Community Support, Dual Language, Families,

BRINGING UP MULTILINGUAL CHILDREN WITH LESS COMMON HOME LANGUAGES

April 15, 2013

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On a sunny day in London, when the streets are crowded with people enjoying the rare warmth, you can hear an abundance of different languages from the majority migrant groups in the city: families discussing the school day in Somali; teenagers gossiping in Turkish; imams greeting each other in Urdu.   But passing by the shop fronts boasting posters in languages from Polish and Bengali, you won’t hear German or Cape Verdean creole – not unless you go to Andrea and Xaxa’s for............. CONTINUE READING

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At Home, Dual Language, Families,

BILINGUAL CHILDREN: SUMMER TRAVEL ACTIVITIES

June 27, 2012

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Summer is a wonderful time of year to travel: Children are out of school and the warm days beacon for lazy hours at the beach or walks through cool forests. Whether we are traveling by land, air or sea, we can make bilingualism part of every bilingual child’s summertime adventures. Both parents and teachers can engage bilingual children in fun travel activities, whether it is during a bus ride with a summer class or as a family on the way to visit............. CONTINUE READING

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Dual Language, ELLs / DLLs, Families,

BILINGUAL CHILDREN: BENEFITS OF LEARNING TO READ IN THE HOME LANGUAGE

May 27, 2012

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We only learn how to read once. This is true for all of us: monolingual, bilingual or multilingual. Once we figure out how literacy works, it is with us forever. The best part about bilingual children learning to read is that once they figure it out in one language, they can transfer their literacy to their other language(s)! It is a feat that can be mastered in leaps and bounds in any of a number of languages once the process is underway. As............. CONTINUE READING

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Dual Language, Libraries, Schools,

BILINGUAL STORYTIME: 5 DIFFERENT TYPES

May 3, 2012

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Nowadays many libraries and bookstores are delighting their patrons with storytimes. Children love the magic of a good book that is brought to life through the skills of a good presenter. It is an opportunity for children to travel to new places that have never been explored and to experience adventures that have never been undertaken. The elements of a successful storytime are essential: A book with a great storyline, captivating pictures and an energetic presenter who is willing to act out............. CONTINUE READING

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Classroom, Dual Language, ELLs / DLLs,

BILINGUAL BOOKS IN BILINGUAL CLASSROOMS

April 19, 2012

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Picture this: A classroom bustling with students engaged in a variety of activities. On one side of the room, the teacher mingles with a group of students who are working on a collage. It is spread out across a wide table and students are discussing, in English and Spanish, where to place the different items. The teacher meanders by, a student asks for some advice in English, and a short discussion takes place. A few minutes later the same teacher approaches a............. CONTINUE READING

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Dual Language,

SUPPORT YOUR DUAL LANGUAGE LEARNERS WITH $250 WORTH OF BILINGUAL BOOKS!

September 6, 2011

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We are delighted to announce a chance for you to win $250 worth of bilingual books in your choice of languages! Arabic, Bengali, Chinese, French, German, Gujarati, Haitian-Creole, Hindi, Japanese, Korean, Panjabi, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Somali, Spanish, Swahili, Tamil, Turkish, Twi, Urdu, Vietnamese, and many more languages! It is easy to enter! All you have to do is go to www.LanguageLizard.com/giveaway.htm and submit the entry form. We’d love it if you could spread the word about this wonderful opportunity! By doing............. CONTINUE READING

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Dual Language, Lesson Plans, Schools,

5 TIPS TO HELP BILINGUAL CHILDREN SHINE IN THE CLASSROOM

August 27, 2011

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Back-to-school sales line the aisles of supermarkets and drug stores; children roam department stores picking out new fall clothes; and parents rush around with check-lists of items their children will need in the coming weeks and months. Yes, the school year is about to begin. For bilingual children, this time of year may feel a little daunting, especially for those who will be starting school for the very first time. In addition to all of the feelings that many students face on their............. CONTINUE READING

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Dual Language, ELLs / DLLs, Libraries,

BILINGUAL STORY TIME AT YOUR SCHOOL LIBRARY

August 19, 2011

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It’s free, it’s fun and it’s in your language: bilingual story time! Across the United States libraries offer story times in a myriad of languages based on the demands of the community: Spanish, Russian, Gujarati, French, Japanese… just to name a few! Children sit wide-eyed in awe as an adult reads to them in their own language: Amazing! Someone other than my parents can speak and read my language – how exciting! The only problem with story time for many children is that............. CONTINUE READING

Dual Language, Families,

DUAL LANGUAGE BOOKS BENEFIT BILINGUAL CHILDREN

July 6, 2011

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Bilinguals around the world will tell you that they do not have the same degree of fluency in all of their languages. A language that is used primarily in academic situations may come across as stiff and stilted when used in less formal situations. Family issues are often more easily discussed in a home language. Depending on where we live when our first child is born, we may only know the vocabulary for baby items in one language and find the............. CONTINUE READING

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At Home, Dual Language, ELLs / DLLs, Schools,

A CHILD’S PLACE IN THE WORLD – PART II: USING DUAL LANGUAGE BOOKS TO INITIATE SOCIAL STUDIES LEARNING AT HOME AND AT SCHOOL

May 15, 2011

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By guest author: Heather Leaman Schools and families have acknowledged the importance of extending children’s learning beyond an understanding of our country to include an understanding of the world. While social studies is an ideal school subject to help children understand the world around them, many schools have significantly reduced their social studies instruction due in part to the influence of No Child Left Behind. However, reducing class time for social studies instruction does not mean that teachers must eliminate instruction about our world............. CONTINUE READING