I visit schools all over the world that are filled with language learners. International education is on the rise, and these schools tend to be heavily populated with students who are learning the language of instruction. One thing I am always struck by is how many parents have a very laissez-faire attitude about the … Continue reading Don’t forget about your own language!
Category: Bilingualism in education
Q: Should I send my child to Saturday School?
A. It depends! One of the key factors in successful bilingualism-for-life is being able to read and write a language. Parents pass down a language mainly orally, which is a natural pattern of language use in a family. Trying to teach your children to read and write in your language is not always easy, and … Continue reading Q: Should I send my child to Saturday School?
New blog for teachers/schools!
I've been blogging here for parents raising bilingual/multilingual children for quite a few years, and over those years I've had many interested teachers sign up to my blog as well. In an effort to meet the needs of both communities, I recently started a new blog just for teachers/schools/school leaders on my Crisfield Educational Consulting … Continue reading New blog for teachers/schools!
Is early English-language education always the right choice?
There is a common presumption among ex-pat families, in particular, that if you have a choice between primary school in the home language and in English, the latter is the better choice. This ties in to the common myth "earlier is always better" for acquiring a new language, especially through immersion. Let's take a quick … Continue reading Is early English-language education always the right choice?
Top 5 Tips for parents with children starting school in a new language
It's that time a year again, kids heading off to school all over the world (with the exception of the Antipodeans!). In an increasingly mobile world, many children will be starting at new schools this year, and that may be in a new language. Parents often like to believe that going to school in … Continue reading Top 5 Tips for parents with children starting school in a new language
Top 5 tips for learning about your new students when you can’t talk to them…
Every year, all around the world, teachers welcome into their classrooms students that they can not communicate with at all. While it's obviously extremely difficult for the students, it's also hard for the teachers. Every teacher wants to make their new students feel comfortable and happy and ready to learn. And that's really hard to … Continue reading Top 5 tips for learning about your new students when you can’t talk to them…
Identity language – what’s that? (Spotlight on Good Practice series)
To reject the child's language in school is to reject the child. Jim Cummins First language, home language, mother tongue, family language... all these terms are used in international education, to try and talk about the languages students bring into schools. But what is implied by all these terms, and how does that affect the … Continue reading Identity language – what’s that? (Spotlight on Good Practice series)
Wondering about translanguaging?
I've been promising for years to write a post about pedagogical translanguaging. In fact, probably about five years! But I always get stuck in the details... I want to present it accurately, and really show how it works. So I created (with the help of Ollydave) this short explainer video, so people can have … Continue reading Wondering about translanguaging?
Spotlight on good practice: Multilingual Poetry
With respect to ELLs, there is undeniable and growing evidence that the home language of ELLs is of considerable benefit to their overall academic success. Fred Genesee (Professor of Psychology Department at McGill University, Montreal and recipient of the Canadian Psychological Associate Award for Distinguished Contributions to Community or Public Service) This is the … Continue reading Spotlight on good practice: Multilingual Poetry
Spotlight on Good Practice: New blog series
In the month of March, I had the privilege of presenting at three international events. The first was the ECIS ESL/MT conference (now the ECIS MLIE group). There I presented on using pedagogical translanguaging to support learning in international education. The second event was the CIS Symposium on Intercultural Learning (Amsterdam), where I presented in the … Continue reading Spotlight on Good Practice: New blog series
