As summer starts to wind down that means that another school year is right around the corner.
We live in a culturally diverse city in Lancaster PA as we are home to many immigrants and refugees who have successfully built their lives and started families. Those families have children in our local schools that may need assistance at school.
Communication and education go hand in hand, one cannot be accomplished without the other. If a child faces poor communication in an educational environment on a daily basis, the chance of that child receiving a quality education deteriorates significantly.
Classrooms in our area and across the country are culturally diverse with a mix of children from all over the world, and many cannot understand or speak English. This presents a vast need for professional interpreter services in the education sector, to ensure that all students have equal access to the American education system.
A child’s learning environment impacts cognitive, linguistic, social, and emotional development. It’s imperative that the individual needs of every child are met, to ensure a well-rounded education is received.
An educational interpreter may be needed for interactions with limited English proficient (LEP) parents and children, who do not speak or understand English. At Your Language Connection, we offer these services and our team of interpreters are highly skilled and trained through our ongoing staff events. Recently, Michelle Salinas, founder of YLC offered training in Lancaster County Schools on an in-service day speaking to school staff and administrators about the importance of non-biased interpretation, especially in schools.
All members of a child’s educational team need to work together to provide the best learning opportunities, despite the child’s lack of English proficiency.
You might be wondering what instances would an interpreter be beneficial in schools. Well, the role of an educational interpreter is to facilitate communication between limited English proficient (LEP) students, parents, and education faculty.
One factor that makes this more challenging is that interpreting for children is very different from interpreting for adults. The age of the child impacts cognitive development, critical thinking, and emotional control. Because of these factors, educational interpreters have to understand how to navigate emotional content as well as know when to intervene for additional clarification and information that will ensure the child understands the interpreting encounter.
The aid of a trained educational interpreter offering NON-BIASED interpretation is critical to ensuring the child’s ability to understand and comprehend the information being provided to them.
An interpreter is an important member of a student’s educational team as they bare the responsibility of ensuring clear communication between the instructor team and the child.
Contact us today if you have additional questions, are a concerned parent, or a school administrator ready to plan for the school year.