be taken. When students experience failure, it is rarely a result of an emergent academic problem but rather it is the result of an incremental and cumulative decline in growth.

As schools move away from a wait-to-fail model before intervention, setting individual growth trajectories becomes a clear method to prevent possible failure of both struggling and on-level readers. In a busy classroom, how is a teacher guided to set individual growth goals? Many times we set goals based on average growth, the annual growth a proficient student will make. Setting goals based on an average works well when discussing large enrollments, but this metric underserves struggling readers. If average growth is an expectation applied equally to all students, the struggling students will not have received a goal that accelerates them to grade-level proficiency, or college and career readiness. Indeed, setting average growth as a single metric for all students perpetuates an insufficient trajectory for those most in need of increased intensity of services.

If a student’s annual gain is measured by average growth, that student, if not on grade level, will year after year fall further and further away from achieving college and career readiness by graduation. Goals should be set based on the starting point of the individual readers and targeted to various benchmarks including multi-year trajectories. A struggling older reader who is four or five years behind cannot reasonably be expected to close the performance gap in a single year; but over two years, could become grade-level proficient. A similar but inverse situation occurs with our high-performing readers.

A student who is closer to the goal of college and career readiness has a smaller gap to close before reaching that target. Eventually, that student’s growth will be in smaller increment and may actually be less than the growth exhibited by the average reader. When setting goals, we should expect older more proficient readers to grow less than younger less proficient readers, and we should expect less proficient readers grow more than their more proficient peers. To set growth expectations, data from a norm-referenced tool reporting on a vertical scale should be used as the basis for setting individual goals.

How Growth Measures Support CCSS

In the transition to the Common Core State Standards, these types of measures directly support the underlying philosophy of this initiative. First, growth measures placing greater value on the products of learning rather than the details of content delivery. The simple refocus on measuring what was learned versus what was taught supports the changing relationship between teacher and student. Second, growth measures provide clear, explicit tools to drive student ownership in their own learning to the quantifiable goal of college and career readiness. Third, they support shared goals across grade levels and across content for focused and sustained efforts in improving student literacy levels.

Finally, they provide an anchor amid change. By measuring students on a vertical scale before the implementation of new standards, and benchmarking student growth throughout the process of change, educators can interpret the direction and gauge the success of their new initiative.

Hallmark of Growth Measures

  1. They are obtained from assessment tools that are norm referenced.
  2. They report on a vertical scale so that growth is interpretable across grade levels.
  3. They are sensitive to student growth that is far above and far below grade level
  4. They feature an independent, outcomes-based measure.
  5. They articulate multiple benchmarks and provide data on expected annual growth expectations at all levels of proficiency.

References

Gewertz, Catherine (2011). “Success of College-Readiness Intervention Hard to Gauge.” Education Week, January 26, 2011. Knutson, Kim et al. (2011) Growth Expectations; Setting Obtainable Goal for Students, New York: Scholastic, Inc. National Governors Association Center for Best Practices & Council of Chief State School Officers. (2010). Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts & Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects, Appendix A. Washington, DC: Author. Smith, Malbert (2012) “Not So Common, Comparing Lexiles with the Text Complexity Measures of Other Tools.” Accessed August 28, 2012 Lexile.com Williamson, G. L. (2008). A Text Readability Continuum for Postsecondary Readiness. Journal of Advanced Academics, vol. 19 (4), 602-632.

Diane Glass manages assessment programs for Scholastic Inc. and writes frequently on assessment topics.

Software Focus

Preteen boy and girl using laptop computersIn addition to the humble book, publishers have launched an array of reading programs
designed to help readers of all types acquire the skills they need

Here’s a selection of the most innovative

Academy of READING

The Academy of READING is an intensive, online intervention program for struggling readers in grades 2-12 which instructs students in the five critical areas of reading — Phonemic Awareness, Phonics, Fluency, Vocabulary, and Comprehension. Continuous assessment and progress monitoring provide robust data to inform instruction and illustrate students’ reading gains.

The program breaks the complex task of reading into manageable pieces. Students learn using a structured and sequential approach, in – creasing their automaticity and building higher order comprehension skills. Each student is given individualized instruction based on real-time formative data. Assessment and progress monitoring tools create goals and give each student a personalized learning plan. The dynamic learning environment provides positive feedback and coaching, motivating the most reluctant students. Real-time, web-based reports allow teachers and administrators to monitor student progress and document reading gains. Teachers can access student and class level data, while administrators can view performance at the school and district level.

Dynamic Vision Training — Eyes in Conflict

The Gemstone Foundation, a not-for-profit corporation, offers Dynamic Vision Training (DVT) to help students age nine and up who skip lines, lose their place, see words wiggle or jump around, or even see double on occasion. Proven effective in classroom situations from grade 3 through adult, DVT uses 3D technology in an online interactive format, so it feels like playing a game. Each session is 15 minutes long and the entire program contains 30 sessions. DVT is perfect for a pull-out or after school program for students who read below grade level yet have no known reading disorder and have passed school vision screening. Between 20% and 50% of poor readers like this have Eyes in Conflict, a condition where the two eyes are not well coordinated. The problem is easily identified and can be remedied by DVT in most children regardless of ESL or Special Education status, because no reading is required.

English 9A

English 9A is a newly refreshed course from PLATO Learning that is now fully aligned to Common Core State Standards. The program gives the instructor a variety of ways to engage different learning modalities and to give the student an opportunity to experience a range of standards and objectives to ensure academic success. Learning activities include tutorials, lesson activities, online discussions, and unit activities to deepen understanding of key unit objectives. The course also includes comprehensive assessment tools like unit pretests, mastery tests, unit post-tests, and end-of-semester tests. These assessments combined with instructor-evaluated unit and lesson activities provide multiple data points that result in a more accurate evaluation of a student’s strengths and needs. Reading assignments cover a wide range of authors, periods, and genres, from The Sport of Biathlon to The Iliad; from Sport Utility Vehicles and Safety to Paradise Lost. Unit activities include Visualizing as you Read, Understanding Figurative Language, Using Prior Knowledge to Read Expository Text, and Analyzing Personal Narratives. The flexibility of this program allows for considerable customization for Common Core alignment, and it can also be optimized to meet the unique needs of students and their learning environment. The teacher controls the instructional choices for individual students as well as for the classroom. The instructor may use all of the components as sequenced or select specific activities to support and enhance instruction.

HearBuilder

HearBuilder Phonological Awareness – Sound Awareness for Reading is an award-winning, evidence-based software program from Super Duper Publications designed to help children improve their common core phonological awareness and listening skills. Students segment, blend, and manipulate words, syllables, and sounds in nine target areas: Sentence Segmentation, Syllable Blending, Syllable Segmentation, Rhyming, Phoneme Blending, Phoneme Segmentation and Identification, Phoneme Deletion, Phoneme Addition, and Phoneme Manipulation. Players move through multi-level tasks earning instruments and band members to form The Phonemix virtual rock band.

HearBuilder Phonological Awareness has won nine national awards including Parents’ Choice, Tech & Learning, Creative Child, Family Choice, Bessie, EdTech Trendsetter, Academics’ Choice, and Children’s Tech Review. READ 180 Next Generation READ 180 Next Generation has been developed to prepare students for the rigorous expectations of the Common Core State Standards and Next Generation Assessments. The program is designed to meet students where they are, accelerating them toward reading independence with grade-level text, and putting students on a personalized learning path to college and career readiness. It offers a staircase of text complexity that builds confidence and fluency for struggling readers in each rotation of the proven model for blended instruction, including Whole- and Small-Group, Instructional Software, and Modeled and Independent Reading.

Students read increasingly complex text daily, building their comprehension and fluency with teacher-led instructional scaffolds. Rigorous text-based questions and evidence-based performance tasks accompany each type of text in the program, ensuring that students gain content-area knowledge and skills that are highly portable to their science, social studies, and math classrooms. With READ 180, students can also choose from a wide array of highly-motivating, age-appropriate leveled texts that span genres and text types. Leveled paperbacks, audiobooks, and new 100% nonfiction eReads provide students with access to grade-level texts with the support of scaffolding.

Reading Rockets

Reading Rockets is a national multimedia literacy initiative aimed at parents and educators of kids in preschool through grade 3 which produces original programming for PBS, including the award-winning Launching Young Readers series. Our comprehensive website, www.ReadingRockets.org, offers a wealth of teaching strategies, Ask the Expert and FAQs, parent tips, professional development webcasts, reading research, online video and podcasts, video interviews with children’s authors and illustrators, children’s book lists, blogs, a daily news service, and free monthly e-newsletters. The project is funded by the Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs.

Skoolbo Core Skills

Skoolbo Core Skills is an innovative literacy and numeracy program designed to assist elementary students in mastering the fundamental reading and math skills that serve as the building blocks of education. The multi-player games incorporate beautifully designed 3D worlds, customized avatars, and an enticing rewards system to promote effective learning in a fun and engaging environment. One of the core elements of the program is the involvement of the teacher and parent. Through comprehensive reports detailing strengths and weaknesses of the student and individualized activities for student improvement, it makes teachers and parents an integral part of the learning process.

Smarty Ants Reading World

Smarty Ants Reading World is a comprehensive, online PreK – Grade 2 reading curriculum. It is an immersive virtual world where students create their own ant avatar and become a learner in a world where they choose from a variety of activities like snowboarding, rock climbing, hoops, story time, dancing, races, and game shows as they learn to read. It offers sequenced, scaffolded instruction and allows students to make choices to match any learning temperament.

There are 72 different learning paths that students might follow for every new concept they learn. The program also allows students to modify their learning path as they desire. There are versions for students whose primary language is not English. In these versions all of the instructions and directions are delivered in the student’s primary language while the student learns to read English. Smarty Ants Reading World records every click and progress students make on their personalized learning path. By collecting this data, it can quickly recognize patterns which give insights into students who are having specific difficulties, and provide immediate intervention and scaffolding specific to those issues. Three Data Dashboards (district, school, and classroom) enable student data to be reviewed in a concise and meaningful manner, providing real time insights into how they are progressing (including standards mastery reports).

SRA Reading Laboratory 2.0

SRA Reading Laboratory 2.0 is an all-digital, interactive, and personalized reading practice program based on the classic SRA Reading Laboratory print program created by Don H. Parker, Ph.D. now featuring innovative 21st century digital and social skills that can be used anytime, anywhere, on any device to improve a student’s reading level and skills. Students are assigned fiction and non-fiction reading passages based on their Lexile level and interest, and then the complete comprehension, vocabulary, fluency, word analysis, writing and study skill activities that encourage deeper understanding of the passage. Interest is maintained through engaging community, reward, and game features.

Teachers are provided everything they need to track and communicate progress through their home page. Classroom management tools are provided for both individual student detail and whole class rosters. Reports are provided by student and class on Lexile level, student progress, standards, skills, and fluency. Teachers have the ability to customize their classrooms and individual student experience through additional tools such as: assigning specific reading and skills instruction, creating new readings and activities, managing rewards, and writing notes. Reading Laboratory 2.0 can be used for individual or small groups before, during, and after school, and even at home as homework.

Start-to-Finish Online Accessible Library

As districts scramble to find efficient ways to get the most out of their iPad collections, Don Johnston has launched an online accessible library that may be an ideal way of filling these blank slates. The Start-to-Finish library features some of the most powerful books of all time like Anne Frank, Call of the Wild, and Moby Dick, which were re-written to be age-appropriate for students on IEP and 504 plans. The 90+ books come to life with professional narration, and end of chapter quizzes track comprehension. Students can finish 50 chapter books a year just by reading Start-to-Finish books for 20 minutes a day. School-wide access enables each student to have access to an entire library of age-appropriate books tied to the Common Core on their iPads, computers, and smartphones. There are no apps to sync so schools can get started right away.

WriteToLearn

Despite its name, WriteToLearn, Pearson’s online tool for building writing skills is also designed to help students in grades 4-12 develop reading comprehension. This innovative, web-based tool provides students with the opportunity for repeated, personalized practice in reading, writing, and vocabulary development. Based on more than 15 years of research and evaluation at the University of Colorado and New Mexico State University, WriteToLearn is the only online writing instructional tool that reinforces the required interplay between reading, writing, and vocabulary – the foundation of strong literacy skills. The program supports the new Common Core State Standards in key areas across the curriculum, including English language arts, history/ social studies, and science. The latest release includes iPad support, adaptive and personalized support for vocabulary development and additional tools that make it easier for all students, but particularly English Language Learners (ELL) and struggling learners, to build literacy skills.

Reading Literature Not Only a Pleasure

Research proves that a good book stimulates the brain

Just in case anyone needs another reason to encourage the reading of literature, researchers at Stanford University have come up with more proof that it’s good for you. In an innovative interdisciplinary study, neurobiological experts, radiologists, and humanities scholars are working together to explore the relationship between reading, attention, and distraction with the help of Jane Austen.

Surprising preliminary results reveal a dramatic and unexpected increase in blood flow to regions of the brain beyond those responsible for “executive function,” areas which would normally be associated with paying close attention to a task, such as reading, said Natalie Phillips, the literary scholar leading the project. During a series of ongoing experiments, functional magnetic resonance images track blood flow in the brains of subjects as they read excerpts of Jane Austen’s Mansfield Park. Experiment participants are first asked to leisurely skim a passage as they might do in a bookstore, and then to read more closely, as they would while studying for an exam. In both instances, Philips noticed an increase in blood flow that exceeded “just work and play.” In the case of more critical reading— the type you’d engage in while writing an essay or preparing for a test—blood flow increased beyond executive function regions, or those areas responsible for problem-solving.

Phillips said the global increase in blood flow during close reading suggests that “paying attention to literary texts requires the coordination of multiple complex cognitive functions.” Blood flow also increased during pleasure reading, but in different areas of the brain. Phillips suggested that each style of reading may create distinct patterns in the brain that are “far more complex than just work and play.” So both leisurely reading and close-reading benefit us neurologically. The experiment focuses on literary attention, or more specifically, the cognitive dynamics of the different kinds of focus we bring to reading. This experiment grew out of Phillips’ ongoing research about Enlightenment writers who were concerned about issues of attention span, or what they called “wandering attention.” This research is “one of the first fMRI experiments to study how our brains respond to literature,” Phillips said, as well as the first to consider “how cognition is shaped not just by what we read, but how we read it.”

Critical reading of humanities-oriented texts are recognized for fostering analytical thought, but if such results hold across subjects, Phillips said it would suggest “it’s not only what we read — but thinking rigorously about it that’s of value, and that literary study provides a truly valuable exercise of people’s brains.” Though modern life’s cascade of beeps and buzzes certainly prompts a new kind of distraction, Phillips warned against “adopting a kind of historical nostalgia, or assuming those of the 18th century were less distracted than we are today.” Many Enlightenment writers, Phillips noted, were concerned about how distracted readers were becoming “amidst the print-overload of 18th-century England.”

Translating to Work in the USA

Elizabeth Ricci and Michael Launer provide an update on U.S. Immigration Options for Translators and Interpreters under the Trump Administration

Foreign language experts are a valuable asset to both industry and government – a fact that has been recognized by the U.S. government, which can grant special treatment to linguists in limited circumstances. A variety of programs administered by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) are available. Some interpreters and translators may be eligible for H-1B specialty worker visas, Green Cards with and without sponsors, citizenship through the MAVNI program, or Special Immigrant Visas. However, many linguists are unaware of these programs and of recent changes in U.S. immigration law. Co-written by a practicing immigration attorney and a certified translator, this article explains the recent changes under the Trump Administration and offers practical advice.

H-1B “Specialty Worker” Visas

H-1B visas, certainly the best known of all work-related visa categories, can be pursued by translators and interpreters of any nationality. H-1Bs are “specialty worker visas” for foreign professionals with a college degree or equivalent (three years of experience is the equivalent of one year of higher education) who perform work that requires a related degree. For example, a medical publishing company might be successful in petitioning for a translator who performs highly sophisticated or complex translations where the company normally requires its translators to be degreed. On the other hand, a doctor’s office that serves a multilingual population would not likely receive H-1B approval for its bilingual receptionist who does not have college degree or whose degree is in a field other than language.
H-1B petitions are submitted by the potential employer. If approved, the visa can be issued by a USCIS Service Center (to persons currently “in status” in the U.S.), or it can be issued at a U.S. consulate in another country (to persons currently abroad or persons “out of status”). An H-1B visa is generally valid for up to six years, but there exist stringent limitations: H-1B holders may work only for their petitioner, and the status does not lead to permanent residency or naturalization.
In order for individuals to receive an H-1B visa, prospective employers must file a Labor Condition Application (“LCA”) through the “iCERT” portal maintained by the United States Department of Labor Employment & Training Administration – usually, but not necessarily, with the assistance of an immigration attorney. The following information must be submitted to the USCIS Service Center along with the application:
Department of Homeland Security Form I-129 “Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker”;
Proof of the linguist’s credentials; and
A statement regarding the employer’s need for this employee.
Just over 200 H-1B LCAs were filed for the 2016-2017 fiscal year on behalf of translators and interpreters for positions in New York, California, Texas, Florida, and Illinois. Job titles ranged from “interpreter and translator” to “technical writer,” “editor,” and “author.”
Although there are 65,000 H-1B visas available per fiscal year, about 300,000 were requested. As a result, USCIS generally runs out within a matter of days after applications are accepted on April first (six months before the start of the federal government’s next fiscal year). Non-profit research institutes and institutions of higher learning are usually not subject to the fiscal cap, however.
As of October, 2017, it is once again possible to pay for expedited service (known as Premium Processing), which reduces the H-1B visa wait time to a few weeks. H-1B applicants not using this service can expect to wait several months before learning if their petitions were successful. Premium Processing had been suspended as part of the “Buy American, Hire American” campaign.

Other Employment-Based Residency

Two other employment-based programs exist that are not subject to the restrictions imposed on holders of the H-1B. These are known as the “EB-3” and the “EB-2” petitions. Although the procedures are much more cumbersome, employers may petition for EB-3 or EB-2 status. More importantly, under the EB-2 program individuals can file for themselves (“self petition”) without relying on an employer. Successful petitioners under each of these programs are granted Lawful Permanent Residency (the “Green Card”), which means they are eligible to apply for U.S. citizenship after five years.

EB-3/PERM Residency

Employers may petition for Lawful Permanent Residency for a translator or interpreter under the Employment Based Third Preference (EB-3), also known as PERM (Program Electronic Review Management). EB-3s/PERMs can be onerous and expensive, as the application procedure requires multiple recruitment steps that may only be paid by the employer. The PERM process is also lengthy because two agencies − the Department of Labor (“DOL”) and USCIS − are involved.
PERMs first require that the DOL certify the offered wage − an online process that takes approximately three months. This Labor Certification application must be filed no less than 30 days, but no more than six months, after the last recruitment step. Once the proposed wage has been certified, the employer must then place two Sunday classified ads in a newspaper of major circulation, an online posting for thirty days, and an in-house posting for ten days. In all likelihood, professional positions such as translators and interpreters will require two additional postings that can include a radio or professional trade journal ad, on-campus recruitment, or an in-house incentive program. It can take ten months to a year or even more for DOL to process these cases, during which time the applicant does not have immigration status. For that reason, the applicant may need to wait abroad or already possess temporary status such as F-1 Student or H-1B if filing from within the U.S. If a case is certified and a visa is available, a full “adjustment of status” case may be submitted to USCIS, which could take several additional months to make a decision.

EB-2 Visas/National Interest Waiver

The Employment Based Second Preference (“EB-2”) – also called a National Interest Waiver (“NIW”) – is a little known and not widely used immigration benefit. Because many translators are independent contractors and/or work part time, they are precluded from sponsoring themselves via the traditional EB-3/PERM route. The NIW can lead to a Green Card and, potentially, U.S. citizenship, and does not require employer sponsorship. Although the legal standard in such cases changed significantly in December, 2016, with the Dhanasar case (cf. https://www.justice.gov/eoir/page/file/920996/download) , the standard remains high, and cases can take from a few months to over a year to be resolved, especially for Chinese and Indian applicants. Premium Processing is not available for these cases.
As indicated above, both employers and individuals are entitled to file a petition for an EB-2. In either event, the translator or interpreter should document possession of an advanced degree (which more than 25% of linguists possess) and address the following factors:
The foreign national’s proposed endeavor has both substantial merit and national importance;
The foreign national is well positioned to advance the proposed endeavor; and
That on balance, it would be beneficial to the United States to waive the requirements of a job offer and thus of a labor certification.
The translator or interpreter may live and work legally in the United States while the case is pending and is not tied to a particular employer upon approval.
One example of a previously approved case is a multi-lingual technical writer in the nuclear field who held a Master’s degree in Rhetorical and Communication Theory. In contrast, the application submitted by a bilingual counselor at a university was denied.

MAVNI

The U.S. Army’s recruiting program known as MAVNI (Military Accessions Vital to the National Interest) allows legal non-citizens with fluency in certain languages to join the Army in exchange for expedited U.S. citizenship, without first having to be a Lawful Permanent Resident. However, this program is the one most dramatically curtailed under the Trump Administration. As of September, 2017, the Pentagon, has reneged on contracts for an untold number of foreign nationals, while the Army pulled the MAVNI page from its website and has stopped recruiting multilingual individuals for the program.

Special Immigrants

“Special Immigrant” visas are available to approximately 50,000 Afghan and Iraqi translators or interpreters if they worked directly for the U.S. Armed Forces or under the authority of the Chief of Mission for a period of at least one year at any time since October 7, 2001. In order to qualify, an applicant must have experienced a serious threat due to employment by the U.S. government and be otherwise eligible. A background check is required. The following documentation must be sent to the USCIS Nebraska Service Center:
Department of Homeland Security Form I-360; and
A favorable written recommendation from the U.S. officer whom the translator or interpreter supported.
Upon approval, the Special Immigrant Visa is issued at a U.S. embassy or consulate abroad.
The utility of this program has been greatly reduced because of Congressional action and administrative red tape. For example, Special Immigrant Visa petitions can take months or years to process due to bureaucratic policies, heavy security screening, statutorily dictated time frames, and the numerical restriction of 50 visas per year. If successful, however, Special Immigrants become Lawful Permanent Residents upon arrival to the U.S. and may eventually become U.S. citizens. Their families may accompany them and are not included in the fiscal cap. See: https://travel.state.gov/content/visas/en/immigrate/iraqi-afghan-translator.html
Recent Executive Orders have included provisions to limit Afghan and Iraqi visas, among others, but the orders are currently being litigated.

Conclusion

Because policies governing visas and residency are changing, some of the various immigration options available to foreign-born translators and interpreters are in flux. Each option has its own regulations, costs, pros and cons. Professional translators and interpreters should carefully explore all of their options before filing for a U.S. immigration benefit.

Elizabeth Ricci of Rambana & Ricci, PLLC is an award winning immigration attorney based in Tallahassee, Florida, where she concentrates on employment-based immigration cases. Ms. Ricci can be reached at [email protected] .

Michael K. Launer, Ph.D., is Vice President of RussTech Language Services, Inc. in Tallahassee, Florida. He is an ATA certified translator (Russian > English) and a former State Department / Department of Energy technical interpreter. Mr. Launer can be reached at [email protected] .

Survey Demands More PD for EL Educators

According to the results of the 2017 EL Education Report, a new survey conducted by McGraw-Hill Education, 99% of respondents believe professional development for teachers and staff members is essential for effective EL instruction. However, only 55% of respondents believe that their school or district provides sufficient, ongoing professional development to support EL student success.

As the demand for English Learner (EL) instruction grows across the U.S., the vast majority of K-12 educators (80%) believe EL instruction is a priority for their school or district. Educators also indicate that more professional development and different types of learning materials are needed to meet the needs of EL students.

Educators see EL enrollment increasing steadily in their schools or districts, with more rapid growth in the Northeast, Midwest and Southern regions compared to the West. Educators also report that they have EL students who speak Spanish, Arabic, Mandarin, Vietnamese, Tagalog and Russian among many others, indicating ongoing demand for EL instruction that accommodates a diverse group of students and languages spoken in the classroom.

“EL students make up one of the fastest-growing student populations in the United States, and educators and school leaders have to think differently about how to meet their needs,” said Heath Morrison, president of McGraw-Hill Education’s School Group. “With the diverse demographics of today’s student population, it is imperative that educators have access to ongoing professional development and training, as well as a robust array of resources to accommodate the diverse needs of EL students and to help them succeed in the classroom and beyond.”

The survey also found that:

  • Only 39% of teachers and administrators strongly agree they have received sufficient EL training and professional development, and 82% of all respondents indicate that they are spending their own personal time and effort to develop their skills to meet their EL students’ needs.
  • Newer EL educators (those who have worked in EL education for less than two years) are significantly less confident than more experienced educators in their EL training and development, with only 36% of new respondents feeling they have received enough professional development compared to 70% of more experienced educators.

Digital and Adaptive Learning Tools Viewed as Most Effective for EL Instruction
With diverse language, cultural and educational backgrounds of EL students, teachers continue to use curated and customized learning materials, which can be more time-consuming and challenging to develop.

  • A large percentage of respondents believe that digital materials, including video and audio resources, and adaptive learning technologies are among the most effective for EL instruction (92% and 87% of respondents, respectively), compared to printed workbooks and textbooks (67% and 61% of respondents, respectively).
  • Free online educational resources are among the most common instructional resources used for EL instruction (used by 63% of educators), followed by video and audio (59%) and textbooks (59%).
  • Despite the perceived higher efficacy of adaptive learning tools, fewer than half of the respondents currently use adaptive learning technologies (44%).

Parental Engagement and Family Support Rank among Most Important Factors for EL Success
Strong family engagement is believed to have a huge impact on EL students’ academic success, particularly in the areas of motivation and commitment.

  • 99% of respondents rank family support and engagement as being extremely or very important to EL students’ success.
  • However, less than 50% of educators feel that EL students have parental support in learning English, and 74% of respondents believe that the parents of the majority of EL students in their schools are learning English themselves.
  • In addition, only 30% of respondents reported that students have access to EL materials at home.

The survey also shows that while the majority of respondents believe that EL instruction helps students become more proficient in English (93%), they are less likely to agree that EL instruction is helping students become career or college ready (84% and 79% respectively).

“Nearly 90 percent of the respondents in our survey are optimistic about the continued improvement in EL students’ academic performance,” added Morrison. “At the same time, we see opportunities to provide stronger support to teachers and students, while also finding new ways to help schools engage parents and families at home.”

McGraw-Hill Education’s 2017 EL Education Report was administered by Hanover Research to more than 1300 teachers and administrators across the United States to examine the opinions of teachers and administrators in K-12 schools regarding English Learner (EL) instruction. Seventy-six percent of the respondents indicated that EL instruction is a core responsibility. The study assesses EL instructional approaches and material preferences, as well as perceptions, challenges and opportunities. In this press release, results are for all respondents (teachers and administrators), unless specifically indicated as from teachers.

To download the full report, visit: mheducation.com/ELreport.

 

The Rise of Women through the Birth of Languages

Jenna Lau reveals the secrets of Nushu, a language  emblematic of Chinese female empowerment and sisterhood.

History is rife with accounts of gender inequality and discrimination, be it through politics, economics, or education. Nonetheless, in the face of scarce educational opportunities, women have risen to create their own opportunities when learning languages.

Originating from a remote county in the southern region of China during the fifteenth century, a writing system known as Nushu (simplified: 女书; traditional: 女書; pinyin: Nǚshū ) was used exclusively by women, who were forbidden from any form of education. Women in Japan encountered a similar situation.

Denied the same language education opportunities as men, women were forced to come up with Hiragana (Kanji: 平仮名;Hiragana: ひらがな), one of Japan’s four writing systems and derived from Chinese characters.Insight into the creation and application of Nushu and Hiragana sheds light on the integral, yet under-reported role of women in the creation of languages and their influence on education.

With their feet bound and on the brink of illiteracy, women developed Nushu, a writing system practiced in secrecy for hundreds of years in the region of the Jiangyong Prefecture (simplified: 江永县; traditional: 江永縣; pinyin: Jiāngyǒng Xiàn) in China’s Hunan province. Nushu, written as 女书 or 女書 in simplified and traditional Chinese respectively, translates to “women’s script.” The exact time of Nushu’s conception is still unknown, but it is thought to have been created sometime between the ninth and thirteenth centuries, with the language reaching its peak during the Qing Dynasty (1644 – 1911).

The Nushu script was analogous to its traditional Chinese script origin, known as Hanzi (simplified: 汉字; traditional: 漢字; pinyin: hànzì), yet quite distinct in its appearance and usage.

Nushu often borrowed characters from Hanzi, such as sun, written as 日 (pinyin: rì) or eye 眼 (pinyin: yǎn). Both scripts were written and read from top to bottom and right to left. However, Nushu script illustrates a thinner and elongated cursive style in comparison. Unlike the traditional Chinese characters, displaying semantic value, Nushu characters were simply phonetic. In addition, between six hundred and seven hundred characters were present in the Nushu language, while the average Chinese individual uses roughly eight thousand characters today.

The Nushu language not only affected the method by which Chinese women communicated, but their culture and bonds. Emblematic of Chinese female empowerment and sisterhood, Nushu provided a sense of community amongst women.

The language provided women an escape from their isolated lives, especially during marriage, when women left their families to live with their husbands, allowing them to express their deepest feelings with close female friends. Because this language was solely used by Chinese women, Nushu prevented prying eyes, especially those of men. Through writing, speaking, as well as singing, these women were able to express their feelings of hardship and domestic oppression resulting from the patriarchal climate (See). The last known proficient writer and speaker of the Nushu language, Yang Huanyi, stated, “Women needed a spiritual life. They could not write Chinese, but they wanted to express their feelings” (Yang). Nushu works were often created in the form of books, poems, and song lyrics. They were even embroidered in cloths, clothing, and paper fans.

To create a strong bond between friends, women often became known as 结拜姊妹(traditional:結拜姊妹; pinyin: jiébài zǐmèi), which translates to “sworn sisters.” This commitment between the women indicated they were very close, more so than real sisters, although they did not share any blood relations. The strong sense of sisterhood and community provided by Nushu is best illustrated through 三朝書 (traditional: 三朝书; pinyin: sān cháo shū), which translates to “Third Day Missives.”

On the third day of a woman’s marriage, mothers and close friends provided the newlywed with a booklet (See). Because married life for Chinese women at this time was often characterized by oppression and isolation, the booklets contained songs, written in Nushu, expressing their sadness of the newlywed’s absence and loss of friendship (Yang). They also wished the newlywed a better and brighter future. Forming a bond between women, Nushu was passed down from generation to generation by mothers and grandmothers.

Over time, the Nushu language gradually spread. One of the many reforms of China’s Cultural Revolution in the 1960s and 70s was that women were finally offered an education. Soon afterwards, rumors spread that Nushu was being used by foreign spies so Chinese women stopped using it. The language died with Yang Huanyi at the age of 98, the last known proficient speaker and writer of the Nushu language, on September 20th, 2004.

Nevertheless, the legacy of the language lives on today. Collected and published by Qinghua University linguists, Yang’s poems and letters were preserved for posterity. The Hunan Provincial Museum is also dedicated to preserving and displaying the original works written in Nushu, including poems, letters, and books.

In addition, a documentary by Yue-Qing Yang, Nu Shu: A Hidden Language of Women in China , follows Yang Huanyi to her hometown, learning about her life and background as the last Nushu speaker (Yang). Lisa See, an American writer and novelist, also documents Nushu’s background and its use in the nineteenth century in her novel, Snow Flower and the Secret Fan (See).

Nearly two thousand miles across the East China Sea, Japanese women faced a similar situation. The Japanese did not have a writing system until the introduction of Kanji by the Chinese during 500 C.E. Use of this writing system was perceived to be indicative of a higher, elitist class and culture, as traditional Chinese characters were reserved for the upper class. Some Japanese men were offered the chance to learn Kanji but women were denied any such opportunity. Kanji was known as “男手” (Hiragana おとこで; romaji: otokode), literally translating to “man’s hand.” This gender-based segregation of education and literacy led women to develop a new writing system called Hiragana, which was considerd to be the language of the lower classes.

Hiragana was originally referred to as “女手” (hiragana: おんなで; romaji: onnade), literally translating to “woman’s hand.” The writing system was used by women for poems, love letters, and private correspondences. It was later used during the Heian era (795-1192 C.E.) to create one of the first novels in the world, The Tale of Genji (Kanji: 源氏物語; Hiragana: げんじものがたり; Romaji: Genji Monogatari), by a famous poet and novelist of the Japanese imperial court named Lady Murasaki Shikibu (Kanji: 紫式部; Hiragana: むらさきしきぶ ).

Along with Japan’s three writing systems, Kanji, Katakana, and romaji, the Hiragana script was considered the “ordinary syllabic script.” This writing system is characterized by cursive strokes and shapes, and is frequently used to write native Japanese words. The Japanese writing system evolved from an ideographic one, with its Kanji characters representing ideas and sounds, to sonographic, Hiragana representing phonetic values.

Inspired by the curves of Chinese calligraphy, the Hiragana writing system followed suit. With 46 characters, the Hiragana system is a syllabary, a phonetic writing system with each Hiragana representing one syllable. Each character of the Chinese writing system represented a morpheme, the smallest unit of grammar or syntax; however, this did not properly fit with the Japanese language because of its mixture of various suffixes and the use of particles with specific words or clauses.

To accommodate the complex Japanese grammar, certain Kanji characters were used for their phonetic value. However, it was difficult convey the Japanese language with only Kanj, so the writing system became an amalgamation of Japanese Hiragana and Katakana with Kanji characters. Each Hiragana became a syllabogram, a symbol representing one syllable, and each Kanji character was used as a logogram, representing a word or phrase (Koichi).

The relationship between Japanese Hiragana and Kanji can be found between the juxtaposition of the two scripts: For example, the Chinese character 加 (pinyin: jiā), meaning “increase” or “add to”, inspired the style of the Hiragana character か, with a phonetic value of “ka.” Moreover, the Hiragana て (romaji: te) was derived by the Chinese character 天 (pinyin: tiān), meaning “heaven” because of their similarities in appearance and sound.

The Japanese writing system is much more complex when conveying certain words. For example, the word for “cherry blossom” is “sakura” in romaji, a representation of Japanese pronunciations with the western alphabet. The Kanji for “cherry blossom” is “櫻” and can also be written as “さくら” in Hiragana, and “サクラ” in Katakana. Similarly, the phrase “the

child’s school” can be written in various ways. Using Kanji and Hiragana, it is written as “子供 の学校” or “こどものがっこう” (romaji: Kodomo no gakkō), using solely Hiragana. The Japanese try to use Kanji as much as possible, however, when the Kanji for a specific word is unknown, it is usually written in Hiragana or Katakana (Koichi).

Because certain Kanji can be difficult to identify, Hiragana is also used to detail the pronunciation of Kanji characters, known as furigana. For instance, the word “telephone” is written as “電話” in Kanji. Each Kanji can be pronounced with one or more Hiragana syllables: 電 has furigana of でん (romaji: den) while that of the second Kanji, 話, is わ (romaji: wa). Together, the word for “telephone” is pronounced as でんわ (romaji: denwa). 音読み (Hiragana: おんよみ; romaji: onyomi), the Chinese reading of Kanji, means “sound reading”, and is written in Katakana, mimicking the original sounds of the Kanji within the Chinese language.

On the other hand, the Japanese reading of Kanji is known as 訓読み (Hiragana: くんよみ; romaji: kunyomi) and is used to make the Japanese language more compatible with Kanji. For example, the Kanji for mountain, 山, has an onyomi reading of さん (romaji: san), similar in sound to the Chinese pronunciation, “shān” (pinyin). Meanwhile, its kunyomi, the Japanese pronunciation of the Kanji, is やま (romaji: yama).

In contrast to Kanji, which are used to convey nouns and root meanings of verbs and adjectives, Hiragana characters are prominently used for grammatical purposes: conjugations, particles, and even special Japanese words. For example, the Hiragana の (romaji: no) is a possessive particle: the phrase “わたしのまち” (romaji: watashi no machi), written in Hiragana, translates to “my town.” The Japanese language is filled with many other Hiragana particles, such as で (romaji: de) or に (romaji: ni) to indicate an object’s location, and か (romaji: ka), which is placed at the end of a sentence to form a question.

Over time, gender inequality in Japanese language education dissipated. Today, Hiragana is now a part of the official Japanese language, used by over a hundred million people around the world every day.

With one language disappearing every fourteen days, the fate of the earth’s diverse catalogue of languages faces a rocky future. However, the lifecycle of China’s Nushu and Japan’s Hiragana provides a glimpse of their difficult beginnings and introductions to patriarchal societies. Their influences on modern society are forever engraved within the captivating history of linguistics and female empowerment. These stories of women and their increasing role in language education serve to inspire the world, both in the present and the future.

References

Koichi, and Aya Francisco. Learn Hiragana: The Ultimate Guide . Tofugu, 30 June 2014,

www.tofugu.com/japanese/learn-hiragana/.

See, Lisa. Snow Flower and the Secret Fan . Bloomsbury Publishing, 2014.

Yang, Yue-Qing, director. Nu Shu: A Hidden Language of Women in China . Women Make Movies, 1999.

December 2017

2018 Year Planner Your one-stop shop for conferences, workshops, grants, scholarships, and dates for 2018, brought to you by Vista Higher Learning

Study Abroad Guide Language Magazine’s guide to the major international education events in 2018

Open Doors Take a look inside the 2017 report

Subordinating Teaching to LearningCynthia S. Wiseman shares her experience of letting students learn

A Boys’ Story Cheryl Ortega experiences the language challenges of a refuge for unaccompanied minor immigrants in Los Angeles

November 2017

The International Benefits of Language Education Michael Nugent, Martha “Marty” Abbott, Esther Brimmer, and Sanford J. Ungar discuss the importance of language education to the U.S. on the international stage

Elevating Investment in California’s Youngest Alejandra Campoverdi advocates investing in pre-K initiatives, including dual-language programs, for California’s most at-risk children

The Amazing Case of El Biblioburro Lori Langer de Ramirez uses the world language classroom to broaden students’ knowledge of geography and introduce sociocultural concepts like social justice

The Rise of Women through the Birth of Languages Jenna Lau reveals the secrets of Nushu and Hiragana, languages emblematic of Chinese female empowerment and sisterhood

When Literacy Gets Critical Lina Sun provides a rationale for integrating peace education into the English curriculum through graphic novels

Translating to Work in the USA Elizabeth Ricci and Michael Launer provide an update on U.S. immigration options for translators and interpreters under the Trump administration

Making the Most of Europe Students (and teachers) should take advantage of the many travel deals on offer to see as much as they can of this diverse continent
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