English learners can now take advantage of two translation supports when working on NoRedInk assignments: single-word translations and translated question directions! These tools help students understand instructions and unfamiliar words, boosting their motivation and independence when developing new skills.
Overview of Translation Supports
Single-Word Translations
Students can translate individual words within an assignment. This just-in-time support helps students work more independently and confidently when they encounter new terms and vocabulary.
- How it works: Students simply double-click or drag their cursor to select a word in most assignments or feedback you’ve provided. The translation appears above the English definition of the word. Students can also listen to the translated word using text-to-speech.
- Where students can use it: Most text within Practice, Diagnostics, Quizzes, Benchmarks, Quick Writes, Guided Essays, and Guided Short Response.
Translated Question Directions
With this feature enabled, the main directions for Practice questions are automatically translated into the student’s preferred language. This support is geared towards beginner English learners. By having directions in their home language, students can better understand what they're being asked to do and demonstrate their knowledge of a skill with fewer language barriers.
- How students use it: Once translated directions are enabled, the instructions in supported assignments will automatically appear in the student's selected language below the English text.
- Where students can use it: Practice, Quizzes, Diagnostics, and Skill Benchmarks.
💡 Teachers can also view these translation supports in the student preview experience, enabling them to model the feature for students and explore for themselves! See more below.
Enabling translation supports for students
You can enable or disable translation supports for each student from your Manage Classes page.
Both single-word translations and translated question directions can be enabled separately for individual students, allowing you to tailor the level of support to each student’s needs. By default, both translation supports are turned off.
When you enable a translation support for your student, the student will automatically be prompted to select their preferred language. You can see (and change) their language selection by clicking the gear icon and selecting “Manage Language Supports.”
To enable translation supports:
- Navigate to the Manage Classes page.
- Enable translated question directions for your English learner by clicking the middle icon in the “Language Supports” column.
- Enable single-word translations for your English learner by clicking the icon on the right in the “Language Supports” column.
- You can also manage these settings by clicking the Actions menu (gear icon) for a student and selecting Manage Language Supports.
💡 Remember to enable text-to-speech (using the speech icon) so students can hear both the original English and the translated text read aloud when using either single-word translations or translated question directions.
Previewing the Student Experience
You can preview the student experience by enabling translation for yourself in your own Account Settings under “Site Preferences.” Once you have enabled one or both translation supports and selected your language, you can interact with the supports by previewing an assignment from the Assignment library or My Assignments.
Supported Languages
Translation of practice question directions is available for a wide range of languages commonly spoken by English learners! We are always re-evaluating how well we’re meeting student needs, so this list is likely to expand. For now, the languages we support include:
Amharic
Arabic
Armenian
Bengali
Bosnian
Burmese
Cantonese
Chinese
Croatian
Dutch
Filipino
French
German
Greek
Gujarati
Haitian Creole
Hebrew
Hindi
Hmong
Indonesian
Italian
Japanese
Khmer
Kinyarwanda
Korean
Mongolian
Nepali
Pashto
Persian (Farsi)
Polish
Portuguese
Punjabi
Romanian
Russian
Serbian
Somali
Spanish
Swahili
Swedish
Tagalog
Tamil
Telugu
Thai
Turkish
Twi
Ukrainian
Urdu
Uzbek
Vietnamese
We hope translation support helps your English learners access and engage with NoRedInk more effectively. If you have any further questions, please don't hesitate to contact our Support team.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are translation supports free?
Yes, our translation support is 100% free for all teachers and students as part of our commitment to providing an equitable writing resource.
Can I request a language that isn't on the list?
Yes! We are always re-evaluating our list of supported languages. If one of your students speaks a language that is not currently supported, please reach out to our Support team to request it.
Can administrators disable translation for all students at the district level?
No, administrators will not be able to globally disable translation support for practice question directions at the district level. If you have concerns about your teachers’ use of translation with their students, we encourage you to reach out to them and collaborate on a plan for when and how translation is used!
What should I do if I spot an incorrect translation?
To support as many languages as possible, we use Google Translate to provide translations, and machine translation can sometimes make mistakes. If you see an incorrect translation, please contact our Support team with the issue, and we will do our best to rectify it promptly!
How come some language translations don't have text-to-speech support?
We provide text-to-speech through an automated service that does not yet cover every language we support. Most languages, however, do have read-aloud functionality.
💡 Want to learn more about using NoRedInk with English learners? Check out this overview of how NoRedInk supports English learners or this article on best practices for using NoRedInk with ELs.