Re: Dealing with NESB/ESL parents

Dear Amy,

                              As a teacher, your classroom has become a nucleus of convergence for a diverse group of children for whom you will call your students. These students as well as their families are diverse in their physical attributes as well as their personalities, abilities and their social and emotional lives (Dempsey & Arthur-Kelly, 2007).  After reading your latest concerns we at Project BEAM have noticed that you have an ESL child, Jose, whose parents do not speak English. Having parents who do not speak English can be a communicative challenge for teachers and can result in either a positive or negative experience depending on how the situation is dealt with. Unfortunately, your experience didn’t lead to the desired outcome that you wanted. Do not worry. You are not alone in situations like this. We hope that the following information will provide you with effective communication tools that will lead to a much more productive discussion with Jose’s parents in the future. 

It is a priority of the NSW Department of Education and Training to ensure that full access to information is available to all parents, careers and school community members (NSW DET, 2007). The DET have achieved this through the use of interpreting and translation services which are provided for parents and carers who do not speak or understand English well such as Jose’s. Interpreting services are provided at the request of a school, parent or carer for matters involving children such as school enrolment, the educational progress, attendance, welfare or behaviour as well as for school meetings (NSW DET, 2007).Therefore, it is important Amy that you use an appropriately qualified interpreter whenever possible. It is not appropriate to use students, relatives or staff who speak a second language to interpret as they may not be familiar with specialist terminology used, cultural nuances involved or be sufficiently bilingual to accurately convey the message (NSW DET, 2007). All translators used by the DET are qualified and registered meaning that they are bound by the Australian Institute of Translators and Interpreters Code of Ethics, meaning that they must practise impartially, confidentially and accurately (NSW DET, 2007).

The Interpreting and Translation Services Guidelines for Schools is a valuable document that outlines all the information required for teachers to promote effective communication between schools, parents and communities (NSW DET, 2007). It outlines the following:

-          The who, what, when and why of interpreting and translation services  
      e.g. what to consider before booking an interpreter such as what
       language to use etc.

-          On-site interpreting
-          Telephone interpreting
-          Steps to arrange an interpreter
-          Translation
-          Contact Information

 The above list only gives you an insight into what the actual document offers in terms of information so we highly recommend that you get your hands on a copy and make yourself familiar with the processes involved. It may also be useful to consider getting certain school documents translated for Jose’s parents such as newsletters, student reports and excursion forms. When getting documents translated from English to another language it is important to consider the following points:

-          Write in plain English. Wherever possible avoid educational and
      departmental jargon.

-          Do not use slang, slogans, colloquialisms, humor or plays on words as
      they do not translate well.

-          Layout of the document can be an important consideration e.g some
      languages read left to right or right to left.

-          Write in short sentences. Be precise and concise as translation costs are 
      based on the number of English words. 

                                                                                                    (NSW DET, 2007)
          The above list is not by any means exhaustive but should be used as a basis for writing documents that need translating. For more information regarding interpreter or translation services please access the Department’s Intranet using the following link as it will lead you to the Interpreting and Translation Services Guidelines for Schools:

https://detwww.det.nsw.edu.au/multicultural/interpreting/guidelines.pdf

         Further information regarding translation and interpreting for individual schools can be obtained by phoning 9244 5306. Below is a link in which you will find a range of useful documents for teachers, parents and caregivers, translated into over 40 languages 

https://www.det.nsw.edu.au/languagesupport/documents/index.htm  

          It would also be beneficial if you let Jose’s parents know that they can get assistance from the Telephone Interpreter Service on 131 450 to contact Jose’s school if an issue does arise. This means that Jose’s parents will feel included in his education as they can contact the school if needed at their own request without having to wait for you or the school to contact them.  We hope that you will be able to use these practical tools to effectively communicate with not only Jose’s parents but with other parents, families and carers who do not speak English well or are Deaf and use sign language throughout your time at PHPS and throughout your teaching career.

Yours Sincerely,

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Project BEAM