September 30 is National Teach Spanish Day. Launched by the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese (AATSP), the goals of the day are:1. To promote the teaching of Spanish as a profession2. To call attention to the current Spanish teacher shortage (K-12) in the US3. To emphasize the importance of Spanish as a…
A new study shows early reading in any language helps children learn to read English. The study, titled English Reading Growth in Spanish-Speaking Bilingual Students: Moderating Effect of English Proficiency on Cross-Linguistic Influence by Jackie Eunjung Relyea of Harvard University and Steven J. Amendum of the University of Delaware. The study found that children whose…
During this week, the International Week of the Deaf, each day of the week has a specific focus under the main theme of “Sign Language Rights for All!” Monday, 23 September – Sign Language Rights for All!Tuesday, 24 September – Sign Language Rights for All ChildrenWednesday, 25 September – Sign Language Rights for Deaf Senior…
According to a report by United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), of the 7.1 million refugee children of school age, 3.7 million – more than half – do not go to school. The report, Stepping Up: Refugee Education in Crisis, shows that as refugee children grow older, the barriers preventing them from accessing education become…
The Washington Post has launched a new Spanish-language opinions section on their website, Post Opinión. The section pulls from editors cross-border in Washington D.C. and Mexico, and claims that it will publish original columns and essays about the most relevant news and issues affecting Latin America, Spain, the United States and the rest of the…
Providence, Rhode Island, one of America’s oldest cities, is modernizing. Rhode Island’s Supporting Providers of English Language Learning (SPELL) Act aims to address the English learner (EL) teacher shortage by making highly-qualified EL teachers eligible for up to $17,500 in student loan forgiveness. ELs represent almost 10% of students in Rhode Island and approximately a…
India’s Union Home Minister Amit Shah stirred a social media debate in the country on Saturday after he pitched Hindi as a common language for the country. He said Hindi is the most widely spoken and can unite the whole country. The comment resulted the internet erupting trending hashtags such as #StopHindilmposition and #StopHindiImperialism. “India…
India’s Union Home Minister Amit Shah stirred a social media debate in the country on Saturday after he pitched Hindi as a common language for the country. He said Hindi is the most widely spoken language and can unite the whole country. The comment resulted the internet erupting trending hashtags such as #StopHindilmposition and #StopHindiImperialism….
The ability to speak four or more languages may help reduce the risk of developing dementia, according to a new study of U.S.-based nuns by researchers at Canada’s University of Waterloo. “Multilingualism and Dementia Risk: Longitudinal Analysis of the Nun Study,” published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, examined the health outcomes of 325 Roman…
A new project titled Celebrating Indigenous Languages aims to raise awareness and preservation efforts for Indigenous languages. The project can be found in Voyager on Google Earth, a storytelling platform with an education slant. The program is part of celebrating 2019 as the International Year of Indigenous Languages and gathered more than 50 different languages…