English Language Learners / Dual Language Learners / Multicultural Education Support – Language Lizard Blog

LANGUAGE & LITERACY BLOG

Classroom, ELLs / DLLs,

SPRINGTIME LANGUAGE LEARNING ACTIVITIES: SCAVENGER AND TREASURE HUNTS

Flowers are beginning to blossom in and the talk of eggs, bunnies and little yellow chicks is underway. It must be springtime! Students are excited and invigorated by the changing season, so it is a perfect time of year to incorporate activities that match the energetic mood of your classroom. Even though many of your students may not celebrate Easter, they are sure to notice the supermarket shelves lined with plastic eggs and chocolate bunnies. One activity from Easter that is sure............. CONTINUE READING
At Home, Families,

TEACHING CHILDREN LANGUAGES: BENEFITS & STRATEGIES

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
Families, Schools,

$300 BILINGUAL BOOK GIVEAWAY!

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
Classroom, ELLs / DLLs,

USING MUSIC TO HELP CHILDREN LEARN LANGUAGES

Children love music and singing. There is something magical about words being set to a melody that make children perk up and join in. Since most children’s songs consist of catchy beats and poetry-infused lyrics, it is a perfect combination of rhythm, rhyme and fun. An added benefit to children’s songs is that they are often easy to learn. The short, repetitive sentences lend themselves to easy memorization and retention. What better way to learn words in context than to sing them............. CONTINUE READING
Classroom, ELLs / DLLs,

HOW TO HELP STUDENTS SURVIVE CULTURE SHOCK

By Colleen Miller Photo credit: vasta Have you noticed that about halfway into the school year, new ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) students, who once seemed excited and energized, seem to hit a wall? Students who once were bright-eyed and cheerful come to school looking listless and detached. More than just the mid-year doldrums, they may be in the crisis stage of the powerful phenomenon of culture shock. What is culture shock? In the 1950s, a diplomat named Karl Oberg first used the............. CONTINUE READING
ELLs / DLLs, Schools,

THE VALUE OF COOPERATIVE LEARNING ACTIVITIES FOR ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS

Do you remember dreading group projects when you were in school? Inevitably, our teacher would pair us up with someone we hardly knew and begrudgingly we participated in the activity. Of course, by the end of the project we knew our classmate better than ever while having had a wonderful time. For English Language Learners, cooperative learning activities have been shown to help improve academic performance as well as increase motivation, strengthen self-esteem, encourage student bonding and promote literacy skills.  Of course,............. CONTINUE READING
Classroom, Lesson Plans,

CHINESE NEW YEAR: LESSONS TO HELP CHILDREN APPRECIATE CULTURAL AND LINGUISTIC DIVERSITY

Chinese New Year is almost here! Chinese families around the world are already celebrating this exciting event which lasts for fifteen days. The celebration begins on the night of a new moon and culminates with the Lantern Festival, a celebration that takes place under the light of the full moon. Families join together in the streets carrying lighted lanterns to create a beautiful light display. Before the Chinese New Year begins, homes are cleaned from top to bottom. The goal is to sweep............. CONTINUE READING
At Home, Community Support, Families,

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

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
At Home, Classroom, Families, Schools,

BILINGUAL CHILDREN: 5 TIPS FOR USING LANGUAGE IN CONTEXT

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
Book Reviews,

MULTICULTURAL AND LANGUAGE-LEARNING GIFTS: OUR TOP TIPS FOR HOLIDAY GIFT-GIVING

Twinkling lights, fires in the fireplace, and the smell of fresh pine needles – the holidays are upon us! For many, the most difficult part of this time of year is figuring out the perfect gift for friends and loved ones. For those of you looking for bilingual and multicultural products, we have put together a list of some favorites which would make perfect holiday gifts for young language learners, multicultural children and a special teacher. Let us know............. CONTINUE READING
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