5 Ways Ell Teachers Are Navigating The 2020 School Year

In the ever-evolving 2020 back to school season, all students have been impacted in various ways, but none more than English Language Learning (ELL) students and their families. Without tools to assist in translation for daily communication on lessons and learning, ELL students will miss out, resulting in them falling behind. Educators have an immediate and pressing need to have the tools necessary to communicate with all students to ensure there is no student left behind.

Pocketalk saw this need and surveyed 100 ELL educators across the country to help identify the tools educators need to foster inclusive learning environments. The survey uncovered a variety of current information on translation needs in the ELL education community for the 2020 e-learning school year.

The Top Situations Educators Need Translation Assistance

Translation Is Imperative In Daily Communication

62% of teachers use translation daily to communicate with parents of students, with 35% and 3% using translation weekly or monthly, respectively.

 

Phone Is The Preferred Tool For Daily Communication

Compared to all respondents, teachers who use translation daily to communicate with parents of students are more likely to communicate using phones (43.5%) and less likely to communicate using email (11.3%).

 

Communication Will Rapidly Evolve

99% of educators stated that the current virtual environment changed the way they will plan to communicate with ELL students and their families.

 

Email Is A Secondary Choice

38% of teachers are most likely to primarily use phones with parents of students, followed by email (20%) or a messaging platform (17%) like Microsoft Teams.

 

Pocketalk, the global leader in connecting conversations and removing language barriers, donated 100 devices to educators across the U.S. that teach English Language Learner (ELL) students as part of its first-ever Back to School program, an effort to equip teachers with the tools they need and foster inclusive learning environments for all families, at home or in the classroom. During the application process, recipients of devices answered eight survey questions to reveal the evolving language needs of the education community and its communications styles ahead of an unconventional school year due to the ongoing pandemic.

View PDF Infographic