Language support in Imagine Language & Literacy

Imagine Language & Literacy provides 2 different types of language support: audio language support and print language support. Imagine Language & Literacy supports different languages, depending on the type of language support. Audio language support provides instructions and some feedback in students' first language while they work through specific Imagine Language & Literacy activities. Print language support provides translations of essential print materials into languages that are not offered as audio language support in Imagine Language & Literacy activities. Administrators and Teachers can set the audio support language for their students or download print language support materials to use in their classroom.

Audio language support

Audio language support provides instructions and some feedback in students' first language while they work through specific Imagine Language & Learning activities. Imagine Language & Literacy uses the student's first language in strategic ways to teach still English concepts. The goal of audio language support is to maintain a balance between helping the student understand the activity while still driving them towards English proficiency. Imagine Language & Literacy uses audio language support to scaffold students in these ways:

  • Provides instructions to students in their first language the first time that the student works on an activity. For example, the Placement Test would explain to students how to complete the test in their first language, but still test them in English.
  • Teaches difficult or unfamiliar concepts or skills (such as rhyming) in their first language before teaching the same concept in English. This is especially effective when the English sounds that are being taught don't exist in the students' first language.
  • Reviews vocabulary in students' first language before teaching them new vocabulary in English.

 Note

Not all activities in Imagine Language & Literacy include audio language support. Audio language support is only available in activities where audio support would be most effective in teaching language and literacy concepts.

If audio language support is enabled for a student and they encounter an activity that includes audio language support, they initially receive instructions on how to complete the activity in their first language. As they work through subsequent activities, Imagine Language & Literacy gradually removes audio language support in their first language so that students gain confidence and proficiency in English. 

When students who have been enabled for audio support encounter an activity

  1. The first time a student encounters a new activity that includes audio language support, they automatically hear instructions on how to complete the activity in their first language.
  2. The second or third time the student encounters the same activity, they hear instructions on how to complete the activity in English, but they can click the Translate icon in the taskbar to hear the instructions in their first language if they need audio language support.

    toolbar_translateLanguage.png

  3. After the third time the student encounters that same activity, they hear instructions on how to complete the activity in English and the Translate icon is disabled.

Print language support

Print language support provides translations of essential print materials into languages that are not offered as audio language support in Imagine Language & Literacy activities. Language booklets for each supported language include family letters; vocabulary practice, reading texts, and other printouts; a glossary of vocabulary words translated from the first language to English, and a Certificate of Completion in the first language.

 Note

The printouts included in language booklets have instructions on how use the printout in the student's first language, but the exercises or questions are in English.

Printout in Bengali English-to-Bengali vocabulary glossary

Certificate of Completion in Bengali

Supported languages

Language support is available in different languages, depending on the type of language support:

Supported audio languages Supported print-only languages
  • Arabic
  • Cantonese
  • French
  • Haitian Creole
  • Hmong
  • Japanese
  • Korean
  • Mandarin
  • Marshallese
  • Portuguese
  • Russian
  • Somali
  • Spanish
  • Tagalog
  • Vietnamese