Tag Archives: bilingual school

Bilingual Students: The Benefits of Narration

Bilingual Students: The Benefits of Narration

As we mentioned in our previous post, Bilingual Students: Using Holiday Celebrations to Promote Language Development in Multicultural Classrooms, bilingual students often have a lot to say right after they return from their winter holidays. They are eager to share activities that they engaged in with family and friends and to talk about the gifts that they may have received. However, once the excitement of returning back to school has worn off, it can be more challenging to get bilingual students talking.

A wonderful way to encourage bilingual students to share information and thoughts is to have them narrate about familiar topics. The more a student knows about a topic, the more inclined he or she is to want to share information about it.

The key is finding topics that are of interest to each student, which is not an easy task for a busy teacher with many students in class. One way to go about this is to give your students opportunities to talk about things with which they are intimately familiar: Favorite stories, preferred activities and beloved toys can get even the quietest bilingual student narrating in detail.

Another approach is to ask bilingual students to tell you and the other students about favorite stories, books or chapters that they read (or had read to them). The idea is not to require the student to remember key elements from the story; rather, the goal is to simply get the student talking!

Another benefit of narration is that students will remember things so much better than when they are passively listening. As soon as a student starts to narrate about something, images are created in their minds that will stick around for a much longer time and have more impact.

Here are some tips on having bilingual students narrate: 
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Grants and Funding for Bilingual Classrooms

Grants and Funding for Bilingual Classrooms

As we all know, many teachers have a hard time finding funding for all the books, materials and resources they need for their classrooms. For teachers of English Language Learner (ELL) students, access to quality resources, materials, and training is especially important, as ELL students need bilingual books and materials to improve their literacy and language skills. Yet obtaining these resources can be a difficult task for teachers and schools when local funding is not available.

As reported in Ed. Department Awards Grants to Improve ELL Teaching, the U.S. Department of Education is aware that bilingual programs rely on funding simply to exist, let alone thrive. Resources are available through both federal and state government grants as well as private funding. The key for teachers and school administrators is to find out how to tap into these available resources.

To help teachers find ways to purchase the bilingual resources they need, we have compiled a comprehensive (although by no means exhaustive) list of available grant and funding opportunities. This article comprises:

  • tips on how to search and apply for funding as well as sources for where to start looking for grants.
  • a list of federal and state government grants. (Many of these government grants will help pay for materials and resources, so make sure you include those in your proposals.)
  • a catalog of private companies and organizations that provide funding. Private sources can be less restrictive than public ones, and may include financial support for items such as bilingual books and resources.

(Please note: the links in this article were current as of the initial writing of this article.  Links and grant opportunities change over time, but we believe this article will provide a good starting point for your research.) Continue reading Grants and Funding for Bilingual Classrooms

Bilingual Children and the First Days of School

Bilingual Children and the First Days of School

Starting school for the first time can be both an exciting and nerve-wracking experience for a young bilingual child. Aside from possible language barriers, cultural differences may often play a role. Things that are done in the classroom often do not match what a child is used to at home and this can make a bilingual child feel especially uncomfortable and insecure.

It is important to give bilingual children a lot of time to get used to the classroom setting. Although this is true for all children coming to school for the first time, for bilingual children there are some unique elements which can help them transition more successfully.

Below are tips to make the transition go more smoothly for bilingual students in your classroom:
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Bilingual Children & Summer Literacy Programs

Bilingual Children and Summer Reading Programs

Summertime is upon us! The school year is coming to an end and our favorite summer activities are right around the corner: Running barefoot through sprinklers, savoring a neon-colored snow cone and sitting in the shade of a favorite tree with a good book. What could be better?

Even though school is letting out, children can strengthen their literacy skills with summertime literacy programs, available through local libraries, community centers, schools, bookstores and even online. Bilingual children, in particular, can significantly improve their literacy during the summer by reading bilingual books in both of their languages.

As we mentioned in our previous article, literacy can grow and develop regardless of language. The most important thing is that bilingual children are provided with quality reading materials and an incentive to read them. Instilling a love of reading should always be the primary goal for our students.

Here is a list of programs that can help students strengthen their literacy skills this summer:
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