Translation Team Tears Down Language Barriers

Lincoln High School’s student population is made up of 71% Hispanic students, and 40% of Lincoln students learned English as a second language. One group of Lincoln students is working to break the barriers for those who speak Spanish in a predominantly English driven environment. This group of students is the Lincoln Spanish Translation class, taught by Sra. Ileana Straus.

The class, made up of 24 students, focuses on translating various projects to and from English and Spanish. In addition to working on translation projects, students learn new vocabulary that is aimed at specific professional fields. Straus says that she wants students “to be exposed to medical translations, legal translations, educational translations, the different fields,” in order to prepare them for potential careers as translators.

In fact, many senior translation students are considering a career in translation or at least incorporating the skills they have learned into their future goals or daily lives. Johanna Hunter hopes to have a job in the medical field, and she says that having the ability to speak both English and Spanish is in demand: “We need more translators but [also] more doctors that speak both English and Spanish.” Angel Madero says that the vocabulary that comes with learning how to translate will correlate to his future career: “ I want to go into politics so that’s like a really good resource to have, and it’s a possible career I could go into if I wanted to.” Mark Mendoza, another senior, said that he has already been offered a job as a translator: “I want to be a firefighter, but if that doesn’t work out for me, I actually got an offer to work at a Mexican hotel in a pretty high position as a translator.”

Aside from working on new vocabulary, the students spnd their time translating content for groups both inside and outside the Lincoln community. Some of the projects that the translation students work on include Voz Latina, Lion Tales’s Spanish section; the weekly principal’s message; PTSA projects; the Lincoln website; and various projects outside of school. One of these outside projects involves translating for People Acting in Community Together (PACT), an organization that works to improve the local community.

Although the students work on various projects, they say that the most valuable aspect of the class is acquiring the skills that they use in their daily lives. Madero says that he uses his translation skills at home: “A lot of times for my parents when we’re out at the doctors or… certain places where translations aren’t given out. I just translate certain phrases because my mom understands English but not to the full extent.” Mendoza also says that he uses his translation skills in his home life: ”My family speaks mainly Spanish. Only me and my oldest brother are the ones who speak both Spanish and English, so we’re the ones that…when we go to hospitals and clinics…translate for them.”

When asked whether or not they would suggest that other students take this class, many of the students report that the class has been a rewarding experience,encouraging others to take advantage of the unique opportunity that the class provides. Kira Brashears, a senior, says that the class brought a different perspective to improving her speaking skills: “It’s interesting because the class is English and Spanish…I really like listening to that because it’s really distinctive when the teacher is talking in English, and then she’ll talk in Spanish, and that’s kind of like a different experience because you’re always thinking.” Madero says that he enjoys knowing that he is helping others: ”[The Spanish speaking population at Lincoln] doesn’t have many resources that allow them to understand what their children are doing, so by opening this door for them, I can see that it’s helping a lot of families.”

However, for Straus, the most rewarding part has been the response of the students as they learn to translate: “It’s the maturity and the energy that they have when they’re able to see something on screen and just say it in another language instantaneously. They light up… It’s very rewarding. It’s very rewarding.”