How Education Translation Services Lead To Positive Outcomes

In 2023, the US Census Bureau reported that the number of people who speak another language other than English at home reached 68 million, with 29.6 million of those people having limited English proficiency (LEP). For these non-English speakers across the country, the existence of language barriers consistently presents a wide variety of challenges that impact their lives daily, especially when it comes to school admissions, enrollment, and parent-teacher communication. Schools across the country must cater to parents from linguistic and cultural backgrounds, and with the help of education translation services, school districts can find professional translators to accommodate and assist students, parents, and educators.

The Benefits of Professional Education Translation Services

Accurate, concise translations are essential in an academic environment, to ensure that educators, parents, and students can understand one another on multiple levels. In many cases, the use of professional translation services can assist greatly in interpreting and deciphering the cultural nuance woven into the way people communicate. Quality education document translations allow parents to be more involved in what their children are learning in school by accurately conveying higher-level topics or issues that could present themselves during parent-teacher conferences,  when notifying parents of school closings, or adjusting a student’s workload to accommodate for curriculum requirements.

It’s important to note that it is often a legal requirement to translate educational documents. In August of 2000, Executive Order Number 13166 was signed into law to “improve access to services for persons with limited English proficiency”. Professional translation is a necessity to provide all families, and their children, with the tools necessary to succeed in the United States education system.

AI And Education Translation Services

The question of using artificial Intelligence in place of human translation services has appeared in many professional sectors. However, in the case of education, humans need to perform high-quality language translation services to provide the best results for both educators and families. Computer programs often fail to consider contextual factors and cultural associations of phrases or words when translating, which can lead to final translations being skewed, incomplete, and/or inaccurate. Professional translators, with a deep understanding of idioms, cultural differences, and complex phrases, can navigate and convey complex ideas in ways that AI tools are unable to replicate, especially when it comes to elearning translation services.

Interpreting Services For Education

Beyond the accurate and culturally-correct translation of educational documents, professional language service companies also provide a human touch through effective interpreting services. People often desire face-to-face interactions with one another, and in general, research shows that people would rather speak to humans in customer service, as opposed to chatbots. Providing a human-to-human interaction that can ensure that respect is shown in all circumstances, including non-verbal types of communication, such as eye contact and proper use of body language, which can differ between cultures and languages. Human translation will always have an essential place in education, and the use of professional translation services can aid in creating a comfortable, efficient environment for all involved.