This handout is part of the Community Cafe workshop pack. It gives advice on how to change the language in Windows and how to find example keyboard layouts to help you to type in other languages

Borthwick, Kate

Dickens, Alison

English

Language Box

Community Café Workshop Pack		Handout W1.2.2How to change the language in WindowsWhen you start to create a language-teaching resource on your computer, it is likely that you will wish to write in a language other than English. So the first thing to do, before starting, is to set up your computer to write in the language you wish to use.The following instructions apply to the Windows operating system.The languages task barYou can tell which language your computer is currently set to by looking at the task bar at the bottom of the screen. On the right hand side, along with the clock and other icons, you will see the letters ‘EN’. This shows that the computer is set to use English.If you click on the ‘EN’ a window will open, like this:You can see that on this computer, there are two possible languages currently set up: English and Russian. The tick beside ‘English’ shows that the computer is working in English. If I wished to type in Russian, I would click the mouse on ‘Russian’ and the language would change, enabling me to write in Russian: привет!           Adding a new languageYou can add new languages to your computer, by using the Language Bar. Find the bar, by clicking on the current language setting and choosing ‘Show the language bar’.When you do this, the language bar will open at the top of your screen, like this:When you first open the language bar, it shows you the language that you currently have set on your computer: in this case, English (UK).To add further languages to your computer, click on the small ‘down arrow’ at the end of the bar.Then choose ‘settings’ from the menu list.This opens the language bar homescreen below. You can see that the keyboard is set for English and Russian. To add another language, choose ‘Add’.Another box will open which will allows you to select the language you wish to use. There are hundreds of languages listed here. Scroll down until you find the one that you want to use.When you have found the language that you wish to put onto your computer, click on the ‘+’ sign next to it. You will see that a line appears underneath it saying ‘keyboard’.Click on the ‘+’ sign next to the word ‘keyboard’ to open up keyboard options related to the language you have chosen. Tick the box next to the keyboard format that you want. Then click ‘OK.’You will be returned to the language bar homescreen where you can see that a new language has appeared in the main window. Click ‘Apply’ and then ‘OK.’You should now be able to type in the language that you have chosen. To check this, first minimise your language bar (at the top of your screen) by clicking on the little ‘-‘ symbol on the right-hand end.Then go down to the bottom of your computer screen and click on the ‘EN’. You will see the language that you have chosen appear in the list of language options. Click on the language to start writing in it.This may seem like a long-winded process to setting up a language on your computer, but once you have done it, you do not have to do it again: your computer will remember your language choices and they will be available to you every time that you start up your computer.Top Tips for using different languages in WindowsKeyboard layouts for different languagesIf you wish to type in a language which uses a different script from English, you will need to know how an English keyboard lays out the letters. You can see different keyboard layouts using the Windows system.To do this, follow the above instructions for adding a new language. When you have ticked the keyboard layout that you want (the screen below), click the ‘preview’ button.A window will open showing you how the letters map onto an English (or qwerty) keyboard. When you have finished looking at the keyboard, choose ‘close.’If you wish to keep this layout for future reference or print it out, you can copy it onto a Word document. You can do this by: - 	opening the keyboard screen (as described above) 	then press your CTRL + ALT + printscreen keys at the same time; 	open a Word document; 	right click on the document and choose ‘paste’ 	Save the document to your computerShort cuts between languagesIf you are creating a document which makes frequent use of a variety of different scripts, you can quickly switch between them by pressing SHIFT then ALT. Each time you press ALT (while holding SHIFT), your computer will move to the next language in the language option list that you have set up.                           Kate Borthwick and Alison Dickens, University of Southampton 2011	

How to change the language in Windows

http://languagebox.ac.uk/1862/1/CC_Workshop_pack_W1.2.2.doc

How to change the language in Windows

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