How Education Animation Helps International Students

International students face this challenge all the time, and grappling with choosing the right subjects, making friends and simply navigating the world can be stressful. As schools become more diverse, educational animation emerges as the secret weapon for supporting and empowering these young minds.

Whether it’s delivering an educational animation for medicine or technical fields, at Tricks we have understood that the power of visual storytelling goes beyond the boardroom and labs. In this blog post we’re going to outline how animation can make the real difference for international students helping schools to communicate, welcome and inspire every member of their community.

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1. Breaking Down Language Barriers

Let’s go back to the start of our blog. Let’s imagine you’re an international student from China and you’ve just moved to the English countryside. There is a lot take in and the classroom feels ever more daunting. But with educational animation we can take the complex topics, instructions from the teacher and even more abstract classroom concepts into a universal visual story. 

Or think of the more common things that they may face. Let’s say, the fire safety drill. Where do they go? What should they do? How about when you want to introduce this student to the new syllabus, the kinds of things they’ll be learning and what the types of exams they will face? 

A thoughtfully crafted animation explainer video doesn’t just talk at students, it shows and demonstrates, creating a more inclusive environment and breaking down the language barrier at the same time. The more challenging the subject, the easier it will be to break down the messaging and go beyond the language hurdle thanks to subtitles and visual explainers.

2. Clarifying Expectations & School Culture

International students struggle with more than just the verbal language barrier. From raising your hand to questioning something to group work etiquette or even, how does the cafeteria system work. These are things which seem basic to many people but again, imagine you don’t speak the language and you don’t come from the same culture. 

The unwritten rules of school culture are often things that international students find difficult, and when they are presented with a huge rulebook, that can miss the mark altogether. 

Now, imagine an animated story for each international student, clearly showing these things, with subtitles to remove any ambiguity and help them with the basic things. Imagine how much easier an educational animation would be here than just… letting them figure it out alone.

3. Enabling Consistent, Accessible Communication

As an international school you may have more than 30 nationalities at any given time. So when you’re trying to explain these concepts in point 1 and 2, that can not only be time consuming, it can cause all sorts of problems if you’re not consistent. 

You want to be able to give each student and their parents the same information, regardless of the home language or literacy level. Educational animation is almost the perfect tool because you can send the animation on emails, social media and even track when it’s been opened, how long it was viewed for and make sure that if there are any questions, you can answer them. Features like voiceover, captions, and translation tools boost accessibility, so parents and students can revisit content any time, anywhere.

4. Building Confidence Through Repetition

One of the best ways to learn absolutely anything is through repetition. The studies show it, anecdotal evidence from teachers show it, and I’m sure by now, in this blog we’ve repeated just how much barrier breaking goes on with animation that we have to step back and see if it’s working for you. ;) 

But traditional instructions for international students including things like worksheets and live lectures can leave students feeling lost - especially if they didn’t pick it up straight away. With educational animation, international students can watch, and rewatch bite-sized lessons at their pace, helping new vocabulary and concepts click without any embarrassment.

5. Promoting a Sense of Belonging

The more diverse a setting, such as an international school, the more the students can feel distant from one another. However, perhaps one of the most powerful things that animation can do is promote the ability to reflect and celebrate the diversity of the school community. 

In the animation stage, you can create characters, scenarios and even voices that mirror students of that school community, this sends a clear message, “you belong here!”

Animation can showcase stories, traditions, and perspectives beyond the textbook, creating an environment where every student’s identity is valued and represented.

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We are an animation studio that understands that animation isn’t just graphics on a screen. It’s about creating the ability to be better understood. For international students, the right animation can transform a daunting journey into a welcoming educational adventure. At Tricks, we’re passionate about partnering with schools to create bespoke explainer and educational animations that make every learner feel at home. 

If you’re an international school, or one that works with international students let’s have a conversation. We can make your students feel at ease and help you do what you do best, teach.

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