Translation tools for students

33 views
Skip to first unread message

VRAB

unread,
Nov 12, 2025, 8:39:32 AMNov 12
to EAL-Bilingual
Good afternoon all,

I am employed in a large Academy Trust, where the IT services are operated centrally. When we joined the Trust, we changed from a Google-based to a Microsoft-based computer system. Since that time, our technology options for the students have been much reduced. Students are only able to translate text on Google Translate via the Google landing page; the Trust does not permit them to access the full functionality of the site, citing parental agreement for under-18s as the barrier. These students are therefore unable to translate whole documents and images.

I recently asked the IT Dept to look at Microsoft Translate, and they have told me that this is incompatible with student devices (we use Chromebooks as a legacy from the old system).

Can anyone please advise me as to other options that might be open to us? I have several students on Bands A and B who would benefit.

Many thanks for any insights you may be able to offer,
Vicki Rabicano

Graham Smith

unread,
Nov 12, 2025, 9:53:11 AMNov 12
to VRAB, EAL-Bilingual
Are your students allowed to use their phones to access translation tools?

 

Best wishes,
Graham

Take a look at our best practice content
 
Graham Smith
Director
The EAL Academy

E: graham...@theealacademy.co.uk
W: www.theealacademy.co.uk
T: +44 (0)20 3488 2700
M:+44 (0)7800 503 648
@EALACADEMY     

   

     

--
This group is managed by NALDIC, the UK's EAL Professional Association. Please visit our website for further information: www.naldic.org.uk. Twitter: @EAL_naldic. NALDIC's Privacy Policy | https://naldic.org.uk/privacy-policy
 
National Association for Language Development in the Curriculum
A Registered Charity and Company Limited by Guarantee in England and Wales. Charity No 1110570. Company No 05159760
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "EAL-Bilingual" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to eal-bilingua...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion, visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/eal-bilingual/70e4447d-2f28-4682-ac58-45cbdf209e0bn%40googlegroups.com.

Anwar Khan

unread,
Nov 12, 2025, 9:55:43 AMNov 12
to Graham Smith, VRAB, EAL-Bilingual
Can I also ask that if you are a Microsoft school, can you access the online versions of Microsoft office from Google Chrome?

Kind regards

Anwar

 

Anwar Khan

Head of EAL (A105a)

 

Tel. No.: 020 3260 3159

cid:image001.png@01D1DDA8.242F5120

www.plumsteadmanor.com

 

From: eal-bi...@googlegroups.com <eal-bi...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Graham Smith <graham...@theealacademy.co.uk>
Sent: 12 November 2025 14:52
To: VRAB <vrab...@hotmail.com>; EAL-Bilingual <eal-bi...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: [EAL-Bilingual;10333] Translation tools for students
 

CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organisation. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognise the sender and know the content is safe.

Are your students allowed to use their phones to access translation tools?

 

Best wishes,
Graham

Take a look at our best practice content
 
Graham Smith
Director
The EAL Academy

E: graham...@theealacademy.co.uk
W: www.theealacademy.co.uk
T: +44 (0)20 3488 2700
M:+44 (0)7800 503 648
@EALACADEMY     

   

     

On 12/11/2025 13:39 GMT VRAB <vrab...@hotmail.com> wrote:
 
 
Good afternoon all,
 
I am employed in a large Academy Trust, where the IT services are operated centrally. When we joined the Trust, we changed from a Google-based to a Microsoft-based computer system. Since that time, our technology options for the students have been much reduced. Students are only able to translate text on Google Translate via the Google landing page; the Trust does not permit them to access the full functionality of the site, citing parental agreement for under-18s as the barrier. These students are therefore unable to translate whole documents and images.
 
I recently asked the IT Dept to look at Microsoft Translate, and they have told me that this is incompatible with student devices (we use Chromebooks as a legacy from the old system).
 
Can anyone please advise me as to other options that might be open to us? I have several students on Bands A and B who would benefit.
 
Many thanks for any insights you may be able to offer,
Vicki Rabicano

 

--
This group is managed by NALDIC, the UK's EAL Professional Association. Please visit our website for further information: www.naldic.org.uk Twitter: @EAL_naldic. NALDIC's Privacy Policy | https://naldic.org.uk/privacy-policy
 
National Association for Language Development in the Curriculum
A Registered Charity and Company Limited by Guarantee in England and Wales. Charity No 1110570. Company No 05159760
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "EAL-Bilingual" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to eal-bilingua...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion, visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/eal-bilingual/70e4447d-2f28-4682-ac58-45cbdf209e0bn%40googlegroups.com.

--
This group is managed by NALDIC, the UK's EAL Professional Association. Please visit our website for further information: www.naldic.org.uk Twitter: @EAL_naldic. NALDIC's Privacy Policy | https://naldic.org.uk/privacy-policy

 
National Association for Language Development in the Curriculum
A Registered Charity and Company Limited by Guarantee in England and Wales. Charity No 1110570. Company No 05159760
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "EAL-Bilingual" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to eal-bilingua...@googlegroups.com.

Dominic Brassington

unread,
Nov 12, 2025, 10:03:05 AMNov 12
to VRAB, EAL-Bilingual
We had the same in my previous school, the students accessed Google Translate through searching their own language, for example Portuguese Google. 

That might work. 

--
This group is managed by NALDIC, the UK's EAL Professional Association. Please visit our website for further information: www.naldic.org.uk. Twitter: @EAL_naldic. NALDIC's Privacy Policy | https://naldic.org.uk/privacy-policy

Nandhaka Pieris

unread,
Nov 12, 2025, 10:20:08 AMNov 12
to VRAB, EAL-Bilingual
Dear Vicki,

I fully understand the pain, frustrations and complications of changing IT ecosystems. I work with Microsoft at school, Google with NALDIC, and both at home! There are a lot of features that were built into Google Workspace which have MS equivalents, and some additional features Microsoft has invested in recently. By the sounds of it, your centralised IT will probably have moved you to MS365 for Education. Are your students allowed mobile phones in lessons? A lot of the tools which are neither Google nor Microsoft tend to work mainly on mobile or stand-alone devices.

A few language support options within Microsoft are:
  • Microsoft Translate via Bing I'm not a major fan of Bing as a search engine, but this is a possibility - https://www.bing.com/translator
  • Immersive Reader (via OneNote, OneNote Class Notebooks, Word, Outlook, Teams and Edge) works in both desktop and web versions, and can be used to translate whole documents as well as supporting reading and reading text out. I use this daily at school, including for non-EAL students.
  • Live captions and subtitles (PowerPoint and Teams), including live-translated subtitles. This also gets daily use from me.
  • Windows Subtitles/Live Captions - a native feature of Windows 11 which can be used for real-time transcription and translation.
  • Dictation and Speech-to-Text (Word, OneNote, Outlook and Teams)
  • Reading Coach and Reading Progress
  • MS Copilot for Education and Teams also have a lot of additional features built in which can support EAL learners.

Microsoft Translate is a nice system for live translation, parents' evenings, etc, but essentially requires at least one party to be on a mobile device, which we've found problematic at school. Unfortunately, the desktop app has been retired, so it now needs a compatible Android or iOS device.

I'm doing a blog for my school staff about various MS integrated tools which can be used to support EAL learners, I'll share it here when done. 

Good Luck!

Kind Regards,

Nandhaka


Mr N Pieris 

Head of EAL  |  9PS Co-Form Tutor 


 

Tel. +44 (0) 1462 670511  |  Website  |  Twitter  |  Facebook 

St. Francis' College , Broadway, Letchworth Garden City, Hertfordshire, SG6 3PJ 


Latest EAL Bites:

EAL Bites | Speedy Tips Making Input Comprehensible | Paralinguistic Features | Grading Language II: Spoken

https://bit.ly/EALBitesSpeedy2


EAL Bites | Knowledge Bank Time and Tenses across Languages and Cultures - Pt1 | Cultural Differences and Direction of Time
https://bit.ly/EALBitesKB1
EAL Bites | Speedy Tips Making Input Comprehensible | Grading Language I: Spoken | Speed & Clarity
https://bit.ly/EALBitesSpeedyTip28022024

From: eal-bi...@googlegroups.com <eal-bi...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Dominic Brassington <dominicbr...@gmail.com>
Sent: 12 November 2025 15:02
To: VRAB <vrab...@hotmail.com>
Cc: EAL-Bilingual <eal-bi...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: [EAL-Bilingual;10335] Translation tools for students
 
Caution: This is an external email and may be malicious. Please take care when clicking links or opening attachments.



Disclaimer

St Francis' College Limited; Registered in England, No 13939274
Registered address: Georgian House, Park Lane, Stanmore, England, HA7 3HD
Postal Address: Broadway, Letchworth Garden City, Hertfordshire, SG6 3PJ
Tel: +44 (0)1462 670511
Website: http://www.st-francis.herts.sch.uk

This email and attachments, if any, are intended for use by the addressee(s) only and may be privileged and/or confidential.

If this email is received in error, please inform St Francis’ College LTD immediately on +44(0)1462 670511 and delete this email and any attachments or copies from your system. Any use, copying or disclosure other than by the intended recipient is unauthorised.

This email and any attachments are believed to be free of viruses and defects. It is the responsibility of the recipient to carry out checks before opening any files. St Francis’ College LTD does not accept liability for any loss or damage arising from the receipt or use of this email.

The views expressed in this email and any attachments are those of the sender and may not necessarily represent those of St Francis' College LTD. Please note that St Francis' College LTD may monitor and examine emails, sent or received.

Anne-Sophie Cocault

unread,
Nov 12, 2025, 12:26:59 PMNov 12
to Nandhaka Pieris, VRAB, EAL-Bilingual
Hi Vicki,

Here's a link to a short video on how to use the Immersive Reader (mentioned in an earlier response):

All the best,
Sophie

Virus-free.www.avg.com



--
Language & Education
EAL/ Multilingualism
Teacher Trainer
Reply all
Reply to author
Forward
0 new messages