The National Association of Bilingual Education (NABE) has announced awards to recognize excellent education taking place in classrooms across the United States. All TWIN-CS teachers, principals, and students are encouraged to apply! The Awards will be granted at the Annual Conference in March 2019. The deadline for applications is November 30th. Experience the Magic – Biliteracy as … Continue reading Awards Opportunity for TWIN-CS Teachers and Students!
Month: October 2018
Are Schools Supporting Bicultural, Bilingual Students Enough?
Language Magazine, a monthly publication that discusses the intricacies of language for “language learners, educators, and professionals around the world,” has recently published an article that considers systemic educational inequalities regarding English Language Learners (ELLs) titled “1 in 4 Students is an English Language Learner: Are We Leaving Them Behind?” The article reflects on a few … Continue reading Are Schools Supporting Bicultural, Bilingual Students Enough?
Supporting All Students: Teaching from a Social Justice Perspective in TWI
The Coeditors’ Introduction to a recent publication of the Bilingual Research Journal introduces pertinent issues with dual language implementation. Maria E. Fránquiz and Alba A. Ortiz offer an enlightening perspective on school-wide dual language (DL) systems stating that “contributing authors [of the Journal] caution that dissonance between research, policy, and practice can make it difficult … Continue reading Supporting All Students: Teaching from a Social Justice Perspective in TWI
Bilingual Superpower! Learning through Sketchnoting
Research comes alive when the findings are displayed graphically. This wonderful design was created by bilingual educator Alison Shofield of the Centre for Educators of BMLS. Validating and supporting bilingual learners in such an accessible and entertaining way will appeal to many students. Sketchnoting may be an effective tool for TWIN-CS students. The video below … Continue reading Bilingual Superpower! Learning through Sketchnoting
A Ted Talk with Maria Giannini
Maria Giannini, senior producer of e2k Sports and bilingual parent, speaks about her personal experience with bilingualism and bilingual education in an inspirational Ted Talk. As a child of an El Salvadoran woman and an American man, Maria states that she and her siblings “grew up in what I consider to be a very normal immigrant … Continue reading A Ted Talk with Maria Giannini
Getting Involved in Bilingual Education Policy: A Guest Post by Dr. Meg Burns
How Can Dual Language Teachers Get Involved in Bilingual Education Policy? With all the demands placed on Dual Language (DL) teachers, it can be hard to imagine adding one more thing to your plate. But, as we’ve seen in California and Massachusetts in recent years, the landscape of language policy is always shifting. Teachers play … Continue reading Getting Involved in Bilingual Education Policy: A Guest Post by Dr. Meg Burns
Music Is The First Language
As our TWIN-CS members know, teaching in a multilingual setting can have its difficulties. To mitigate the stresses for both educator and student, teacher Kristin Gladish, a finalist for Indianapolis Public Schools’ 2019 Teacher of the Year, uses music to find common ground with her students. In a Chalkbeat feature called “How I Teach,” writer … Continue reading Music Is The First Language
The Power of STories and Celebrations: “Bringing Asha Home”
A short while ago, Colorín Colorado published a helpful resource page for parents with internationally adopted children who may also be English Language Learners (ELLs). This resource page features “a number of tools for parents and educators of internationally adopted children who may be English language learners,” including articles on language development, speech and language … Continue reading The Power of STories and Celebrations: “Bringing Asha Home”
Resources for Dual Language Educators
A wonderful resource for dual language (DL) educators, Corey Mitchell’s Learning the Language blog on EdWeek addresses a plethora of curricula concerns and summaries of detailed research regarding English Language Learners (ELLs). Most recently, an article titled “The Five Most Common Native Languages of English-Learners,” offers keen insight into ELL demographics, information which may help … Continue reading Resources for Dual Language Educators
Our Students’ Names Matter
KQED, a news source for Northern California sponsored by NPR and PBS, recently published an article about the long-term effects of mispronouncing your students’ names and strategies to remember their names correctly. The article cites evidence from a 2011 study conducted by Professor Rita Kohli and Professor Daniel Solórzano which determines “mispronouncing a student’s name … Continue reading Our Students’ Names Matter