Over a fifth of England’s primary pupils speak English as an Additional Language (EAL). Yet educational resources in cultural spaces often fail to reflect this reality. As a result, children who speak languages such as Polish or Urdu at home are being cut off from exploring artefacts, artworks and ancient histories to the same depths as their fellow pupils.
You only need imagine a primary school class visiting a natural history museum. They cluster around a dinosaur skeleton soaring above them, their eyes agape. A teaching assistant crouches beside a girl at the back. She’s curious, clearly engaged, but the worksheet in her hand is a wall of English she can’t fully navigate. Her family speaks Bengali at home. The wonder is there. The access isn’t.
Translation is an effective solution to this barrier. Translating even just a handful of high-traffic resources into the most widely spoken community languages in your local area can go a long way towards including and inspiring pupils. On behalf of the Association for Cultural Enterprises (ACE), Ana Grilo, Director at First Edition Translations, explores how museums can improve accessibility and the overall experience for school groups through multilingual resource provision.
Who we are
First Edition Translations is a Cambridge-based ISO 17100-certified language services provider founded in 1981. Specialising in publishing, museums, cultural heritage and life sciences, First Edition works with institutions including the Royal Collection Trust, the National Gallery, Tate Publishing, the Van Gogh Museum and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. First Edition Translations is as Associate Member of the Association for Cultural Enterprises.
Institutions interested in exploring a pilot project for multilingual visitor resources are very welcome to get in touch: ana@firstedit.co.uk