Pepe, our virtual Spanish companion
Here is what Pepe said in Spanish… Play the video below and you will be impressed by the quality. English below the video…
“Hola, mi nombre es Pepe, y estoy ayudando a mis dos amigos, Mark y Helen que van a viajar a Chile para el viaje de su vida. Están deseando que llegue. Desafortunadamente, aún no pueden hablar español, pero esperan aprender. Mientras tanto, los ayudaré. Están muy entusiasmados de viajar al sur de Chile para visitar la magnificencia de la Patagonia y al norte para presenciar las maravillas de los paisajes desérticos. También están ansiosos por pasar el rato en Santiago y Viña del Mar disfrutando de lo que la gente, la cultura, la comida y el clima tienen para ofrecer. Sea lo que sea, sé que Helen y Mark van a pasar un rato sensacional y aprender tantas cosas nuevas que podrán compartir con sus amigos y familiares en casa. Si tiene la oportunidad, suscríbase a su blog y síganos en nuestros viajes no solo en Chile, sino que únase a nosotros mientras viajamos a otros ocho países de América del Sur. Extiendo un cálido saludo de Mark y Helen. Este es Pepe firmando.“
“Hi, my name is Pepe, and I am helping my two friends, Mark and Helen who are going to travel to Chile for the trip of a lifetime. They are really looking forward to it. Unfortunately, they cannot really speak Spanish yet, but they hope to learn. In the meantime, I will be helping them out. They are very excited about travelling to the South of Chile to visit the magnificence of Patagonia and to the North to witness the wonders of the desert landscapes. They also are looking forward to hanging out in Santiago and Vina Del Mar enjoying what the people, culture, food, and climate have to offer. Whatever it is I know that Helen and Mark are going to have a sensational time and learn so many new things that will be able to share with their friends and family back home. If you have a chance, please subscribe to their blog, and follow us on our journeys not only in Chile but join us as we travel to another eight countries all across South America. I extend Warm regards from Mark and Helen. This is Pepe signing off. “
About the Concept – Education Connections
I am hoping that Pepe will be able to provide a periodic update in Spanish on our adventures.
This is a great tool for the classroom and beyond. I will be presenting a workshop on this topic at the upcoming Adobe APAC summit in Sydney Australia on September 28 2022.
I thought it would be great to include at least a little Spanish in my blog to share with folks as we make our way around South America. As part of an experiment for classes with students who have English as an Additional Language/Dialect (EAL/D) I was testing Microsoft Translator so that teachers could present in English and students who were in the EAL/D category and could not make it to a school that had specific support for language learning would be able to participate in class by reading or listening to the translations provided when the teacher spoke using Translator.
We are testing this approach in a rural schools environment and it really has the potential to support teachers with students just starting out with English.
At the same time, I wanted to experiment with using the translation capabilities in Microsoft Word coupled with the Read Aloud feature, capturing the sounds of the translated speech so that my character from Adobe’s Character Animator who we have affectionately called Pepe could be our virtual translation partner. Here is the first result. Looks like we have a new friend, amigo…