In a British school with 30 languages, teachers talk to pupils through a computer translator

A British school where 60% of pupils speak English as a second language has invested in electronic translators for every child so they can communicate with teachers. Manor Park Primary in Aston, Birmingham, which has 384 pupils of 32 different ethnic backgrounds, is the first school in Britain to provide translators for all of its children and to make the tools an integral part of every lesson. The technology enables teachers to type messages to pupils which are then translated into the 19 native tongues of children with no English. Another 11 languages are spoken by pupils who have some English. And with figures showing that one in six primary pupils speaks a different language at home - double the number ten years ago - the technology could soon become a permanent feature in many more schools. Latest figures from the Department for Education show that 905,610 children do not speak English as their first language. This figure has risen by 42,750 in a year, and accounts for 16% of pupils in primary schools and 11.6% in secondaries.