Because YOU need value for money and real results fast!

Because YOU need value for money and real results fast we have spent a lot of time looking at a new ways to helps normal everyday individuals, who are not linguists, converse with patients, clients, customers, parents and learners.

Our society is changing, states a recent press article We have tweaked some of the definitions associated with “predictable” terms.

This got me thinking as often it is the linguists, new arrivals, diversity and equality units that speak to us despite being able to speak many languages themselves and often cannot see it from the non-linguists point of view e.g. when there is no one available yet they still need to communicate with someone.

“Accuracy” is a good example. Before, we might have defined “accuracy” as “a thorough process including quality assurance, fact checking and overall correctness.”

The modern day definition of accuracy might come with a contextual caveat, though–“a thorough process including quality assurance, fact checking and overall correctness as time allows.”

In journalism, this digital age change is often referred to as the dilemma between accuracy and immediacy–is it more important to inform the public right away and risk inaccuracy, or take more time to provide an accurate product?

I think this is probably true of  communication and not just journalism, as we all move around more and access information from further afield. Hence the need to be more able ourselves to be proficient in getting what we need translated to the best accuracy possible within the timelimits given. For example – If its in the middle of the night when there is no person available, or for areas where it is too costly to have a person or where you need answers to question immediately, e.g. at Accident and Emergency, local disaster or accident we offer solutions to support those on the scene.

The article also suggests ways to ensure that the translations you receive are not only delivered in a quality, timely manner, but also with accurate meaning.

Clients, especially in the area of life sciences, often inquire about accuracy assurance. “OK, we’ve received our translation and it looks great, but how do we ensure that it is accurate?” they ask.

Know who you hired. You can avoid the retroactivity and second guessing that may come after delivery if you have conducted a thorough language service provider search before you even have anything translated. – At EMASUK our written material i.e. resource library and books, is supported with a wealth of translators that work in schools, hospitals or social services to ensure that they are accurately reflected in up to date workplace situations.

Be willing to provide support. There will be fewer issues with terminology if you either provide your translation service with previously translated materials (the quality of which you like) or request that a glossary is prepared and approved before translation begins. Appoint someone in your organization who will be available to consult with the translators, explain a term or the ins- and outs- of a process. – At EMASUK we always work with the organisation to provide as much personalised support as possible but also develop tools and resources to allow  individuals to support themselves in emergency or day to day activities that are generally unaccountable for.

Back-translation as a verification tool. Many users of translation services still verify translation using back-translation. It is usually the case in case of products subject to compliance verification or certification (FDA, IRB, etc.). Your translation provider should know how to ensure the independence and objectivity of such process. Alternately, you might request assistance of a third-party service.- At EMASUK the technological translation tools themselves have reverse translation buttons allowing you to check it out for yourself in seconds.

Value accuracy. If you’re reading this, chances are you already think accuracy is important. When we suggest that you “value” accuracy, we are really saying, “do not buy into the idea that you have to sacrifice accuracy for immediacy.” The two are not mutually exclusive; actually, they can be partners, depending on the definition of immediacy. If by “immediacy,” one means ” a matter of hours,” there is a chance that accuracy could suffer. If “immediacy” means “a couple days,” accuracy will likely thrive, especially when prioritized.- Much as I agree with that there are times when accuracy needs to be sacrificed for the people involved just to communicate for example where a person is bleeding profusely, at an accident site, or in schools where teachers need to take charge of an incident. That is why at EMASUK we have developed an innovative 22nd Century model which uses technology for immediacy, and written people translated text for books and written resources.

 

http://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/1829510

UK is not a place where bilingual ability is valued says the Guardian

I was very interested in last weeks Education Guardians language week. Mainly because I was looking for inspiration but there doesn’t seem to be much particularly around the value of bilingualism and supporting teachers to teach their pupils who are bilingual. It also seems that teachers are too entrenched in things that were not hugely successful in the past yet they just repeat the process without changing their thinking and integrating tools to support them.

As Rosemary Campbell Stevens says if what we have been doing for the last twenty years hasn’t worked, then we need to change the rhetoric or my favourite by Albert Einstein ‘ We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them’.

Perhaps the report is right when it says:

That the UK is not a place where bilingual ability is valued is demonstrated again in the attitude to the tens of thousands children who do arrive at school with abilities in another language, he observes.

The potential for children to reach high levels of competence in these languages is not recognised or supported by government – in the new national curriculum, there is no mention of bilingual learners who have the opportunity to learn languages at home and no plan for how these languages could be shared in the classroom.”  In a country which has attracted migrants from across the world, this means that in two or three generations, children with migrant heritage grow up to be monolingual, or only conversationally functional in the language spoken by their parents or grandparents.

It also seems to me that there is a lot of store set on academics but not on what happens in classrooms where policy and strategy have to be interpreted with the children that you have in front of you. It is also interesting to note that during our existence academics have started to shift  more towards bilingualism as they see that when used effectively bilingual learning supports and moves the child’s learning on.  Perhaps this is prompted by real results and where previously our members, our teachers, school and classrooms were ignored as they can now see that this is where real change is happening the tide is turning.

Schools employing this new ethos are seeing results daily on real children in their classrooms, this includes the learners learning academic English quicker by up to 70% or to achieving 100% level 4 SATS, but lets not also forget that these teachers are feeling confident that they can actually help. Despite all this it also saddens me to see all this innovative and exceptional work recorded in this article as:

But apart from a few scattered initiatives – Interesting we are not even mentioned yet we were the first to go down this route.  http://www.guardian.co.uk/teacher-network/2013/may/13/languages-uk-schools

Who knows next time we may feature!

EMAS UKs approach is being recognised at last

Chris and I created EMAS UK with the plan of making a positive difference. People questioned our approach as we wanted to value every language and supported keeping the person’s homelanguage alive while they learnt English. Now that approach is being recognised at last with other organisations now saying the same thing. Below are a few of our success points over the last year or so.

Last Summer, EMAS UK has had its first school achieve 100% level 4 in KS2 SATs in a school that is over 40% EAL.

Last Month, EMAS UK has had its first school inspected under the new Ofsted criteria to achieve a good rating.
Last Week, EMAS UK has reports of children started structuring sentences in only 4 weeks due to its revolutionary communications tools.
Last Term, EMAS UK has teachers rating their INSET training on EAL support as highly recommended.
Last Term, EMAS UK has schools requesting further support after they have undertaken the school audit by its award winning staff.

None of this seems ground breaking but when you think that there is a person at the end of every story and it can change their lives then it really matters. As we have always said ‘Every Language Matters’.