How do you connect with families when they don’t speak the same language as your staff? For schools and community organizations, language barriers create real obstacles to engagement. Yet when families are more engaged, the benefits are clear: stronger relationships, higher trust, and better outcomes for the entire community. Language access programs remove these communication […]
Did you know that nearly 68 million US residents face language barriers in everyday communication? Successful language access programs bridge this gap so that no one is left unheard, but organizing and coordinating such programs effectively remains a daunting task for many organizations. This can lead to fragmented services and unmet needs. To execute a […]
As businesses plan for the coming year, diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives remain a hot topic. When you think of DEI, unbiased hiring practices and awareness and sensitivity training are probably the first things that come to mind. But language access – providing materials in the language of your stakeholders – is also crucial […]
One of the first steps in providing your community with the language access services they need is to figure out how much it will cost. And that means getting an accurate understanding of costs so you can present a budget and get it approved. In this blog post we’ll walk you through the process of […]
Every person, regardless of language or background, deserves to be heard and understood. Behind every request for language services is a person seeking clarity, understanding, and connection. Yet, for language access coordinators (or anyone else in charge of arranging language assistance) managing these requests can be overwhelming. For example, coordinators may receive a flurry of […]
About 8% of the U.S. population, or 26.7 million people, are not native speakers of English and have limited English proficiency (LEP). Language access – providing translation and interpretation services so this population can access the services they need – helps these members of our community to work, learn, receive care, and thrive in our […]
Language access – receiving information and materials in one’s own language — is a human right and critical for helping non-native English speakers thrive in our communities. Every day, interpreters and translators get to use their language expertise and cultural intelligence to help people resolve legal and financial issues, get past trauma, receive medical support, […]
If you work in education, governments, health care, non-profits, or any agency that helps the community, you probably ask yourselves how to be more inclusive. A simple way to make a huge difference for people is to provide language access for families who have limited English speaking abilities.
Creating a terminology and glossary list is an investment in time that will pay off quickly. If you plan ahead and create a process for keeping the list active, you can enable high quality transaltions and ensure all of your communication from your organization is consistent and clear for your end-users. The following are some […]
Parent-Teacher Conferences. If you work in a school with students who are from families with limited English abilities, this can be a stressful event even in a normal year. However, we’re not in a normal year. We’re in the middle of a pandemic which has impacted our schools in so many ways. So, we’ve been […]
