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Language Magazine | Improving Literacy & Communication - Education & Personal Development
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Reading Legislation Update - Language Magazine
Iowa Gives Every G1 Student Decodable Books Gov. Kim Reynolds and the Iowa Department of Education have announced a statewide investment of over $3.5 million to provide every first grade student with decodable book packs to take home and keep, reinforcing classroom instruction. “Iowa is making early literacy a top priority, recently enacting landmark literacy legislation, improving state standards and ensuring teachers have the tools they need to hone this foundational skill in their students,” Gov. Reynolds said. “These book packs, based on the Science of Reading, bring parents more fully into that process by giving them a fun way
“You only get one chance at this life thing, don’t waste it!” - Language Magazine
With the landscape changing for federal workers, many people are on the lookout for new career opportunities where they can apply their skills and expertise while continuing a path of service. The field of teaching English to speakers of other languages (TESOL) offers a wide range of possibilities, from teaching in public schools, international schools, and specialized language schools to working in refugee resettlement, community outreach, and corporate training. And you don’t have to be a linguist to get started.Even before recent reprioritizations by the current administration, those working across government agencies and in the military looked to TESOL for
Collaboration Is Key to Successful UDL Implementation - Language Magazine
In our first article in this series, the universal design for learning (UDL) principles (CAST, 2024) were introduced as a much-needed framework to respond to learner variability, more specifically to dually identified English learners we referred to as multilingual learners with exceptionalities. Firmly rooted in the sociocultural tradition that language develops through meaningful interactions and grounded in the UDL principles of multiple modes of engagement, representation, and action and expression, the integration of UDL guidelines has been found to benefit students with disabilities or learning support needs, as well as multilingual learners with and without exceptionalities. As UDL is already
Fostering Community and Belonging - Language Magazine
At the close of 2024, the Haitian Creole Language and Culture Program that I founded at the end of 2023 in Indianapolis, capital of the great state of Indiana, entered its second phase with a new wave of excitement and partnership. Researchers, language students, experts of all kinds have already manifested for the new session, which started on September 30, 2024. I briefly sampled the Creole program in a recent conversation with eminent linguist Albert Valdman, Rudy Professor Emeritus, and distinguished professor Kevin Rottet, both from Indiana University Bloomington, and the reception was overall positive; those present argued the “project
Emilia Pérez’s Spanish Ignites Criticism - Language Magazine
The most-nominated non-English film in Oscar history, Emilia Pérez, may be set in Mexico with a Spanish script and song lyrics, but it was largely filmed in France and written by non-Spanish speakers, which has led to backlash from Mexicans who feel that the movie trivializes the country’s ongoing struggle with organized crime.The Spanish language used in the film has also been criticized. Héctor Guillén, a Mexican screenwriter and producer, told the New York Times, “The dialogues are completely inorganic—what the characters are saying doesn’t make sense.” Despite being nominated for the Academy Award for Best Song, songwriters Clément Ducol
Ending the Reading Wars, Pt. 1 - Language Magazine
This and the next article in this series try to get at the question of how oral language and written language differ. I believe this question has been at the heart of many, if not most, of the disagreements we’ve had about how to help people learn to read. There are three principal sections, the third one started here and then finished in the next article: • How the issue was first defined nearly 50 years ago—whether learning to read is natural or unnatural—was unfortunate and misleading. • A suggested distinction is likely to be more productive: the difference between
Study Finds Large-Print Books Boost Literacy and Social–Emotional Health - Language Magazine
New research released by Thorndike Press from Gale, part of Cengage Group, suggests that 87% of teachers saw a positive impact on their students’ reading success when they made the switch to large-print books. The study was conducted independently by Project Tomorrow, a reputable education nonprofit, on behalf of Thorndike Press, to better understand the potential role of large-print books in supporting students’ literacy development. The study examined the impact of students reading large-print-formatted books on their reading engagement and achievement levels. Approximately 1,500 students in grades 4–12 and 56 teachers and librarians across 13 US elementary, middle, and high
Deadline Extended for French Heritage Language Program Proposals - Language Magazine
The deadline for proposals for the French Heritage Language Program (FHLP) has been extended to March 17, 2025. Supported by Villa Albertine and the Albertine Foundation, FHLP provides grants of up to $30,000 for institutions to create French classes and cultural experiences for K-12 students from Francophone backgrounds. 'Through innovative pedagogical and community-building activities, FHLP supports students in strengthening their French language skills, empowering them to maintain a crucial link to their heritage, succeed academically, and opening doors to future educational and career opportunities,' says Villa Albertine. Why apply? Receive financial and pedagogical support to develop FHLP programs Access curriculum
Global Approach, Local Impact - Language Magazine
Last year brought me a number of transformative opportunities for teaching and learning, as I had the privilege of being invited to engage directly with the ambitious project of revising Panama’s national English curriculum. This work challenges me to balance innovative frameworks with the practical realities of classroom instruction, providing both rewarding insights and unique obstacles to overcome. In this project, I am serving as technical specialist, leading the development of standards aligned with the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) to foster progressive learning outcomes. I am also working and learning from other academic specialists concentrated on
Working Toward Linguistic Liberation - Language Magazine
Lesson planning is a political act. As previously stated in the Language Magazine article “Content, Language, and Culture Targets” (Medina, 2023), schools in the US, at the core, are designed to promote a monocultural and monolingual perspective of teaching and learning. As educators, the lessons we design and facilitate either support or dismantle educational systems that have historically marginalized certain student communities (Medina and Izquierdo, 2021). Black, Indigenous, students of color (BISoCs), language learners, children with specific academic, behavioral and/or physical health needs, and students belonging to the LGBTQ2S+ community, among others, have been deprioritized in a schooling system that
'Evolution of Spanish Will Depend Largely on America' - Language Magazine
At the annual general meeting (AGM) of the Board of Trustees of the Instituto Cervantes, Spain’s King Felipe announced that Spanish is “so alive” in America that it can be said, “without fear of exaggeration,” that the global evolution of the language “will depend to a large extent” on the continent. During his traditional speech at the closing of the event, the king emphasized that the Spanish linguistic community not only includes all Spanish-American countries but also Spanish speakers residing in other countries, referring particularly to the US, where in the year 2050 there will be almost 100 million speakers.
Unsealing Career Opportunities - Language Magazine
Language learning isn’t just a skill—it’s a gateway to opportunity. In the US, where over 350 languages are spoken, multilingualism is increasingly vital in industries like healthcare, construction, and technology. The Global Seal of Biliteracy is a transformative credential that recognizes bilingual proficiency and equips students with a tangible career advantage. For career and technical education (CTE) students, this international certification goes beyond recognition: it validates their skills and positions them to meet the growing demand for multilingual professionals. Often earned before high school graduation, the Global Seal serves as a student’s first working credential, paving the way for success
Europeans Advised to Increase Defense Spending or Learn Russian - Language Magazine
In his first speech to the European Parliament since taking office, NATO secretary general Mark Rutte warned that if European defense spending doesn’t rise, Europeans might need to “get out their Russian language courses or go to New Zealand,” according to Politico.Rutte also called for raising the alliance’s defense spending target beyond its current benchmark of 2% of each country’s GDP—a goal that only 24 of the bloc’s 32 members currently meet. He highlighted one of his priorities, to “bring NATO and the EU closer together” to counter an ongoing Russian “destabilization campaign” and address other threats, including those from
AI Biased by User Language - Language Magazine
AI speaks letters, text-to-speech or TTS, text-to-voice, speech synthesis applications, generative Artificial Intelligence, futuristic technology in language and communication. A new study, “How User Language Affects Conflict Fatality Estimates in ChatGPT,” published in Journal of Peace, suggests that the language used to ask questions of large language models (LLMs) can significantly affect the information provided by them, potentially deepening biases. Conducted by researchers from the University of Zurich and the University of Konstanz, the study highlights how ChatGPT generates differing responses when asked about armed conflicts depending on the language of the query. Researchers Christoph Steinert from the University of
Grammar Aids Early Vocab Building - Language Magazine
A new study carried out at the MIT Language Acquisition Lab offers a novel insight into the early acquisition of vocabulary—sentences contain subtle hints in their grammar that tell young children about the meaning of new words. The finding, based on experiments with two-year-olds, suggests that even very young kids are capable of absorbing grammatical cues from language and leveraging that information to acquire new words. Even by age one, many infants seem to think that if they hear a new word, it means something different from the words they already know. But why they think so has remained subject to
Indiana Saves Seal of Biliteracy Program - Language Magazine
Under pressure from language learning advocates, Rep. Robert Behning, the Chairman of Indiana’s House Education Committee, has introduced an amendment to his own bill to remove the language that would have eliminated the state’s eight year-old Certificate of Multilingual Proficiency (CoMP) program. This amendment was later passed by Indiana’s House of Representatives. the bill’s lead author and the Committee’s chair. If CoMP had been eliminated, Indiana would have become the only state without a Seal of Biliteracy program. In January, Behning introduced House Bill 1002 as an attempt to remove outdated educational regulations that supported optional educational programs. The original
Visions for 2025: Getting Future Ready - Language Magazine
Career exploration and exposure to real-world experiences are essential in today’s education for students in K–12 as they consider postsecondary and career opportunities after high school graduation. UnidosUS and the National Urban League co-authored a white paper in 2024, “A Community-Based Approach to Career Pathways Navigation,” to elevate the promise of career pathways as a transformative force for learners to navigate a future demanding a skilled and adaptable workforce.1 Yet our research found that Black, Latino, and other student populations such as English learners (ELs) have limited access to high-quality career pathways that can help them to develop marketable skills
Colorado Assesses Multilingual Learners - Language Magazine
Early this month, the Colorado Department of Education is presenting a “state of the state on multilingual learners” (MLLs)—a sign of more focus on their needs by the state.In the 2023–24 school year, Colorado identified 114,482 MLLs, up from 109,780 in 2022–23 but lower than the 122,976 in 2019–20—that equates to about 13% of all Colorado students learning English as a new language. That figure is similar to the last few years, but a larger percentage of these students are considered not English proficient—at the lowest level of fluency. In 2023–24, there were 38,036 students identified as not English proficient,
Yes, Structured Literacy and Multilingualism Go Together - Language Magazine
Literacy is foundational—not only for academic success but as a fundamental skill for navigating life. Yet literacy rates in the US paint a troubling picture: about 21% of adults are illiterate, and 54% read below a sixth-grade level, with 45 million Americans considered functionally illiterate. This urgent reality calls for evidence-based literacy practices, like explicit foundational skills and vocabulary instruction, developing background-knowledge comprehension strategies, and effective spoken language teaching for multilingual learners (MLs). It Starts with Language Yes, our brains are wired for language. From birth, exposure to language, combined with caregivers’ intentional interactions—like repeating words, allowing practice through babbling,
Indiana Saves Seal of Biliteracy Program - Language Magazine
Under pressure from language-learning advocates, Representative Robert Behning, the chairman of Indiana’s House Education Committee, has introduced an amendment to his own bill to remove the language that would have eliminated the state’s eight-year-old Certificate of Multilingual Proficiency (CoMP) program. This amendment was later passed by Indiana’s House of Representatives. If CoMP had been eliminated, Indiana would have become the only state without a Seal of Biliteracy program. In January, Behning introduced House Bill 1002 as an attempt to remove outdated educational regulations that supported optional educational programs. The original version of HB 1002 would have eliminated the bipartisan and
World-Readiness as Career Readiness - Language Magazine
World language enrollments are declining and technology is advancing faster than we can imagine. How can we keep attracting investment in language learning and teaching? Threats and Opportunities for Language Learning… The End Is Not in Sight In the year that I was born, coincidentally, Douglas Adams introduced the world to a very useful little creature called the Babel fish. This “cyborganism” would live in your ear, feed on your brain waves, and allow you to interpret every language you encountered. The original Babel fish was fictional, but it inspired the name of the first free online translator. Announcing the
Tailor Learning to Students’ Interests - Language Magazine
A recent study from the McGovern Institute for Brain Research, which appears in Imaging Neuroscience, shows how interests can modulate language processing in children’s brains and paves the way for personalized brain research. “Traditional studies give subjects identical stimuli to avoid confounding the results,” says of MIT professor and McGovern Institute investigator John Gabrieli, who is the Grover Hermann Professor of Health Sciences and Technology and a professor of brain and cognitive sciences at MIT. “However, our research tailored stimuli to each child’s interest, eliciting stronger—and more consistent—activity patterns in the brain’s language regions across individuals.” This work unveils a
Rigorous Teaching and Learning - Language Magazine
You know it when you see it” is an axiom that has been applied to rigorous educational experiences. And there is truth to this sentiment. When the classroom is humming along and teachers and students have high expectations for learning, combined with the support to achieve greatness, rigor seems self-evident. It’s obvious that learning will occur when rigor is present and that students’ content and language development will be accelerated. Yet the issue of rigor is especially problematic when it comes to multilingual learners (MLs). Evidence suggests that teachers lower the rigor threshold for these students, a process some researchers
Tailor Learning to Students’ Interests - Language Magazine
A recent study from the McGovern Institute for Brain Research, which appears in Imaging Neuroscience, shows how interests can modulate language processing in children’s brains and paves the way for personalized brain research. “Traditional studies give subjects identical stimuli to avoid confounding the results,” says of MIT professor and McGovern Institute investigator John Gabrieli, who is the Grover Hermann Professor of Health Sciences and Technology and a professor of brain and cognitive sciences at MIT. “However, our research tailored stimuli to each child’s interest, eliciting stronger—and more consistent—activity patterns in the brain’s language regions across individuals.” This work unveils a
Visions for 2025: Getting Future Ready - Language Magazine
Career exploration and exposure to real-world experiences are essential in today’s education for students in K–12 as they consider postsecondary and career opportunities after high school graduation. UnidosUS and the National Urban League co-authored a white paper in 2024, “A Community-Based Approach to Career Pathways Navigation,” to elevate the promise of career pathways as a transformative force for learners to navigate a future demanding a skilled and adaptable workforce.1 Yet our research found that Black, Latino, and other student populations such as English learners (ELs) have limited access to high-quality career pathways that can help them to develop marketable skills
Colorado Assesses Multilingual Learners - Language Magazine
Early this month, the Colorado Department of Education is presenting a “state of the state on multilingual learners” (MLLs)—a sign of more focus on their needs by the state.In the 2023–24 school year, Colorado identified 114,482 MLLs, up from 109,780 in 2022–23 but lower than the 122,976 in 2019–20—that equates to about 13% of all Colorado students learning English as a new language. That figure is similar to the last few years, but a larger percentage of these students are considered not English proficient—at the lowest level of fluency. In 2023–24, there were 38,036 students identified as not English proficient,
Visions for 2025: Multilingual Experiences Matter - Language Magazine
Walk into any classroom in the US, you’ll likely encounter students who speak a language other than English at home, who might have learned to read in another language before coming to school, or who are learning to read in more than one language in their classroom. Regardless of the language of the teacher, multilingual learners, including 10% students who are categorized as English Learners (Center for Educational Statistics, 2024) come to school every day and bring with them their valuable multilingual experiences and assets. In 2020, the NEA predicted that by 2025, one in four students in American classrooms
AI Biased by User Language - Language Magazine
AI speaks letters, text-to-speech or TTS, text-to-voice, speech synthesis applications, generative Artificial Intelligence, futuristic technology in language and communication. A new study, “How User Language Affects Conflict Fatality Estimates in ChatGPT,” published in Journal of Peace, suggests that the language used to ask questions of large language models (LLMs) can significantly affect the information provided by them, potentially deepening biases. Conducted by researchers from the University of Zurich and the University of Konstanz, the study highlights how ChatGPT generates differing responses when asked about armed conflicts depending on the language of the query. Researchers Christoph Steinert from the University of
Addressing the US Shortage of Bilingual School Psychologists - Language Magazine
Picture a school where nearly half the students speak a language other than English at home. Now imagine there’s only one psychologist available—and they only speak English. This is the reality for many US schools today. The national ratio stands at one school psychologist per 1,119 students, more than double the National Association of School Psychologists’ (NASP) recommended 1:500 ratio.1 Even more troubling, 92% of these professionals are fluent only in English. As multilingual learners (MLLs) rapidly become the fastest-growing student population in the US—projected to comprise one in four students in classrooms by next year—the need for more bilingual
Iowa Gives Every G1 Student Decodable Books - Language Magazine
Governor Kim Reynolds and the Iowa Department of Education have announced a statewide investment of over $3.5 million to provide every first-grade student with decodable book packs to take home and keep, reinforcing classroom instruction. “Iowa is making early literacy a top priority, recently enacting landmark literacy legislation, improving state standards and ensuring teachers have the tools they need to hone this foundational skill in their students,” Governor Reynolds said. “These book packs, based on the science of reading, bring parents more fully into that process by giving them a fun way to reinforce at home what their children are
Leading with a Culture of Caring - Language Magazine
When Francisco Lopez was twelve, he and his parents moved from Santiago, Brazil, to a small town in Massachusetts, where his father began working as a Portuguese professor at a university. Accompanied by his parents, Francisco enrolled in a local middle school, where his father enacted the role of family interpreter. They are greeted by the school principal, Mr. Murtaugh, who graciously takes them on a quick tour of the school. At the conclusion, Francisco takes a language test to determine if he is a multilingual learner. A week later, he begins school. Hearing a cacophony of sounds in a
MA Court Could Rule on Science of Reading - Language Magazine
A lawsuit seeking class action status has been filed in the Massachusetts Superior Court against famed literacy experts Lucy Calkins, Irene Fountas, and Gay Su Pinnell, as well as the Reading and Writing Project at Mossflower, Greenwood Publishing Group (DBA Heinemann Publishing), HMH Education Co., and the board of trustees of Columbia University’s Teachers College. The suit, filed on behalf of three Massachusetts children and their parents by Justice Catalyst Law and Kaplan & Grady, seeks substantial relief for students and families across Massachusetts allegedly harmed by the defendant publishers and authors’ literacy products. The suit also seeks a court
An Unexpected Powerhouse - Language Magazine
North Carolina’s impressive climb to fifth in the nation for dual language immersion (DLI) programs is more than just a ranking—it’s also a reflection of the profound impact these programs have on our students and our state’s future. With higher graduation rates, stronger test scores, and better earning potential, a greater percentage of North Carolina students are experiencing the lifelong benefits of bilingual education. This success directly feeds into our state’s top-ranked workforce, a key factor in North Carolina being named the best state for business by CNBC in 2023. Our DLI programs are not just educational initiatives; they are
A Comprehensive Language-Based Literacy Framework - Language Magazine
In this article, we provide a response to the article published in Language Magazine on Oct. 2, 2024, in which authors Jennifer Pendergrass, Tabatha Tierce, and David L. Chiesa were critiquing the WIDA ELD Standards for not being aligned to Scarborough’s Reading Rope, only attending to the upper levels of language comprehension in the Reading Rope and ignoring word recognition and phonemic awareness (Pendergrass et al., 2024). The authors specifically mention that the standards are based on systemic functional linguistics and that in that theory of language, phonology and graphology are one of the layers of meaning, but the WIDA
Kickstarting Newcomer Progress with Literacy Platform - Language Magazine
Throughout the 2021–22 school year, our schools implemented a specialized literacy platform to provide additional support, guidance, and motivation for English language learners (ELLs) in the classroom, with a particular focus on newcomers. This initiative aimed to help these students navigate the dual challenges of learning English and improving their reading skills. The students were very enthusiastic about it, prompting us to broaden the implementation of the literacy platform throughout the district. Currently, approximately 200 out of our 700 students are utilizing an online program designed to assist emergent bilinguals in grades K–6 in enhancing their English language skills (Lexia
Spanish to Exceed 600M Speakers This Year - Language Magazine
The Instituto Cervantes has launched its latest yearbook, Spanish in the World 2024, with the most up-to-date statistics on the language’s international presence and future projections. It shows that in 2024, for the first time, Spanish speakers worldwide will exceed 600 million people. This figure includes almost 500 million native speakers in addition to those with limited competence (around 78 million) and students (more than 24 million). The report also highlights that Spanish remains the second mother tongue on the planet, after Mandarin Chinese, and its relevance is recognized as it’s one of the main choices for users of platforms
Forging Language Futures - Language Magazine
A year ago, the Modern Language Association (MLA) delivered sobering news about the state of language study in higher education, along with valuable insights for overcoming the challenges we face: Language enrollments are declining even as the need for knowledge of world cultures and languages grows across many sectors of the workforce… Departments that thrive are those that actively seek internal and external collaborations, update their programs to attract interest and meet student needs, and celebrate student success through scholarships, awards, and social events. (Enrollments in Languages Other Than English in United States Institutions of Higher Education, MLA, 2023) In
Translanguaging and Assessing Biliteracy through Writing - Language Magazine
Anyone who has taught in a dual language program knows the struggle of fitting in sufficient instruction in each content area in both languages while complying with the state requirements. With most standardized reading tests only given in English, it is tempting to devote more time to reading instruction in English, while setting aside writing instruction in either language. However, by not teaching and assessing writing in a holistic manner, we are denying our students the opportunity to use their full set of language skills to construct meaning and demonstrate their knowledge and thinking (Ramos and Musanti, 2021). Writing is
Crackdown on ‘Unauthorized’ Chinese - Language Magazine
China’s internet regulator has launched a campaign to crack down on “unauthorized” use of language online, in a move experts say is a bid to stem the widespread use of slang and abbreviations by Generation Z on social media.The Cyberspace Administration of China will take steps to “rectify the chaos of the irregular use of Mandarin and other characters on the internet,” the country’s state news agency Xinhua reported last month.The move is part of a nationwide crackdown on language usage with the code name Clear and Bright, and will target expressions involving homophones—words that sound the same but mean