Translation Nation

This two-year project, which began with the recruitment and training of translators in September 2010, is a collaboration between the Stephen Spender Trust and arts education charity Eastside Educational Trust. Funded by Arts Council England, the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation and the Mercers’ Company, Translation Nation will see translators going into 22 primary schools to run three-day translation workshops, reaching some 1,300 children in Years 5 and 6. In February and March 2011 translators of French, Spanish, Portuguese, Polish, Arabic, Hindi and Gujarati, led by Sarah Ardizzone, held workshops in twelve schools in Camden, Lambeth, Hounslow, Brighton & Hove, and Thanet.

The content of the workshops was very well structured so that children could practise orally the skills they would need when writing. A lot of the work focused on editing and redrafting to polish the final story, adding description and making the story flow. They have developed the ability to concentrate on redrafting and editing skills, something they don’t always have time for in class due to the pressures of the curriculum.

Rosie Keaney, EMTAG Manager – Granton School

The aim of the workshops is to:

• Provide children and their families with a gateway to exploring literature from around the world and to help them develop an understanding of how language and literature provide a window into other cultures

• Raise the profile of community languages within schools

• Improve participants’ understanding of how language functions, develop a deeper understanding of creative writing, and help them write clearer and more nuanced English

An action-packed first day saw a large number of children experimenting with learning other languages, being introduced to literature in translation, finding out more about the role of a translator and considering linguistic nuances. On the second day, parents and grandparents were invited into the classroom to share their stories and the workshop leaders helped the students translate the stories into fluent, creative English. On the final day the three stories were performed in the original language and in English to an audience of other young people.

Feedback from the schools commented on how the project had:

• helped to affirm bi/multilingualism and the role played by many young people as interpreters and translators

• improved the participants’ oral communication and written skills in English

• involved parents and the extended family

• provided opportunities for peer teaching

The project has shown the translating and language skills the pupils already have, as well as the skills all the pupils brought to the task of translating a language they didn’t understand. It has shown areas of development in the process of writing that can now be worked on and it has given the pupils an experience of empathy by showing them what it is like to be in a situation of not understanding the language that everyone is speaking.

Linda Thomas, Head, Sparrow Farm Junior School

Information for teachers and anyone else who would like to know more can be found on the Eastside website. If you have any questions about the project, please feel free to email at the Stephen Spender Trust or at Eastside Education Trust