The Importance of Overcoming Language Barriers in Parent-Teacher Relationships

By: David Felipe

Teachers and parents play an important role in a student’s life. They are some of the first people to watch a student grow inside and outside of the classroom. But what happens when those caring figures cannot communicate with one another? It is no surprise that, with the wide array of languages spoken in the United States, a linguistic barrier can become present, posing some serious challenges for a parent-teacher relationship. According to Laura M. Hooks, “The increasing number of English Language Learners (ELLs) in public schools has created a need for teacher educators to prepare preservice teachers to be able to work with families who have limited English.” When educators are not trained in inclusive practices, it can foster unwelcoming environments for parents who may speak little to no English. 

When I was growing up, neither of my parents really spoke English. This put me, a first-generation Mexican-American child, at a disadvantage. My immigrant parents were unable to partake in a lot of the activities in  my schooling and were unable to advocate for me in educational spaces. If anything was going on in school, they would have to hear it from me or would have to wait for a bilingual staff person to translate for them. I also was not able to rely on parental support for completing homework or projects. This put a lot more pressure on me to ensure that my parents were as involved as possible, given their linguistic barrier. Long-term, this made them feel like they had limited autonomy when making educational decisions for me and it put a lot of mental strain on all of us. 

There are basic and inclusive practices that educators can incorporate into their classrooms. According to Rick Antezana at Dynamic Language, one of the simplest ways is to translate important documents, such as field trip slips, grading rubrics and program announcements, and incorporate more visual elements into relevant texts to provide dual language speakers with alternative learning styles.  Essentially, it’s about ensuring that students are equipped with the knowledge they need to succeed academically in a class and providing that additional support with linguistic accessibility. Additionally, Antezana mentions, teachers can record video lessons that a student can later view and watch on their own time. This will allow them to “pause and replay the lesson as needed to account for any additional time they may need to process language.” Adding subtitles and closed captioning would also be an accessible way to facilitate language learning. 

With new innovative technology, there are now applications and aids that can close these language gaps. Take TalkingPoints, for example. They are an education technology nonprofit whose primary focus is to “drive student success by using accessible technology to unlock the potential of family engagement in children’s education.” They conduct in-app coaching and professional development for teachers to effectively speak to families, connect families with teachers through two-way human/machine translation, and lastly support children’s learning through “in-app and text message-based nudges and content.” So far, TalkingPoints has facilitated over 400 million conversations between parents and teachers. Long-term, this  boosted student engagement. According to their website, TalkingPoints has allowed 90% of families to  feel more included in school communities. It is evident that reaching such successful numbers is possible, especially with modern translation technology at our fingertips. Another app, ReachWell, has  made it their mission for communities to “overcome hurdles to ensure everyone has access to vital academic, safety and social assistance information.” Specifically, they have translated messaging services (texts, email, newsletter, calls) and knowledge base and guides that are delivered in over 100 different languages. They also provide text-to-speech services for phone calls. 

It is unrealistic to believe that language barriers will completely disappear in the near future. For as long as our country is a melting pot of languages, there might always be a discrepancy. However, there are steps that educators can take on micro and macro levels to minimize these barriers and put multilingual learners at the forefront of their efforts. Above all else, educators should make an active effort to connect with their students and their families, as well as bridge the gap between linguistic divides. By leveraging tools and strategies like education technology, we will be able to foster a more equitable educational system for all students.