That’s right, being bilingual is a superpower!
In fact, Miguel Cardona, US Secretary of Education, stated that “bilingualism and biculturalism is a superpower” during his recent address at the National Association for Bilingual Education’s (NABE) 52nd Conference.
In the speech, Cardona commented, “Let’s build a new era of multilingualism in America – an era where our young people can lead thriving lives and careers with their knowledge of languages from Mandarin to French, Spanish to Japanese. And let’s foster a new multilingual generation of Americans – strengthened in their identities, supported in their education, prepared to lead in our country and around the world.”
In addition, Cardona calls for “funding and supporting the programs that are proven to work in multilingual education.” He also added he will work to:
- Reorganize the Title III program from the Department of Education’s Office of Elementary and Secondary Education back into the Office of English Language Acquisition.
- Focus on hiring more high-quality bilingual and multilingual educators.
- Find ways to increase the recognition of the Seal of Biliteracy and other acknowledgments to demonstrate that multilingualism is the goal for our students.
(Read Cardona’s full remarks here.)
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Benefits of Bilingualism
The advantages of being bilingual are well-documented and range from cognitive development, improved academic performance, increased job opportunities, and cultural understanding, among many other benefits. To learn more, check out this infographic on the Impressive Benefits of a Bilingual Brain: Facts & Statistics from Ivy Panda that does a great job of laying out the perks of being bilingual, the top reasons to choose a bilingual education, and the side effects of having a bilingual brain. In addition, we have many blog posts on this topic as well as many ways to celebrate the bilingual child, including this “I’m Bilingual, What’s Your Superpower?” worksheet!
Bilingual Books and Resources
With a record 67.3 million U.S. residents speaking a language other than English at home, it’s imperative that our classroom environments are inclusive and celebratory of our bilingual and multicultural students.
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One easy way is to provide access to bilingual books in many different languages. Language Lizard offers a comprehensive catalog of books that range from board books for the preschooler to sports and music books for the older language learner, so there is something for everyone. In addition, our books and resources are available in over 60 languages! We offer books in Arabic, Chinese, Spanish, Dari, Pashto, Hmong, and many more, with new languages being added constantly. (Click here for the languages we offer). In addition, many of our books come with lesson plans, audio, YouTube videos, and fun activities.