“Our students aren’t creative,” claimed one of the language teachers in the professional development workshop. The other participating teachers nodded in agreement. “How do you know?” asked the workshop facilitator. The teacher hesitated. “Well,” she said, “I guess I don’t. We don’t ask them to do anything creative, mostly because we teachers are not creative either.”…
While having full-on conversations with babies can seem bizarre, it actually boost language skills, according to a new study. Unlike traditional ‘baby talk’, which typically includes talking with a different cadence at a higher tone using incorrect grammar, (think, “My widdle chiddle muhchkin”), “parentese” is a version of ‘baby talk’ that follows adult grammar patterns,…
February 21 is International Mother Language Day (IMLD) and every year since 2000, UNESCO has led the world in celebrating the occasion. IMLD was first proposed by Bangladesh, a UN Member State, in 1998 and its observance was approved by the UNESCO General Conference in 1999. February 21 represents much more for Bangladeshis, however, than…
Senator Brian Schatz (D-HI) has introduced the Biliteracy Education Seal and Teaching (BEST) Act (S. 3328) into the U.S. senate. The act broadens the definition of “second language” to include Native American languages, and Classical Languages. The BEST Act: To further promote biliteracy across the country, the BEST Act would authorize $10 million to award…
A doctoral student in Peru, Roxana Quispe Collantes, is the first to write and defend a thesis in Quechua. The indigenous language, which boasts over eight million speakers, is widely known for being the main language of the Incan Empire and is the second most-spoken language in Peru. Despite its popularity, the language has been…
French-language teachers in Ontario, Canada say they will strike on Friday Feb. 27 as contract negotiations continue to fall through. Members of Association des enseignantes et des enseignants franco-ontariens AEFO picketed last Friday along with the other three major teachers’ unions. Last week’s job action was the first time all four unions have been on…
February 21 is International Mother Language Day and this year’s theme is “Languages without borders.” In an open letter, Director-General of UNESCO Audrey Azoulay said, “By bringing their speakers closer together, by allowing them to flourish in a shared context, mother tongues generate social inclusion, innovation and imagination. They also breathe life into cultural diversity…
These results contribute to the growing body of evidence showing that bilinguals are more resilient in dealing with neurodegeneration than monolinguals. A new study published in Alzheimer Disease and Associated Disorders provides new evidence that bilingualism can delay symptoms of dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease. Led by famed researcher of the effects of bilingualism, Ellen Bialystok, with…
Valentine’s Day occurs every February 14. Across the United States and in other places around the world, candy, flowers and gifts are exchanged between loved ones, all in the name of St. Valentine. The history of Valentine’s Day–and the story of its patron saint–is shrouded in mystery. We do know that February has long been…
Instituto Superior de Español (Ecuador) At Instituto Superior de Español (ISE), they believe passionately that to learn Spanish it’s not enough to simply attend classes. For more than 31 years, they have been teaching people of all ages and running a school unlike any other—one which offers Spanish immersion programs so people from all over…