Circumventing the Language Disconnect between Home and School in Hispanic Populations:

The Use of Google Translate to Promote Parental Involvement

Carolyn M. LearyUniversity of Notre Dame

Changing Demographics in American Schools

• Number of Hispanic Students has tripled in the past 30 years• predicted to increase to over 25% of K-12 by 2030

• 20.5% of students speak a language other than English at home (2007)

• High demand for qualified Spanish-speaking teachers

Hispanic Students: At Risk

• Majority of Hispanic students are achieving below average

• Hispanic students are three times more likely to grow up in poverty than their white peers

• (Smith 2006)

• Parental involvement in their child’s education is a predictor of academic and behavioral success in school

• Positive cognitive and affective benefits documented across ethnicities and socioeconomic levels

• (Jeynes, 2007)

English Speaking Teachers vs. Spanish Speaking Households

• Research supports solutions to the language barrier:• hiring bilingual staff,• teaching staff Spanish, • teaching parents English, • and hiring translators for materials

sent home• (Turney & Tao, 2009; Smith, Stern, & Shatrova, 2009).

An Immediate Solution

• Free online translation tool

• Advanced software producing 80% accuracy

• (Ha, 2010)

• To what extent does Google Translate enable English speaking teachers to facilitate parental involvement though correspondence with Spanish speaking households?

Methods• Context

• Coolidge K-4 Primary Center in a mid-sized city

• 93.8% of students at the school receive a free or reduced lunch

• 50% of students are classified as English Language Learners

• Participants• 2 Teachers in English

Language Learners (ELL) with at least 5 years of experience

• Mrs. Briar: Kindergarten ELL• Uncomfortable on the

computer, or with her limited Spanish skills

• Mrs. Fox: 4th grade ELL• Familiar with existing

translation technology• Proficient in Spanish, but not

comfortable writing or listening

• Students and their families• Limited Spanish literacy

Methods cont.• Data Collection Procedure

• Google Translate tutorial• Attention to cultural implications

• Nuances of the language• Limited literacy

• Disclaimer• Log of correspondence

• Copy of message• Recipients, date, response (if any)

• In-depth interview• Impression parental involvement • Assessment of Goggle Translate

Methods cont.

Observation Interviews Record of correspondence

Types of Parental Involvement Active Supportive

Presence of parents in schoolExistence of parent resources in schools

Teachers’ impression of parental involvementExamples of involvement

Examples of parental involvement

Effects on teachers Teachers’ initial reaction to Google Translate

Motivation for participationSense of capacity

Examples of the expanded capacity to communicate

Uses of Google Translate

Level of comfort with technology

Level of comfort with the Spanish language Motivation for correspondence

Examples of correspondence Purpose of correspondence Informative Request/Demand ComplimentaryIntended recipient Individual student Entire class

Data Analysis

Significant Findings• Types of Parental Involvement

• Active involvement to foster supportive behaviors

• Effect of Google Translate on the Teachers• Growing sense of capacity

• Uses of Google Translate• Informative notes allow for parents to keep tabs

on the events in the classroom • Requests/demands open up an opportunity for

participation and communication• Complementary notes have the potential to form

a base of trust in a school-home relationship

Growing Sense of Capacity

• Mrs. Briar• Expressed pride that she did not have to rely

on her aide• Parents were now coming to her with

questions/concerns• “Mrs. Sonora hasn’t been getting as many

phone calls, so maybe that’s a sign.”

• Mrs. Fox• Now able to bypass usual chain of personnel • “It has made me be more thoughtful about

opening those lines [of communication].”

Significant Findings• Types of Parental Involvement

• Active involvement to foster supportive behaviors

• Effect of Google Translate on the Teachers• Growing sense of capacity

• Uses of Google Translate• Informative notes allow for parents to keep tabs

on the events in the classroom • Requests/demands open up an opportunity for

participation and communication• Complementary notes have the potential to form

a base of trust in a school-home relationship

Implications

• Replication• Convenience of Google Translate• Unique setting within Coolidge Primary center

• Limitations• Significance of volunteer participants• Short term solution

A Summary of Significant Findings

“Now that I know that I can use [Google Translate], …it has made me be more thoughtful

about opening up those lines, so for example: I have a kid who started off kind of rough at the beginning of the year, and he is doing so great! And I want to

write a letter home to say what a great job he is doing. And I can’t call him, and I don’t want to bug people, like ‘Hey, can I take time from your busy

day to make this phone call for me?’ So now I know that I can just type that up really quick and send

that home, and that’s great!”-Mrs Fox