Acculturation is…
what people experience when they encounter a new and different culture.
learning about new culture’s norms and practices, but not losing connection and access to their own culture.
best facilitated when individuals’ home language and culture are affirmed while elements of the new culture are learned and experienced.
what ELLs experience as they move between their home and school cultures.
best achieved by creating a supportive learning environment in which ELLs and their families can successfully develop their multicultural identities in any setting.
Expand Your Knowledge of Countries and Cultures
Language Interpretation and Translation
Google Translate (available to everyone)
Remember, always translate “both ways”. Start with English→desired language→translate BACK TO English to ensure nothing is “lost in translation”
Voiance Contracted Interpreter Service in BTSD (available to office staff, administrators, counselors, CST and ESL teachers to help communicate with FAMILIES )
Who in your building can help you place phone calls or video calls/meets with an interpreter?
Best for quick, informal communications. The recipient can instantly translate your message into 35+ languages.
Helping, or Helping to Understand
Looking for help for a family? From our BTSD webpage try Departments-->Department Contact Information (look for links on the left)
The Animal School (based upon The Animal School, a fable by George H. Reavis, 1940)
Teachers May Enjoy
**Note: if you can't access a free Chrome extension available to all BTSD staff, please ensure you are in "sync", which allows you to access your bookmarks, as well as the extensions the district makes available to you.** This quick article may help! sync direct link
https://wordsift.org/ enter/paste text into this tool to easily identify important words
Kami- a free Chrome extension available to all BTSD staff to allow some basic edits to pdfs. For example, if you want to use wordsift, and can't copy your desired text into the window because it is in a pdf, you can ask Kami to recognize the text in the pdf, and it will change the "pictures" of words to text so that you can copy and paste it. This also lets you mark-up worksheets and other pdf files by highlighting, adding text, etc.
Mote-a free Chrome extension available to all BTSD staff to record oral messages so students and families can listen (and re-listen) to your directions in English, instead of reading them. We do NOT offer the paid version in district, except for ESL teachers quick video
https://wida.wisc.edu/sites/default/files/resource/WIDA-ELD-Standards-Framework-2020.pdf