Activity 2

Some strategies that you may use when working with texts in a multilingual and multicultural classroom may include:

• Recalling students’ prior knowledge in their native language;
• Discussing the text in pairs in the native language; then creating a written summary of the text in the target language or in the native language;
• Formulating questions for the text in the target language, and answering in the native language;
• Reading a text in the target language, then illustrating the meanings by creating an Infographic, poster, etc. in the target language, native language, or bilingually;
• Reading texts from different sources on the same topic in the target language and in other languages, then discussing the differences in linguistic and cultural perspectives, the content presented, and how languages and cultures shape understanding of the same topic.

Some tools that can be used in the classroom:

• Google Translate: can be used for translating speech, text or web pages.
• DeepL Translator: can be used for translating text or documents
• Microsoft Translator: Provides real-time translations for conversations, supports text and speech translations. Excellent for real-time communication in multilingual classrooms and breaking language barriers during group activities
• TalkingPoints: Designed specifically for educators, it translates text messages between teachers and families in about 100 home languages. 
• Remind: Allows teachers to send announcements, updates, and receive read receipts. Includes a “preferred language translation” option for messages.