At Home, Families,

TEACHING CHILDREN LANGUAGES: BENEFITS & STRATEGIES

March 22, 2012

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The benefits of bilingualism has been a hot topic in recent years. Magazines, newspapers and blogs extol the fascinating ways in which the bilingual brain effortlessly manipulates more than one language at a time, working more effectively and efficiently than a monolingual one on specific types of tasks. Thanks to their brain’s more robust executive control system (which comes from switching off the language that is not needed), bilinguals are believed to have better skills in tuning out distractions, which means that............. CONTINUE READING

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Families, Schools,

$300 BILINGUAL BOOK GIVEAWAY!

March 19, 2012

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Language Lizard is giving away $300 worth of bilingual book gift certificates! There are four different ways to qualify for this giveaway so make sure to go to Language Lizard’s BILINGUAL BOOK GIVEAWAY page and find out how you can enter. It is easy! With books in over 40 different languages, you are sure to find something perfect for your children, your students and/or your school! So enter today! Good luck!   .......... CONTINUE READING

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At Home, Community Support, Families,

SUPPORTING BILINGUALISM: 4 REASONS PARENTS SHOULD SPEAK HERITAGE LANGUAGES AT HOME

January 11, 2012

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Although the United States has been dubbed “the graveyard of languages” for its lack of heritage language support, today’s children’s futures need not be so bleak. Given the right encouragement, immigrant families can pass on the best of both worlds to their children: a home language in addition to the community language. For many decades there has been a common misconception that immigrant families will help their children most by completely switching to English in the home. The belief is that the............. CONTINUE READING

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At Home, Classroom, Families, Schools,

BILINGUAL CHILDREN: 5 TIPS FOR USING LANGUAGE IN CONTEXT

December 31, 2011

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There are so many wonderful ways for our children to learn languages today. Online programs offer interactive multimedia opportunities that we could have only dreamed of having when we were young. Bilingual books and DVDs can be found in many libraries around the country, and children’s language learning classes abound. What parents and teachers sometimes forget is the value of context when it comes to learning a language. Flash cards and online vocabulary games can be fun, but they don’t offer the............. CONTINUE READING

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Families, Schools,

TRADITIONS AROUND THE WORLD: CELEBRATE AUTUMN

October 28, 2011

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Display for Día de los Muertos (or Day of the Dead in English), a holiday celebrated mainly in Mexico and by people of Mexican heritage living in the United States and Canada. The holiday is dedicated to the remembrance of friends and relatives who have died. The air is becoming cold and crisp. Leaves are turning a vibrant gold, red and purple. Pumpkins dot the countryside and hay rides are a dime a dozen. Autumn is in full swing. In addition to the............. CONTINUE READING

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Families, Schools,

BILINGUAL BOOK GIVEAWAY: THE WINNERS!

October 21, 2011

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THANK YOU to everyone who participated in Language Lizard’s $250 Bilingual Book Giveaway!  We were impressed with the number of entrants and very inspired by the feedback we received from participants!  You are all working so hard to improve literacy and language skills among dual language learners. We also appreciate all your efforts to teach children about other cultures and support a greater understanding of diversity and our multicultural community.  If you would like to read some of the comments of our............. CONTINUE READING

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Families, Schools,

6 REASONS WHY CHILDREN SHOULD LEARN LANGUAGES AS EARLY AS POSSIBLE

September 27, 2011

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The research extolling the benefits of bilingualism abounds in today’s day and age. Bilingualism helps us better understand the structure of languages and can give us an in-depth view of another culture.  Bilingualism can delay the onset of Alzheimer’s symptoms. It can help people find jobs here in the United States and in other countries. Although most of us in the United States don’t start learning additional languages until middle school or college, for some time............. CONTINUE READING

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Families, Schools,

BILINGUAL CHILDREN BENEFIT FROM SUMMER FOREIGN LANGUAGE PROGRAMS

July 13, 2011

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Whether bilingual children speak both of their languages well or are in the process of learning a second language, summer foreign language programs can be a great way to help them become more comfortable in their languages. Without the need to focus on daily schoolwork, summer provides a wonderful opportunity for bilingual children to experience a daily language bath without the pressure of assessment. The key is to find a program that works well for your child. The first step is to............. 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, Families,

KEEP LITERACY ALIVE FOR BILINGUAL CHILDREN DURING THE SUMMER

June 28, 2011

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Summer is such a wonderful time for children: playing with neighbors in the sprinkler, splashing with friends at the local pool, eating popsicles on the back porch. Summertime freedom is expansive and overwhelming. The downside of summer for many teachers, especially those teaching English Language Learners (ELLs), is that they often worry that all of the hard work that their students put in during the school year will decline during the summer months. Without daily input of spoken and written language, a............. CONTINUE READING

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