At Home, Classroom, Dual Language, ELLs / DLLs, Holidays, Libraries, Schools,

5 FUN & EASY WAYS TO CELEBRATE DIVERSITY

September 26, 2016

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It’s always a great time to celebrate diversity in your classroom and home, but October is special because it’s also Celebrating the Bilingual Child Month! Language Lizard will soon announce a huge giveaway in honor of the occasion… In the meantime, we offer 5 fun and easy ways to celebrate diversity today! Foods from Around the World Trying out a new dish from a different part of the world is delicious, fun and educational – a sure win! You might love trying a bit............. CONTINUE READING

Classroom, Dual Language, Libraries, Schools,

3 STEPS TO BUILD A LENDING LIBRARY IN YOUR CLASSROOM

August 30, 2016

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Have you ever considered creating a lending library in your classroom? They can be an especially great resource for bilingual students and their families. When students see books in their home languages, it can be comforting and a source of pride, and can encourage acceptance of diversity in all of your students. A classroom lending library can inspire a love of reading in students, and increase parental involvement. In the past, we’ve written posts about the increasing need for multicultural............. CONTINUE READING

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

CHINESE LANGUAGE & CHINESE CHILDREN’S BOOKS: FACTS, FIGURES & RESOURCES

August 3, 2016

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Today’s spotlight languages are Mandarin and Cantonese – two languages spoken in China. Get some background info and interesting facts about the language, and recommendations for children’s books in Mandarin and Cantonese.  Interested in learning about more languages?  Check out our series of posts on various world languages including Hindi, Russian, Japanese and French! Where is it spoken? Mandarin (sometimes referred to as Standard Chinese) is the official language of China, Taiwan, and Singapore. Nearly 1 billion people around the world speak Mandarin, more............. CONTINUE READING

Classroom, Dual Language, ELLs / DLLs, Schools, Teaching Resources,

NEWCOMER TOOLKIT: SUPPORTING NEW IMMIGRANT STUDENTS

July 20, 2016

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In the past, we’ve written about online resources that can help educators trying to accommodate an increasingly diverse student population, as well as tips to make the critical first days of school go more smoothly for bilingual students in your classroom. Today, we take a look at the US Department of Education’s recently updated, detailed Newcomer Toolkit, designed to help educators (teachers, principals and school staff) working with foreign-born students who have recently arrived in the US. In addition to............. CONTINUE READING

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At Home, Dual Language, Language Spotlight,

FRENCH LANGUAGE: FACTS, FIGURES & FRENCH CHILDREN’S BOOKS

June 30, 2016

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Today’s spotlight language is French. We have background and interesting facts about the language, as well as information to help you find children’s books in French.  Interested in learning interesting facts about other languages?  Check out our series of posts on various world languages including Hindi, Russian and Japanese! Where is it spoken? French is the official language of France, and it is one of the most widely spoken languages in the world. There are about 300 million French speakers worldwide. It has official status............. CONTINUE READING

At Home, Dual Language, ELLs / DLLs,

3 CONTROVERSIES IN BILINGUAL EDUCATION

June 20, 2016

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by guest blogger Rachael Everly The benefits of both learning and speaking many languages are well documented in our ever-shrinking world. Language can shape our view of the world and as more and more people become engaged in international business and travel it’s important for adults to have a working knowledge of, and fluency in, various languages and cultures on a global scale.  Not surprisingly, Mandarin Chinese is the language most used for business after English. Mandarin is spoken by over............. CONTINUE READING

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

WHY YOUR CHILDREN SHOULD LEARN A LESS COMMONLY TAUGHT LANGUAGE

May 20, 2016

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by guest blogger Susan Cazenavette Herrick Siu More than 300 distinct languages other than English are now spoken in the United States. According to the U. S. Census Bureau, those with the most native speakers in this country are Spanish, Chinese, Tagalog, French, Vietnamese, German, and Korean (all with numbers of speakers in the millions), followed by Russian, Arabic, and Italian. Other languages with large numbers of speakers (in no particular order) include Portuguese, French Creole, Yiddish, Greek, Polish, Hebrew, Hungarian, Navajo,............. CONTINUE READING

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

PARENTS AND TEACHERS OF BILINGUAL KIDS, MAKE BOOKS AND READING YOUR HIGHEST PRIORITY!

May 18, 2016

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by guest blogger Adam Beck Though I no longer teach at Hiroshima International School, I return there every year, with my family in tow, for the school’s annual spring festival. For me, my main motivation—apart from seeing old friends—is the sale of used books: children’s books of all kinds, from the school library and students’ homes, at rock-bottom prices. I practically start drooling as I paw through them. Each year I come home with dozens of books for our home library: books I can read............. CONTINUE READING

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At Home, Classroom, Dual Language, ELLs / DLLs, Libraries, Schools, Teaching Resources,

SUPPORTING ORAL LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT IN THE CLASSROOM & AT HOME

May 11, 2016

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The process of language development in children is an amazing one, and full of so much complexity. Here, we offer 5 fun activity ideas that can help the oral language development of the kids in your home or classroom. Oral Language and Literacy So much of language is learned in the early years of life, simply by listening to and interacting with those around us. As time goes by, our oral language skills improve through practice and formal instruction. Oral language is............. CONTINUE READING

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Community Support, Dual Language, ELLs / DLLs, Libraries,

MULTICULTURAL, MULTILINGUAL LIBRARIES FOR DIVERSE COMMUNITIES

April 8, 2016

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April is an important month for our nation’s libraries. Take the time to celebrate the many ways our libraries contribute to our communities. In a previous post, we explored innovative ways for libraries to attract ethnic populations. Here, we take a look at ways libraries can transform a community. Diverse Communities, Multicultural Library Offerings Libraries have always been a place to read and learn, and have functioned as important community centers. Librarians assess their communities, its needs, and............. CONTINUE READING

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