Skyline of the Old City at the Western Wall and Temple Mount in Jerusalem, Israel. A member of the Israeli legislature, the Knesset, has submitted a bill that would require Israeli children to study Arabic in school. Currently, it is common for Israeli children to study Arabic throughout middle and high school, however it is…
According to The New York Times and The Washington Post, the Department of Justice (DOJ) is trying to do away with the disparate impact rule when it comes to federal funding approvals in the last days of the Trump administration. The DOJ has reportedly submitted for presidential approval a change to how it enforces…
The COVID-19 pandemic has unearthed so many challenges for our loved ones and our communities. In my work as a literacy advocate, I think about our children who have been so deeply affected by school closures, remote learning, and social isolation. One of the most powerful ways we can bring children together to experience a…
The Canadian government has created an Office of the Commissioner of Indigenous Languages and is calling for applicants to fill new positions, including that of commissioner and up to three directors. Qualified candidates must have “the knowledge and understanding of Indigenous communities, cultures, and the languages and dialects associated with them, including an understanding of…
The Instituto Cervantes and the Mexican government’s Cultural Diplomacy unit have begun collaborative activities for the international promotion of Spanish and its culture in 2021, following last month’s signing via videoconference of an action protocol between the two organizations. In the agreement, they committed to developing joint actions on the Spanish language (and the culture…
Deborah J. Short outlines a plan to invest and engage in English Learner education In the past six months, we have heard the cry “DEFUND” in varied contexts, often as a call for social justice, always engendering public controversy. But when the action is the gradual defunding of one area of education, we hear nothing:…
As the United States has begun distributing the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines against Covid-19, communities across the country have grappled with fairly and effectively administering the vaccine to vulnerable sectors of the population. For the Cherokee Nation in eastern Oklahoma, the Covid-19 vaccines aren’t merely a means of beating the virus. As the community works…
According to a new study published in Scientific Reports, New Zealanders acquire a sort of passive understanding of Māori phonology and phonotactics, despite actively speaking little to none of the language. “Most New Zealanders do not speak Māori, yet are exposed to it throughout their lifetime,” the paper reads. “This exposure leads to a large…
More than 70 countries have officially incorporated Chinese language teaching into their national education systems, including the UK, Russia, South Africa, Japan, South Korea, and Australia, according to Tian Xuejun, China’s vice minister of education. Speaking at last month’s opening ceremony of the International Chinese Language Education Week 2020, Tian said that over 4,000 colleges…
Politicians in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu have been raising concerns over the country’s National Education Policy, arguing that the policy could be used as a way to impose the Hindi language, according to the New Indian Express. While the policy emphasizes that instruction will be given in students’ mother tongues or the local…