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Additional support for students whose first language is not English.

The Rainy River District School Board is looking at technology that provides translation services in the classroom.

Education Director Heather Campbell says it operates through existing audio systems.

“The FM systems that we have (the) classroom. . .have a program now that they can do direct translation in many different languages,” says Campbell.

“So, it’s a matter of the student having the headset on and having them hear the teacher who’s speaking English being translated into their language.”

Campbell says they learned about the technology at a recent conference on A.I.

She notes that their schools are seeing a steady rise in the number of students arriving from outside Canada, whose first language is not English.

The Board identifies 33 currently attending classes in one of its many schools.

But those students are spread across many schools and communities, making it challenging to provide consistent, immediate language support in the classroom.

The schools offer programming to help them with English, but many students struggle early on because of the language barrier.

Campbell says the translation technology will reduce confusion and lost-learning time, provide the students with more confidence and allow them to participate fully in the classroom discussions.

“We see that as not a replacement for the English language learning program that we currently do, but a way to really support students when we don’t have direct translation services and other newcomer outreaches in our area.”

The board intends to run a pilot program during the next school year before expanding the system to all schools.