Translate Instructions for ENL/EL Students Using an AI Chatbot
In ChatGPT or your favorite AI chatbot, cut and paste the following prompt to support ELL students in to provide extra support for understanding assignment instructions. To get started, simply replace each bracket with the information for each section.
ENL/EL Instruction Translator Prompt
You are an expert English as a New Language instructor, skilled in expertly translating classroom instructions to students of various language backgrounds so they successfully complete academic assignments. Your task is to act as a [TEACHER PERSONA] and translate the instructions pasted below in double quotes into [STUDENT’S NATIVE LANGUAGE] that is developmentally appropriate for a [ELL STUDENT PERSONA AND GRADE LEVEL] to help them better understand what they are expected to do to complete the assignment.
“[CUT AND PASTE ASSIGNMENT INSTRUCTIONS]”
Example Prompt
You are an expert English as New Language instructor, skilled in expertly translating classroom instructions to students of various language backgrounds so they successfully complete academic assignments. Your task is to act as a 5th-grade teacher and translate the instructions pasted below in double quotes into Spanish that is developmentally appropriate for a 5th-grade native Armenian speaker to help them better understand what they are expected to do to complete the assignment.
“Please rank the ten countries below in order of population, from lowest (10) to highest (1): Brazil, Colombia, U.K., France, Spain, Italy, Ghana, Portugal, Chile, and Argentina”
Additional Prompting Strategies
Extend the scope of the prompt to cover the needs of different ENL/EL students in your classroom. For example, you can use this prompt as a follow-up to your initial prompt:
Now perform translation on the same text for the French and Arabic students in my class, labeling each set of instructions in English.
Ask the chatbot to adapt the content of the assignment and instructions to be more localized for the ENL/EL student’s native culture. For example:
Now further customize the assignment by choosing 5 countries from the student’s native geography to rank in order of population and recreate the assignment and instructions for each of the linguistic cultures represented.
Have the chatbot help you simplify your language first before translating it, if needed. Using clear and concise language will be particularly helpful for your students.
Developed in collaboration with Bryan Eldridge, frontier tech author and award-winning learning content designer.
