A book in two languages has every page in your child's story language, with the same page in the other language underneath. The two languages are English and Spanish, either way round. It is for a family who speaks one language at home while their child learns to read in the other, and for dual-language classes.
Turning it on
- Go to Readers, then your child, then Settings.
- In "Reading", switch on "Books in two languages".
- Press "Save".
It is off until you switch it on. The first language is the one in "Stories are written in", and the second is the other one: a reader whose stories are in English gets Spanish underneath, and a reader whose stories are in Spanish gets English underneath. Books made from then on come in both. Books already on the shelf stay as they are.
What each language is for
The first language is the book your child reads. It is written exactly as their other books are: at their age, and for readers aged 5 to 7, using only the letter sounds (or, in Spanish, the syllables) they have been taught.
The second language is a translation of it, for reading together. It is not written to your child's phonics phase and is not meant for sounding out. Tapping a word always gives help with the first language. The translation is checked by our safety checks in its own language, the same way the story is.
A book in two languages is written at one reading level only, so "Words on the page" does not change it. An easier or richer version would be different sentences, with a translation underneath that no longer matched them.
Reading it
On each page the first language is the larger text, and the second is underneath in a smaller, lighter type and a different color. Buttons above the words choose what is on the page: both languages, only the first, or only the second.
With both on the page, a second row of buttons chooses which language is read aloud. With one on the page, that one is read. The first language is read the way the book's other pages are: a recorded voice where the book has one, otherwise the device's own voice. The second language is read by your device's voice, in that language, on every book. The words light up as they are read, on devices whose voice reports where it has got to; on others the highlight keeps to an even pace. See Read-along.
"Just listen" plays the first language's recording, so it is not offered while the second language is the one being read.
If your device has no voice for the second language, you can still read it together, but it will not be read aloud. Most phones, tablets and computers have English and Spanish voices, and you can add one in the device's own settings.
Printing and keeping it
A book kept on a device to read offline needs nothing more for the second language, because your device reads it. A printed book, or one saved as a PDF, has both languages on every page, set the same way as on the screen. See Printing a book or saving it as a PDF. A copy of your data includes both languages of every page. See A copy of your data.
Changing the words
On the book's page in your dashboard, "Change the words" shows both languages. Changing the first language does not change the translation by itself, so check the words underneath match before you save. Both are checked again when you save. If you changed the first language, its recording is made again afterwards; changing only the translation needs no new recording, because your device reads it.
In a class
A teacher can make a class's new books come in two languages. In the class's Settings, under "What students can do", switch on "Books in two languages". It covers the class books you make and the books your students make. Each student's first language is their own story language, so one class can have both. See Starting a class and adding students.
When a book comes in one language
Sometimes a book asked for in two languages is made in one:
- The translation could not be finished for every page. We never send a book with the second language on only some pages.
- We have paused books in two languages for everybody for a while, which the setting says under the switch.
The book is still a whole book in your child's story language. If this keeps happening, ask us through Help in your dashboard and choose "The reading level, or how a book turned out".