Google Translate

Sometimes you run into sites that are from other countries. If there is not a Translate button with your search you can try Google Translate. Google does a pretty good job at translating text, but it is no where near perfect. But hopefully it can at least help you get your point across.

 Basics:

1. Go to: http://translate.google.com/
2. Enter your text in the box at the left.
3. Choose the target language at the right.
4. The translated text will appear in the box at the right.

Extra Features:

• Click the microphone in the left box to “speak” what you want translated. (in Chrome browser)
• Click the speaker icon in the right box to listen to the translation.

Before using this to translate a letter to send home to parents, you may want to run it by someone in your district that actually can speak and read that language. My only story with this is a letter I was ready to translate and send home almost insulted the students' mothers in my classroom. I ran it by someone who spoke fluent Spanish and she suggested the necessary changes to my document.  I see this being used more for words and phrases, possibly a paragraph, needed in the classroom more so than for translating official school documents.