To promote Chinese language and culture in Pakistan, the Confucius Institute, the University of Karachi, and Islamabad’s Preston University signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to improve the teaching of Chinese in Pakistan.As a first step, the three institutions will jointly launch a free Chinese language credit course that even includes materials. Confucius Institutes adopt…
The Indian government has attempted to quell fears that Hindi would be imposed over other Indian languages and stated that no such rule would be put into effect. The concern that Hindi would be forced over other languages has garnered recent protest, including a campaign called Namma Metro Hindi Beda, which has gained attention of…
XPRIZE, the global leader in designing and operating world-changing incentive competitions, has announced the eight semifinalist teams are advancing in the $7M Barbara Bush Foundation Adult Literacy XPRIZE featured in the December 2016 edition of Language Magazine. Presented by the Dollar General Literacy Foundation, this is a global competition challenging teams to develop mobile applications…
Today, the California State Board of Education unanimously adopted a revolutionary “English Learner Roadmap” to help California’s more than 1,000 local school districts welcome, understand, and educate the diverse population of students who are learning English. California has about 1.4 million students—one of every four public school students statewide—classified as English Learners. The Roadmap is…
I live in a multilingual universe, and this is how I imagine myself. This universe depends on being able to find the bonds and cross the bridges that connect us across our diversity. Language can divide us, but multilingualism helps us build the bridges to our united future. Because I am multilingual, I will be able…
The Welsh government has announced a new, ambitious plan to almost double the amount of Welsh speakers in the country. The declaration follows the 2011 census, which showed a drop in the number of speakers in Wales from 21.7 percent to 19 percent of the population, or 562,000. The government also seeks to increase the…
The Institute of International Education (IIE) has announced a new survey on international admissions, and the conclusions are more optimistic than some may have expected. The survey, titled “Shifting Tides: Understanding International Student Yield for Fall 2017” outlines the admission cycle in the 2017/18 year in the face of raised concerns among U.S. higher education…
Sara Quintanar, an elementary school music educator, bilingual songwriter, and performance artist, has taken the international community by storm with her songs in Spanish for English-speakers to learn the language. Her work in bilingual music began when she volunteered for her daughter’s Spanish language immersion program at Franklin Magnet School in Los Angeles in 2010….
Churchill Manitoba CanadaInuit Tapiriit Kanatami (ITK) has announced a new collaboration with Canadian Heritage, along with the Assembly of First Nations and the Métis Nation state. The collaboration aims to “Work collaboratively, transparently and on a distinctions-basis to co-develop national First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Nation languages legislation whose content will reflect the distinct geographic,…
Languages Canada and the Ministry of Education of the Mexican State of Guanajuato have signed a cooperation agreement to formalize and expand collaboration in English and French language education.The signing took place during a visit to Ottawa by the secretary of the Ministry of Education of Guanajuato, Eusebio Vega Pérez, accompanied by senior representatives of…