Jamestown High School teacher, Lora Pirrello, and students, Joyce Hernandez and Juan Matos, demonstrate how the new translation earbuds work to Rotary Club of Jamestown representatives John Healy, chair of the Community Service Fund and Ruth Lundin, chair of the Vision Committee. The Rotary Club of Jamestown recently donated earbuds, which allow students and staff to hear conversations translated in real time during class time, with families and during the school day. The earbuds have the ability to translate 20 languages and 42 dialects.

The Rotary Club of Jamestown recently donated 14 pairs of Ambassador Interpreter earbuds to Jamestown Public School for use with English as a New Language students and staff.

The earbuds allow students and staff to hear conversations translated in real time during class time, with families and during the school day.

“Three things stood out when we were asked to consider providing the translation earbuds,” said Ruth Lundin, chair of the Jamestown Rotary Club Vision Committee, which selects the service projects for club support. “First, it is important for students who arrive in Jamestown knowing little or no English to learn the curriculum to have a means to stay invested in attending school and to find value in their time as they integrate into the community. We also saw that the request originated from teachers and administrators who were dealing directly with the students, so we were confident they would be enthusiastically supported. Third, the Rotary Club of Jamestown could be more flexible and respond to the immediate need for a pilot program to help build practical experience showing how these earbuds would be beneficial on a larger scale.”

The Ambassador Interpreter earbuds are a high-quality translation tool that helps prevent language barriers. As an interpreter, the earbuds actively listen for someone speaking near you and translates their speech into the native language through an app on a cell phone or computer. The earbuds have the ability to translate 20 languages and 42 dialects. JPS has been looking for a way to help their ENL students throughout their school day.

“It’s our responsibility to make content comprehensible for our language learners,” said Dr. Faith Graham, JHS ENL teacher. “The earbuds will make classes much easier for students. While our bilingual students are very helpful to each other, it’s hard for them to translate while trying to pay attention and take their own notes. It can also be disruptive to the class, even though they are on task. Between our bilingual paraprofessionals, translated documents, bilingual classmates, translation apps on school devices, and now these earbuds – we have several resources to help our teachers and students make content comprehensible to all levels of language learners.”

JHS students are just beginning to use the earbuds but are finding them very helpful. Bilingual senior, Juan Matos, who came to JPS in eighth grade, is helping set up the earbuds for his fellow students.

“The earbuds are surprisingly accurate in their translation,” said Juan, who hopes to attend college at Alabama A & M University to major in biology and play baseball. “I think the earbuds are a great idea. I came here from Puerto Rico three years ago and spoke no English. It would have been so helpful to have technology like this. Having access to these earbuds will give students who are learning English so many more opportunities to succeed. We thank the Rotary Club for giving us these opportunities.”

The Rotary Club of Jamestown chooses to make grants where there is a demonstrated need that meets Rotary’s areas of focus: promoting peace, fighting disease, providing clean water, saving mothers & children, supporting education, growing local economies, and protecting the environment. The club has a committee of 20 leaders who recommend what projects to support. This year their major grants have been refurbishing a medical dispensary in Karachi, Pakistan that provides vaccinations both for Polio and COVID, building a Welcome sign at the North Main entrance to Jamestown, and donating funds for interpretation devices for JPS.

“I think the Rotary theme for this year says it best: ‘We Serve to Change Lives – caring for and serving others is the best way to live because it changes not only other people’s lives, but also our own.’ Lasting change happens through education, especially of our children,” said John Healy, chairman of the Rotary Club of Jamestown Community Service Fund.