Globalization, Education, and Localization - Stephanie Horn | PGO 2021

Hi everyone!

Welcome to
"Globalization, Education, and Localization:

How a little bit of language can go
a long way at work."

My name is Stephanie Horn and I'm excited

to be presenting today from my home
in New-York, in the United States,

which is actually nowhere
near New-York City.

This is my second time at the Gathering,

I actually wanted to...

I've wanted to go for years,

but I've been a teacher and
it's right around final exam time

so not really time to travel, so

I was able to attend virtually last year,

and you know, hopefully I'll be able
to come in person someday.

So the title is definitely a cute rhyme,

but it's also the structure
of the presentation,

so, let's break down what each part means.

The first part is "Globalization",

and we often use this word when talking
about international companies,

and international influences.

I went to business school
to study accounting

and my professors would always talk about
the world getting smaller,

which means that you know,
with the Internet, the ability to travel,

and disposable income, people can now
access more parts of the world

than they could even a few decades ago.

With access to the world, comes access
to language, cultures,

and sometimes more jobs
or business opportunities.

So under this umbrella of globalization,

I will talk about my experiences
trying out languages

with colleagues and clients who are
from all over the world.

Next is "Education".

As I mentionned at the beginning,
I used to be a teacher.

I taught English to speakers
of other languages for seven years

in the United States and
in a few other countries,

and the interesting thing about teaching

your native language in your native country

is that you often end up with students
from all over the world,

with multiple languages spoken
in the classroom, and many of which

you don't even know yourself.

So I'll explain how I navigated some of
these multilingual challenges as a teacher

in this education segment.

Then, we have "Localization".

"Localization" is a term used for adapting
products or services to different regions.

And this often means translating
into the local language,

or adjusting for cultural norms
and expectations.

I'm currently project manager
in the translation industry,

and I very often work with languages
that I can't read or write,

so I'll explain how all of that works
in localization.

And then, the final part of the title is

"How a little bit of language
can go a long way at work."

And so, that's kind of trying
to answer the question

"How can I use basic language skills
to benefit myself and others?"

And that keyword is "basic",

which I guess we could say is like
A1 or A2 in the common european framework.

So knowing a bit of vocabulary,
being able to

hold a small conversation,
things like that.

There's definitvely lots of different
schools of thought

in the language learning community,

about what it really means
to know a language,

or when knowledge can be considered useful,

and, you know I'm not trying to argue that

being able to say "sziasztok" means that
you're fluent in Hungarian,

but I do think that any amount
of knowledge

can be useful in the right context.

So in short, I'll be explaining how
I've been able

to use basic language skills
to make a difference

in different multicultural and
multilingual worplaces,

and how you might be able to as well.

So let's talk first about this term
"Imposter Syndrome".

It's probably something that
many of us can relate to.

So Imposter Syndrome is doubting
your abilities

or thinking you're not good enough,

or that you don't deserve
your accomplishments.

I see this all the time, and
experience it myself,

people write a gramatically perfect post,

and then end it with, you know,
"Sorry for my bad English!"

or they scored a C1at a language exam,
and like,

"Oh, must have just been a lucky day,
because my Dutch is terrible!"

or, you know,

"Oh, well I speak three languages
but you know,

it's not that big of a deal, because
this person speaks five!"

It's great to be humble,

and recognize that you have more to learn,

but being too humble can actually
be detrimental

to your motivation and success.

So what can we do to stop feeling

like our skills are not good enough?

It's really about your mindset.

Start by setting small realistic checkpoints

on the way to your end goal,

and celebrate when you reach them!

I studied abroad in Hungary many years ago

and my goal was to be able to have

a conversation with my friends in hungarian

by the time I left.

Some of my goals along the way included

buying a bus ticket without anyone
translating for me,

or asking a stranger for directions

and understanding the response.

And each time I did something like that,

I just had to remind myself that you know,

"I couldn't do this yesterday,

so it's awesome that I can do it today!"

And just, you know, celebrating
that little win.

A lot of us also dream of being mistaken
for native speakers,

and it's really cool when you are,

but I also think, spending too much time

comparing yourself to native speakers

can be destructive to your self-esteem.

Native speakers have had an entire lifetime

of experience speaking your target language,

so they have years more practice than you do.

It's like starting piano lessons and
thinking you're terrible

because you don't play as well
as Mozart and Beethoven.

You know, it's great to look up
to these people,

and use them as role models for improving
your skills,

but just, you know, be careful

with how you let that affect your self-worth.

As long as your making progress,

you're moving in the right direction.

And finally, consider your purpose
for learning

and use that to mesure your progress.

So if you want to be conversationnal
in Korean,

and you can make jokes,

you can navigate the honorific system
correctly,

you can carry on conversations about
various topics,

but you can't understand

a Korean research paper about
organic chemistry,

I think you can still call yourself
conversationnal.

Because your goal was never
to discuss scientific issues

at an intense, you know, level,

so it makes sense that you never focused

on the terminology or background knowledge
needed to do so.

So using that to measure your abilities
is unfair to yourself.

You know, hopefully the next time you find
yourself dwelling on your mistakes

or feeling bad about your language
learning abilities,

you'll remember some of these tips
and keep going.

Moving on to "Globalization",

just something that I wanted to point out,

last year Aleksandar Medjedovic
did a great presentation

called "Do you speak business?",

about the way knowing languages

could impact your career
in different job sectors.

And I'd really recommend checking that out

if you are looking to market
your languages

for job opportunities.

Since we are focusing more on basic skills
here I'll just talk a little bit

about when I think you should or shouldn't
try to communicate in a foreign language

that you're just begining to learn.

So why you should try :

One thing is that people care
when they think that /you/ care.

So of courses there are cultural differences,

in how employers and employees

treat each other and interact
with each other in the workplace

depending on where you are,

but I think that most of us would agree
that we like to feel valued and included,

and when we feel valued and included,

we take more pride in what we do,

and that leads to better performance
and productivity,

which is great for everyone.

So when you have employees or colleagues
that speak another language,

taking the time to learn about
their language and culture

sends a message that
they're important to you,

and worth your time, and you get

to establish much more meaninful
connections with them.

My friend worked in a kitchen with mostly
Spanish speaking employees

and when she started using Spanish
to talk with them,

it really improved the mood in the kitchen
and boosted morale,

because everyone really appreciated

that their boss was going out of her way

to communicate with them
in their language.

And a lot of bosses don't really
take the time to do that.

I worked in a school with
a colleague from Nepal,

and I had worked in previous jobs
with Nepalese students,

I was getting ready for a trip to Nepal,

so I started, you know,
speaking a little bit of Nepalese with him

and he was really excited because no one else
had really tried to do that before.

And we ended up becoming friends,

and we developped a bond that helped
both of us, you know,

personally and profesionally.

So without that language
as a common ground,

we might have not thought
to connect in that way.

We might not have been, you know,
as likely to establish a friendship.

Language can also open the door
to business and networking opportunities.

I used recruit international students
at a local school,

and I once traveled
with a group of recruiters

to a business school in China.

None of us spoke Mandarin very well,

but some of us tried to speak what we knew,

and engage in small talk
with students and teachers.

When it came time for students
to pick the school they liked,

they almost always picked the school
with recruiters who tried

to speak in their language.

Because we were the ones who showed
that we cared about them,

beyond just the money
they were going to give us.

And you know, we made the kids feel like
we'd do our best to look out for them,

and make them feel safe and comfortable
if they came to study with us.

So that personal touch and connection
can make a big difference in business,

so language is just one of the ways
you can do that,

you don't need to be
fluent or very proficent

to be able to, you know,
make a little difference.

Those are just two ways that
basic language skills

can be helpful in the workplace,

but of course there are times when
you should stick to your native language

or the established language of business
for your workplace.

So when I say "the established
language of business",

my current company for example has offices
and business partners

in many countries around the world,

but we're supposed to do all official
client communication in English.

So that's our, like, established language
of business.

You should really be careful of anything
beyond small talk,

any negotiation, technical discussions,

topics that require expressing
complex ideas,

those should be done in a language
you speak conmfortably.

It's really important that everyone's
thoughts and questions

are communicated accurately when
business is at stake,

so you should do that in a language

that you feel really comfortable with,

even if it requires, you know,
the use of a translator or interpreter.

The same with legal informations,

or informations that your colleagues
might need access to later,

and they don't speak your target language.

So that would be like contracts, instructions,

policy updates, any of those should be
documented

in the established language of business.

And you know, I do believe that any employee

who don't speak or read the established
language of business very proficiently

should have access to
this type of information

in their home language,
but that's not something

that you as a beginner should be doing,

you should be outsourcing that to someone
who is fluent in the home language,

like a profesionnal translator
or interpreter.

Next we move on to "Education".

So, just to show you how truly multilingual
this experience has been,

I've compiled a list of languages

and created a map of the birthplaces
of students I've worked with

as an "English as a New Language"
or an ENL teacher.

And these are the ways the students have
identified their languages themselves,

it's not meant to be political in any way.

Yeah, so to give a bit of background,

I've taught every grade from kindergarten,

which in the U.S begins at age four or five,

or adult education classes, with students

as old as 75.

Some were international students,

meaning they came to the U.S
for the purpose of studying,

some were immigrants whose families
had chosen to move here for work

or other opportunities.

And most were refugees who were displaced
from their homes for a variety of reason,

and selected to relocate to my city.

Even though the United States doesn't have
an official language,

most of the schools in the country have
instructions in English.

So when a student enroll in school
for the first time in New York state,

they are asked which languages are spoken
at home and,

depending on the answer, they take
a placement exam

to determine their level of English, and
what language services they need.

The students take another exam at the end
of the school year

to measure their progress and decide

what services they need next year,

and they keep taking this test every year

until their scores are high enough
to be proficient.

We do teach social English,
but the primary goal is

English for academic purposes,
because we want all of our students

to graduate and have professional success,

whether they go to college
or go right into the workplace.

It's probably a very different experience
that some of you have had

learning languages for fun.

I also want to bring up some of
the challenges that my students have faced.

Because I don't think that it applies
to all language learners,

but it's really like a good perspective
to have.

Some of my students have missed years
of school,

maybe even never went to school before,

due to circumstances like sickness or war.

They might have never even learnt to read
or do maths,

which means even, you know, some teenagers
we start working with,

we need to teach them the fundamentals
of learning in addition to language skills.

So many of our students struggle
with adapting to

american school culture but the kids
with interrupted and limited schooling

have even more difficult adjusting
and progressing.

Which is not to say they can't be successful,

but they just have more challenges
to overcome than other kids their age.

Many of my students experience
post-traumatic stress disorder,

based on situations that happened to them

before they came to our school.

And this can affect their concentration

and ability to take in new informations.

Lack of technology skills or ressources
is a huge issue as well.

Even before school went remote because
of the pandemic,

in the U.S most schools required students
to carry around a computer,

and do all their work online.

But not all students are comfortable
with technology,

or have access to it at home.

I actually once worked with a 17 years old
who grew up in a refugee camp,

and didn't know what a computer was
until his first day in our school.

So we actually had to spend like, a week,

teaching him how to sign on a computer,

and to use a password, and then
we had to teach him to,

you know, use Google Docs.

I'm sure technology has been
a great benefit

to many of you while learning languages

so you know, just imagine how different
the experience might have been

without all the access to it.

Age is also a factor, which is not to say

you can't learn a language
after a certain age,

but it does affect the services
that people can receive.

So, in New-York state, most american kids
ograduate high-school by age 17 or 18,

but you can go to public school
until age 21.

So anyone in public school who requires
english services receive them for free.

Once you graduate or turn 21,
you're no longer eligible for free services.

So, depending on how old you are
when you arrive in New-York

you need to learn english
completely by yourself

or just do volunteer programs,
that sometimes don't have certified teachers.

That's often easier said than done

when you consider some of
these others factors.

And, due to the limited services for adults,

there is many situations where immigrant
and refugee children

speak english better than their parents,

so parents often rely on their children

to interprate and translate and take care
of important matters for the family.

Sometimes parents aren't able to help

with homework or other importants
school issues,

because they aren't educated themselves
or, you know,

just the american school environment
is just so new to them,

that they don't know how to help.

Sometimes children miss school or
can't get their homework done

because they're working or taking
their parents to appointments.

So very often these kids, you know,
a lot of my students said

that they always felt like
the adult in the family,

and it can lead to power struggles
within the family,

and it can often lead to less emphasis on
school.

And finally, while many of my students
are polyglots,

I mean, I worked with a few students who
spoke five or six languages

before learning english,

sometimes they feel that their skills
are not valued,

because they don't speak, maybe like
a cool language, or a popular language,

which is unfortunately often tied to race
or country of origin,

and these students might struggle with
motivation or confidence or making friends,

and they might struggle more with that
Impostor Syndrome.

You know, thinking that, you know,
they have all these skills

but it doesn't matter, because
they don't speak the right languages,

or they might think that they're stupid

because they haven't picked up english
quickly.

But, you know, we all know that

the ability to learn a language
is not based on just your intelligence.

It's also based on your motivation,

the degree of similarity
with other languages you know,

and a whole multitude of things.

All of these perceptions could affect
the ability to improve english

or even motivation to come to school
at all.

I think that these are important
to point out,

because many of us have the privilege
of learning languages,

so you know, we think it's fun,

or we want to be able to watch
Japanese anime,

or we want to make more money at work,

and if you're at this conference you have
a large support system of fellow polyglots

who can encourage you and help you practice

but in many cases language learning is
a necessity

and without that support system

or access to the right tools,
or the right state of mind,

it can be really challenging.

So, you know, I'm not asking you
to feel guilty or to feel pity for anyone,

but I would encourage you to find a way
to use your skills to support learners

who might not have the same opportunities.

So, some examples of why, you know,
even though I'm trying to teach english,

why I might use my students' languages.

The first is to build rapport, which is just
a fancy way of saying,

connecting and learning
to trust each other.

So think of your first day at school
or a new job or a new city :

it was probably a little scary
if you didn't know anyone.

So imagine being a young child
and not knowing anyone,

not understanding the culture,

and not understanding
what anyone is saying to you.

Even if people have big smiles
on their faces,

and they're trying to be nice,
it's still scary

if you can't understand
what anyone is saying.

And depending on the circumtstances
that led you to this new place,

you might already have a hard time
trusting strangers and,

you know, feeling safe.

So there is actually a term
in english learning

called the "affective filter".

And if someone is stressed or nervous,

all those feelings act
like a filter or a wall,

that prevents you from
retaining new information.

So if a person is feeling
safe and comfortable,

that filter is lowered,
and they can learn better.

So a good tip for trying to
speak a language is

to get yourself into a environment

where you feel comfortable taking risks

and you'll probably perform much better.

As a teacher, I always try to use
students languages as much as possible

when I first meet them

to help them feel welcome
and just let them know

I'm someone that cares and
you can take risks around me.

I'll never forget I had a new student
from Cuba,

couldn't speak any english,
and I showed her around the school

with my very elementary spanish,
so like,

"Okay, esta la biblioteca, esta el baño...
Tienes hermano?"

You know, I don't speak spanish very well,

I actually studied italian for a long time

so at some point I think I actually started

accidentally speaking italian to her,

but she was really grateful that

I recognized she was scared,
and tried to make her feel better,

and eventually, when she was ready
to start speaking english,

she felt comfortable trying that with me,

because she'd already seen me
embarass myself,

and step out of my comfort zone.

So I set the tone for the class, like

"It's okay to make mistakes here!"

And, you know, as a teacher in general

I would encourage you to create
that environment yourself.

Anyone who tried immersion in
their target language

knows that it's very exhausting,

it can be really embarassing,

and how relieving and empowering it is

when you actually understand
what people are saying.

So, you know, those little bits of
the student's first language

can be a breath of fresh air
at first.

It's also helpful in meeting parents.

So a lot of students' parents are nervous
about coming to school

because they don't speak english

and the american school system is
so different from what they're used to.

So we do use interpreters for conversations
with parents,

but speaking a few words and phrases
of the home language yourself

sets the tone of the visit that, you know,

"we care about you and welcome you
want to work with you."

Another reason to learn
your students' language is

it can actually help you be
a better teacher in some ways

because understanding how
another language works

helps you understand the differences
with your native language.

So as an english teacher, understanding

some of the fundamentals of different
languages means like,

"Okay I've got a new student who is

from an arabic speaking country,
they'll, you know, definitely need

to learn the latin alphabet,

and they'll need to learn how to write
left to right instead of right to left.

But they also might have trouble
with /b/ and /p/.

Their writing, you know they might
need help with when to use a comma,

or when to stop a sentence.

I found a lot of my Aarabic speakers
would have like,

really run-on sentences because of the way
that writing system is different in Arabic.

Every student is different, and will have
unique challenges to learning language.

I've actually worked with twins and triplets
who have had totally different needs.

But understanding their language background

can really help you figure out
starting points for what to teach.

And of course, your goal as an ENL teacher

is ultimately to teach students English

but there are times when you need to
communicate to students or families

in their home language and, there's limits
to what you should do yourself.

I would go to a professional translator
or interpreter

for anything that's highly academic,

any important legal or school information,

like anything you'd send home
to all the parents,

that should be available in the parents'
home language.

And any serious mental or physical health
concerns,

like if you needed to go to a psychiatrist

or a social worker.

A1 or A2 language skills can make
a huge difference

in helping families to acclimate and learn
English,

but it's not very enough to discuss
very serious topics

that could impact a child's future
or health and, you know,

we try to treat everyone with dignity
and respect,

regardless of their language background so,

if I'm trying to have a serious discussion
while trying to talk to an adult

with the vocabulary of a child,

you know, that's maybe not the most
respectful way

to include them in the conversation.

So, how do we communicate, when we can't
communicate?

Well, there's a lot of great
professional services

for schools and workplaces,
in the United States at least.

We have local translations agencies,

that will not only translate letters and
school documents,

but also state exams.

The translators will sit with the students

and read questions, or even the whole test.

We've even had a student write
a whole essay in Ukrainian,

and the translator translated it
into English for us.

So these things helps us understand

what the students actually know,

and not just what they're limited in
expressing through English skills.

New-York also has bilingual glossaries,
which I'll show in a minute,

these are for major school subjects

and in a ton of different languages,

and students can use them for reference

when working with academic vocabulary.

And we also have an over-the-phone
interpreting service,

which when you call the number,
you punch in a code,

I think it's like, 23 for Arabic,

and they get an interpreter on the phone,

who can help you make phone calls.

They can also be, you know,
if you're in a meeting

and an interpreter is not present,
you could put the phone on speakerphone

and have that interpreter interpret
the conversation.

Some strategies that I use as a teacher,

I think the best way to help students is

to just meet them at their level.

There is a language learning theory called
"I+one",

which means that the best way to improve
your language skills

is to expose yourself to content that is

just a little bit more difficult that
your current level.

If it's too easy you won't progress,

and if it's way too hard you won't progress
either,

because you know, you might burn out.

So expecting students that, you know, came
with a very low English proficiency score,

expecting them to read and understand
a History textbook

on their first day of school
probably isn't very fair,

and will probably kill their self-esteem.

But maybe they can read a picture book
about an historical event,

and answer questions about it.

Start there, gradually add more.

Some examples of specific supports are
like simplified texts,

which maybe some of you use
in your target language,

and sentence frames, to help with writing.

So, in these cases here are
some sentence frames

that I might help the student with
for an essay or a debate.

So all they really have to focus on at first

is putting in like, the meat of the content.

And then, they kind of see these examples

and learn the structures of the sentences

that we would expect them to write.

And here are some bilingual glossaries,

so here is English Language Arts
in Albanian,

Math glossary for grades 3 to 5 in Tibetan,

and Slovak Earth Science,

and here is Physics for Twi.

And while we're on the topic of translation,

we can move on to localization.

Here's another fun list :
all the languages I've worked with

since starting work as a project manager

in the translation industry.

As you can see there's a lot of languages
and just to clarify,

translation is reading and writing,

and interpretation is speaking
and listening.

So I wish I could read and write
all these languages,

but I do not.

So, people ask a lot, you know,

"Do I need to know a bunch of languages
to work in the translation industry?"

And I have been surprised to find out

that really the only ones that require

fluency or proficiency in
multiple languages

are translator and interpreter.

And you would typically translate
or interprate

into your native language because,

you know, I guess that depends on need,

but you might be fluent in
a bunch of languages,

but you'll typically better understand
the cultural or linguistic nuances

that make the words sound natural
in your native language.

And then, we also like, really look for
people who have industry experience,

so if I'm translating a medical document,

I'd hire a linguist who has
medical experience

over a linguist with business experience.

Same for legal documents,
engineering documents,

anything with technical knowkedge.

So if you want to be a translator,

it really helps to study and work
in other fields

besides just studying linguistics.

My friend is an American sign language
interpreter,

and she had to interpret for
a biochemistry exam

and I just, you know,

she had to learn a whole bunch of
biochemistry

to be able to help,
because she's like,

"This is not my field at all!"

So yeah, obviously that industry knowledge
makes a big difference

depending on what your translating or
interpreting.

And, you know, for any job we also look
for communication

and ability to meet deadlines,

so if you produce great work,
but you're rude,

and you don't turn your work in on time,

people won't want to hire you.

And then, yeah, here are a few jobs

in the translation industry,

that don't always require knowing

a bunch of languages outside of

your company's official language of business.

This was really surprising to me,
when I started.

How many jobs there are where other skills

are kind of, maybe maybe more important.

So for example my company's
language of business is English.

I need to know English for my job

so I can communicate with clients
and service providers,

but if I'm managing a translation project
in Turkish and Swahili,

I don't need to understand those languages
to do my job.

So examples, I'm a project manager

that's what I do, when we receive a project

I kind of hire the linguist to do the job,

and anyone to do like, special services,

and I deliver it and, you know,
do quality checks.

Graphic Designers and Media Specialists

are the ones that actually, you know,

actually put the translation into posters
and videos,

and make sure it looks good.

Localization Engineers are programmers,

so they get the translation

into apps and websites.

And the recruiters are people who

find people to work for the company

in different departments,

and negotiate their pay.

So in many of these jobs

you'll be surrounded by languages

but you don't have to know them all fluently.

Instead you'll have to know things

like programming or working in indesign,

or building relationships

and communicating effectively...

So these are great jobs to look into

if you like languages, but you're maybe not...

You don't have the skills to be
a translator or an interpreter,

or that doesn't really interest you.

There's lot of other things you can do,

and still work with languages.

So I don't always know the languages,

I don't always speak or read the languages
needed within the project,

so a lot of responsability does fall

on our translators and interpreters

to make sure the project is completed with
the best quality.

But there are some translation tools that

even I, you know, can use for quality.

So one is the translation memory,
or the TM.

When we put a document into
translation software,

the text is divided up into segmrents
like sentences or phrases.

And when the project is finished,

the segment is saved into
the translation memory

for future use.

So the next time that segment appears
in another project,

it will show you similar segments
that were already translated,

which helps with consistency.

Here, this is a software called memoQ,

we see "The next stop is Tower Bridge",

and that's 70% similar
to a previous translation

"The next stop is Charring Cross"

So that 70% is the similarity
to previous translations,

and it also tells you what's different
between the translations.

So here the only difference is that

one is Charring Cross,
the other is Tower Bridge,

and we won't be translating those names
anyway,

so we can use that same construction

(German): "Die nächste Haltestelle ist"

and then you just put in "Tower Bridge".

Another thing that helps is the Term base.

So this is a glossary that the client
provides to us,

that tells us their preferred translation

for certain words and phrases.

And it's programmed into the software,

so anytime the word or phrase appears
in the text,

the linguist knows to use that.

In this case it's a program called
Memsource,

and these yellow words mean that

there's something in the Term base for them,

and red mean that you should not ever use
that translation.

So my russian is not great,

but I know that "download" should be

translated as "скачать".

So if a different word is used,

I know that the linguist didn't follow
the Term base.

And I know here, "Memsource" should not ever

be spelled with a capital "S".

So that helps with consistency as well.

And we also have what's called
a Quality Assurance,

or QA check, which are automated checks

for translations errors or,

you know it basically looks into
the translation,

analyzes them against rules or ressources
that we programmed in,

and it helps us look for inconsistencies.

So here, this is from MadCap Lingo,

there's three different translations of

"Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall",

that are all a little bit different.

So what I would do, if I was looking at
this QA report,

I would ask the linguist to review them,

and just make sure that those are supposed

to be intentionally different.

And if not, then they should fix them

to meke them more standard.

So it's not necessary to know the languages
your team is translating,

but there are a few ways it can be helpful.

So one would be catching small mistakes,

like typos, or if there is issues
with formatting,

maybe a word is supposed to be bolded
in the english file,

but the formatting didn't transfer over
to the target file.

If you know those words then you can
kind of find that.

That's also helpful if you know
right to left languages,

like Hebrew and Arabic.

Sometimes when you copy and paste

into certain files formats,

the orientation is not preserved,

so it comes out backward.

If you don't know those languages

you might not realize that you might send

something to the client that's
completely useless.

So, that's always very helpful,

and we do use English for official
communications

but any opportunity to use a little bit
of languages with your partners

during small talks is always appreciated.

Very helpful for phone calls too!

A lot of our clients and service providers

have operators who only speak the local
language

so if you call and try to speak english,

I've been hang up on before.

One time I reached an answering machine
in French

and I left an awkard message because
I don't speak French,

and I didn't realize the answering machine

said that they were closed for the next
three days,

and I only figured that out

after a colleague called them with
a question.

And you know, a little bit of French

might have been helpful there!

We can also sometimes use our knowledge
in QA reports,

even knowing a little bit about grammar
could be helpful.

So here are some examples of text

that might show up in the Term base.

So in the case of Polish, there's only
one word

that we use for "operating system"
that's translated in.

And so there's all these different
declensions,

where the computer just reads the rule:

"'operating system" has always been
translated this way"

and flags all of these as errors,

but depending on the context,
these are correct.

Same with Latvian.

The Term base only says translate "patients"
as this,

and if this comes up, then it will say
an error.

So that's a false positive.

Unfortunately, computers can't critically
think

the way that we can, so this happens a lot.

The same with Portuguese,

in these two cases, there's two different
versions of the word "good",

and it's flagged for inconsistency,

but they're actually correct because

there are gender differences,

and the words they are referring to,

one is male and the other one is female,

so they actually should not be
the same word.

And the same in German:

in this case "die die" is flagged as
a potential typo

because the same word shows up twice.

But in this case "die" is a relative pronoun

for "Die Frau", "The woman",

and it can also be an article

for "the milk", "die Milch".

So that's actually correct,

but a computer just knows the rules

to, you know, make sure that the same word
isn't repeated.

This happens in some other languages
as well.

So these are examples of times

when you might be able to use
your basic language skills

in a translation project

but of course you need to be very careful.

Anything that's highly specialized,

something you're not 100% sure about,

you should always leave to
a professional linguist.

People pay a lot of money for translation,

and we have certain international standards

we have to meet for quality,

and that means that, you know,

I shouldn't be translating things myself

if I'm not a certified linguist.

And you know, anything that's more than
small talk, and related to business,

should be done in your company's
established language of business.

So I've mentionned using professional
quite a few times,

and the focus has of course been
on beginner skills,

but some of you might be interested

in becoming one of these
language professional yourself.

And I'm not a hiring manager or expert,

but I just wanted to, you know,

maybe flesh out some of the ideas
I've already talked about.

I mentionned over-the-phone interpreting,
earlier,

which I used a lot as a teacher

when communicating with families.

If you don't have a lot of opportunities

for interpreting in your immediate area,

but you're highly proficient in speaking
two or more languages,

I'd look into something like this.

You know, just know that interpreting is

not just knowing the languages,

but there is also skills such as, you know

being able to think in both languages
at the same time,

and being able to, you know,

give timely feedback.

I would definitely, you know, suggest
training for this,

but that's something you could look into.

Same with translation:

Translators Without Borders is an awesome
humanitarian organisation,

that strives to provides access
to information to everyone

regardless of their language background.

I am not affiliated with them,

but I follow a lot of what they do
on social medias,

and I know they're a non-profit organisation,

and they're always looking for volunteers
who write and write multiple languages,

especially languages without a lot of
mainstream representation.

So like, for example, a lot of things
are translated into French for Africa,

but there's so many languages in Africa,

and so many people that don't speak French
well,

and if you just rely on French to spread
information,

that's not really equitable for everybody.

Then, industry knowledge of course is
very important

to make sure you understand the content
and terminology of the text,

and depending on the job you want,

you might want to consider getting
certifications

or putting together a portfolio
of translations for review,

which is not necessary for every job,
but definitely, you know,

something nice to have on hand.

And, yeah, here is an example of
the COVID-19 Glossary,

put together by Translators Without Borders

to make sure that accurate information
was being spread

to communities around the world,
regardless of language.

They don't just do healthcare,

they do a ton of different, you know,
industries,

but this is something I know
they worked on very hard last year.

So yeah, just to sum up,

beginner level skills do have a place
at work

for connecting with people,
being inclusive,

improving you teaching, and maybe even
saving you some time,

but there are limitations,

especially anything that's technical,

legal or sensitive discussions.

And to stay motivated and measure
your progress,

think about your end goal,

and set many checkpoints to reach
along the way.

I did see there was a question about
a small win,

and I guess that can kind of be
whatever you want it to be,

it depends on your goal,

everyone's goal are kind of highly
individualized,

so yeah, think about like, what are
some steps to progress to your goal,

and it's good to be realistic about

the work that still needs to be done,

but don't let that keep you from
remembering

the value of what you've already put in.

And I've already said this like four times

but in order to get your language skills
to a place where

you can use them professionally,

you'll likely need technical and
linguistic experience

in the field or industry you want to work in,

wether that's medicine, law,
or something else.

I'm so happy to see some questions on here!

Yeah, I think that there are
a lot of people that,

they feel like, you know,

"English only! English is the most
important thing, I don't want to, um..."

You know, they really want to challenge
themselves,

and they might not appreciate some of

the bilingual ressources we provide
for them.

That's sort of their- I actually suggest

using your languages that you already know

to help you learn another language,

especially for academics purposes,

but that's sort of, I guess, up to
the individual themselves.

Also, yeah, I mean, I don't speak a lot of
languages very well, and so,

if I didn't know the language sometimes
it is just easier

to communicate in a language that, um,

either having an interpreter or translator
with me,

you know, that gets things done
a little bit faster than,

like I said, trying to speak with my
elementary skills,

yeah, sometimes that, like I said
that doesn't really go very far,

and it's better to just sort of
cut our losses there and,

you know, get down to business.

Hope that answers your question

"How can I get in contact with people
that don't speak English

and can't afford a school
or a private teacher?"

That is also a great question

So I can only speak to the places
that I've lived and worked,

but there are a lot of volunteer agencies,

that help refugees when they come
to your country

that help them, you know, get [close/clothes?],

get acclimated, there's a lot of
legal paperwork

that needs to be done
and so there's often very-

there's often some sort of
volunteer agency

that has connections like this.

My city is called the "Sanctuary City",

which means that we accept anybody
who comes in

regardless of their background,

so we have a ton of these agencies,

I would look maybe for refugee organisations,

and they're usually looking for volunteers.

And sometimes it's not just like,
teaching English,

they might also need help with bringing
food to families,

or donating clothes,
so yeah.

I would see if there's any organisations
like that

in your hometown.

Yeah, that is really challenging,
and I would say that,

involving mental health experts,

so like at my school, we had social workers,

we had school psychologists,

we had, you know, juste the regular
student counselors

that are more trained in those types of
emotionnal needs,

andh having an interpreter or a translator
available

to accurately discuss that information
would be very helpful.

And, yeah. Definitely involving
mental health professionals.

And I think, just as a teacher or as
someone at the workplace,

I know that a lot of refugees have,
you know-

get help with job placement.

This could really affect their ability
to learn,

and their ability to do work,

so just being patient, and understanding
that, you know,

they might not be ready to do an exam
on Earth Science,

and sometimes you know, you need to

take care of those mental health needs first.

And so just being aware of that,

getting them support with mental health
professionals,

and then kind of, like I said,
take things as they go,

and meeting them where they are,

and know that sometimes teachers,

you know they have their one way
of teaching,

and they want to kind of expect every kid
to fit into that,

and that's sort of something that's
changing in american schools,

that instead of teaching with the style
that you're comfortable with,

you might need to make adjustments
for kids,

and just having that flexibility and that
empathy is really important.

And also, you know, I don't think-

I think sometimes we pity refugees,

and I don't think that they need pity

I think they just need like, a friend,

who is there to help them,

so yeah, being there for all those needs
is helpful as well.

If you have access to like,
an over-the-phone interpreting service,

that is probably the most helpful.

I know that that's not always available,

so in that case, I guess body language
and images and visuals,

those can go a long way.

For example, I'm thinking about,

like an emergency situation
like a medical situation,

you can kind of point to your head,

you can, you know, things like that,

and it's awkward but any type
of communication...

If something-
I think people-

It might take a long time and it might
feel a little uncomfortable,

but using things like that can be really
helpful.

They also- I wouldn't always recommend

that people use their family members
to translate,

just because you don't always know if

they're telling all the right information,

and I don't mean that in a way like,

they're trying to hide anything from you,

but a professional interpreter is definitely
more, you know,

unbiaised in what they're saying,

but if there's a family member that speaks
a language

that can be really helpful in those cases.

And, "what can I consider a small win?"

I kind of already mentionned that but, um,

yeah, I would say that's kind of up to you

and what you're trying to accomplish.

If you're trying to be conversationnal,

then, like I said with Hungarian,

I think that, you know,

being able to buy a bus ticket by myself
is a big win,

and that's something on the way
to eventually being conversational.

So, kind of think of your end goal,

and what are some, yeah, I guess
a small win can be anything,

anything you couldn't do before

that you can do now, that's a win!

So this is actually very different
depending on

the company that you work for
and the company structure.

So, I know some-

There's definitely a lot of planning,
emailing and reporting,

because your goal is to get the project done,

and that often requires a lot of, you know,

communicating between people,

but I also know that some companies have
like, language experts,

so they deal more with the linguist
side

so I, as a project manager in
my current role,

I deal with both the clients
and the linguists.

And so the clients, that's very much like,
overhead, account things,

and then, the linguist expert side,

like, I work with the linguists,

make sure they understand the needs
of the project.

And yeah, I know that in some countries,

there's some companies that might have,
you know,

only people that know Spanish or work
on Spanish translations,

it kind of depends on the, I guess
the breakdown of your company,

if that helps.

But you will do a lot of emailing and
reporting (LAUGH), I'm sure.

Yeah, so I think those are
all the questions,

thank you so much!

And if there's anyting else,
I left my email adress

and my profile, I didn't really fill out
a lot of the other stuff,

but definitely included my email adress

so please feel free to reach out at me
at any time,

and yeah, thanks so much,
enjoy the rest of the conference!