current issues in language education

British Council

Six trends for the new future of english language teaching, by chia suan chong, 27 october 2021 - 08:48.

Poyraz Tütüncü/Pinhole Istanbul, Author MAHMUT CEYLAN

What has inspired your teaching and teacher development this year? Chia Suan Chong, writer, communication skills and intercultural skills trainer, who reported live from the ELTons awards in November 2021, lists her top six.

The announcement of the finalists of the ELTons, a.k.a. the British Council ELTons awards for innovation in English language teaching, has always been an interesting and revealing time. It is a time when teams and individuals are celebrated for their innovation in the courses, books, platforms, apps, projects, and more that they’ve contributed to the world of English language teaching. It is also a time when we get to learn about the current trends of our industry and the directions we are heading in.

As I excitedly clicked through the lists of finalists for the 19th year of the ELTons, here are some of the trends that became apparent.

Using the real world

One exciting thing about language teaching is the flexibility of the content of our materials. Science teachers teach scientific theories and facts and history teachers have historical events and stories as the subject content, but English teachers can use a variety of topics as vehicles to present the English language. We can teach English using fairy tales, workplace rules or quirky homes around the world. Some of the ELTons finalists have discovered the value in using real world events and acquainting learners with real-world scenarios where they might be using English. Sensations English (UK) for example uses news-based video and articles to help students learn about real-world events while improving their language skills. Immerse Virtual Language Experience Platform (Immerse VR, USA) puts students in a 3D world as they experience language and culture in real-world scenarios. And Vlogger Academy (Digital Learning Associates Ltd with The Weirdos and Creatives Collective, UK) uses real-life YouTubers and authentic content to expose learners to the global English used in the world today.

Using English to communicate with the world

There is no doubt that English is an indispensable tool for international communication today. Whether our learners are posting on social media, creating videos on video-sharing platforms or working in international project teams, the English language provides them with the opportunity to communicate not just with people who use English as a first language, but also those who use English as a second or foreign language. 

This reality is reflected not just in products like the already-mentioned Vlogger Academy, but also Converse Across the Universe: Managing Cross-Cultural Communication (Yelena Golovatch, Margarita Kochan, Yauheni Radzetski, Belarus), where students develop critical thinking and communication skills in practical everyday situations where they might encounter different cultures and different attitudes and ways of behaving. 

Even in Online English Pronunciation Course (Luke Nicholson, Improve your accent, UK) that is written for learners based in the UK, the emphasis is on intelligibility, i.e. being understood, and not only becoming someone that learners are not. 

As Our Languages (Stand For/FTD Educação, Brazil) very appropriately describes it, English is a tool for our students to express themselves – a tool not unlike the language of art, music or social media – a tool used to communicate with the world. And like these different forms of expression, learners need to feel a sense of ownership of the English language and own their language learning experience. English will serve to express their identities – a theme that is explored in Communicating Identities (Routledge, UK), a teacher’s guide that supports learners in their exploration and reflection of the different aspects of their identities.

Life skills  

As we provide our learners with opportunities to practise communicating in English, there is flexibility not only in the content of the texts we use but also in the tasks that we get learners to perform. Through these tasks, learners not only have the chance to enhance their language skills, but they are also able to develop other life skills. We saw the development of intercultural skills in the already-mentioned Converse Across the Universe: Managing Cross-Cultural Communication. This focus on expanding the learners’ knowledge of the world is also seen in Talk about China with Oxford (OUP China Ltd with Jingban Beijing Education Culture Media Co. Ltd, China), a series of courses that enable young learners to learn about China via the English language.

Other life skills that feature heavily among the finalists are problem-solving skills and collaboration skills – common features of materials that make use of a task-based learning approach to language learning. Escape the Classroom (Perceptia Press, UK/Japan) for example, requires students to work together in teams to figure out ways of solving puzzles and breaking codes in order to escape a room. Oxford Discover Futures (OUP – English language teaching, UK, Egypt, Mexico, Turkey, Spain and the Middle East) promotes critical thinking and collaboration skills through thought-provoking questions. And English Code (Pearson English, UK) uses code-breaking activities and creative tasks to help nurture the spirit of experimentation, collaboration, resilience and curiosity in primary school students. 

Included in life skills are higher-order thinking skills and exam-taking skills, and this can be done in innovative ways. Literatu Scribo for IELTS Writing Success (Literatu Pty Ltd Australia, Australia), for example, uses an online platform to help students improve their core English writing skills. The approach that Fun Skills (CUP and Cambridge Assessment English, UK) takes to this is perhaps reflected in its title, as children prepare for the exams they need to take in the future through songs and entertaining stories. 

The power of stories

Learning through stories is another clear thread that we see in many of the finalists this year. Fiction Express (Fiction Express, Spain/UK) develops literacy skills through well-supported reading texts while BOOKR Class (BOOKR Kids, Hungary) uses a gamified library app to provide interactive books from the classics of world literature and original stories. 

In this age when we have access to an incredible selection of stories in the form of TV shows we watch through online streaming services, Days Crossing (Chasing Time English, New Zealand) provide learners with original TV series that are specifically made for English language learners. 

Inclusion and wellbeing

Perhaps Link Online Learners a.k.a LOL (hundrED, Finland, with volunteers and educators from 13 different countries) is an example of how the trends of life skills, using real world content and helping learners to English to communicate with the world can all be embodied in one product. LOL provides a platform for teachers and students as a way of connecting with a diverse global youth network in order to develop curiosity, empathy for other cultures and an understanding of different perspectives and ways of life. The volunteers and educators involved in this project are from a diverse range of countries, demonstrating the inclusive nature of this project. 

The importance of diversity and inclusion in English language teaching was highlighted at the ELTons 2020 when the British Council created the new judge’s commendation category for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion – celebrating finalists whose resources bridge educational inequality, reflect diversity and promote the inclusion of typically underrepresented groups. ( Click here to find out more about last year’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion winners)

This year, we continue to see the importance of this theme as we look at the finalists across the different categories of the ELTons. From English competency courses for Para Powerlifters (World Para Powerlifting, Germany, with International Paralympic Committee) and grammar for the deaf and hard of hearing (General Directorate for special education and continuous education, Ministry of Education in Sultanate of Oman with AI ROYAA NEWSPAPER, Sultanate of Oman), to Helping Matters – an English course for social workers (Perceptia Press, UK/Japan) and guides for volunteers at conversation clubs (Learning and Work Institute with Learning Unlimited, UK), we see products that are catered for learners and teachers with a wide range of needs and backgrounds.

The importance of inclusion can also be seen in CIELL-Comic for Inclusive English language learning (Lancaster University, UK, with AKTO Art & Design College, Greece, Innovation in Learning Institute, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität, Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany, Language Centre, University of Cyprus, Cyprus) and many of the finalists in the category for Local Innovation awards, such as Mosaik Dogme Toolkit , a toolkit that helps English teachers of refugees make learning communicative and engaging.  Teaching in challenging circumstances (Cambridge University Press, UK) is another example of support provided to teachers involved in formal or informal teaching in areas with a growing number of refugees and displaced people.

Many of these projects focus on including diverse student groups and providing support for both their learning and their wellbeing. But in the process of doing so, we should also remember to look after ourselves. Teacher Wellbeing (Oxford University Press, UK) provides teachers will a variety of practical ideas to support and maintain teacher wellbeing as teachers while nurturing the professional relationships they have.  

Our next normal   

The last couple of years have no doubt presented teachers with new challenges, and so it is no surprise that these new challenges are reflected in several ELTons finalists this year. The Teachers’ Classroom App (PeacheyPublications Ltd, UK) makes the transition to online teaching easier by offering teachers training of common digital tools and ready-made lessons that teachers can launch and deliver from their desktop. LearnCube Homework Application (LearnCube, UK) provides a digital solution to teachers who have to or want to manage homework and give personalised feedback for their online classes. Engaging language learners in contemporary classrooms (Cambridge University Press) recognises the distractions that learners face today and helps teachers consider the aspects of learner engagement that they have power to influence more directly. And the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary App (OUP, UK, with Paragon Software, Germany/Russia) gives learners to autonomy to improve their vocabulary and pronunciation anytime, anywhere as they navigate flipped learning, online learning and blended learning. 

Previous-ELTons winner, The HandsUp Project, also adapted in response to the school closures in 2020/21. Their Facebook Live Team teaching for the Palestinian English Curriculum (The Hands Up Project, UK with UNRWA, Gaza) delivered daily live team-taught classes remotely, led by a Palestinian English teacher and a teacher in another country. This push towards online lessons in the past couple of years has also resulted in us embracing global communication and increased learner autonomy.

As we reflect on the current trends of our industry through the ELTons finalists of 2021, we realise that the events of 2020/21 might have fast-forwarded some of the trends that were already developing in our industry, but none of them come as a surprise. If anything, this serves as confirmation as to where English language teaching and learning is going and will be going in the years to come. 

Watch recordings of the ELTons online  and meet the winners. Chia reported live from the event alongside teacher, writer, editor, and conference speaker Callie Massey.

Chia also guest tweeted live using the username @BCEltons . Join in the Twitter discussion using #ELTons.

Teachers, visit our TeachingEnglish website for lesson plans and activities.

View the discussion thread.

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The Complicated Picture of English-Language Learners’ Progress During the Pandemic

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Corrected : This article has been updated to reflect the current name for the WIDA consortium.

The latest data on how English-learners around the country fared in their language development during the pandemic are out. But there’s a major catch: About 30 percent fewer students took a widely used standardized assessment in 2021 than did two years prior, making the data difficult to analyze over time.

Students also took the test at different points in the school year, with some taking it up to 15 months later than their peers in other places, according to a new report from the WIDA consortium that offers the online assessment. Thirty-six states, several United States territories, and agencies such as the Bureau of Indian Education use WIDA assessments, with nearly half of all English-learners nationally taking those tests.

While it’s tempting to look at the aggregate results, which show overall declines, particularly in speaking skills, and indicate that English-learners are worse off than they were before the pandemic, experts caution that the test results are skewed and have limited uses. The WIDA data problems are indicative of a pervasive challenge educators and researchers are facing right now in trying to pin down student achievement across the subjects: The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted assessments, leaving major asterisks on most data collection.

English-proficiency tests, offered by WIDA and others, are required by state and federal law for ELL students in kindergarten through 12th grade. They measure students’ English-proficiency in four domains—listening, speaking, reading, and writing—and are used to determine if a student will remain in an English-learner program.

Because the WIDA test is generally given in the spring, schools were largely able to administer the 2020 assessment prior to shutdowns that year.

WIDA, one of the nation’s largest English-learner testing programs, required that its 2021 assessment be taken in person—even in places where students were still learning remotely. That move, stemming from concerns about the validity of a take-home test and students’ inability to access the internet, caused some uproar. Advocates claimed it was unfair and possibly dangerous to ask these students—most of whom are Latino, Asian, and Black—to go into school buildings with COVID-19 raging in their communities.

While the 2021 WIDA data show where test-takers were in terms of their language skills at the time of the test, experts say using the data to make assumptions about English-learners’ proficiency and growth as a population is problematic.

“I would not use [2021] test data to say, ‘Oh, this is where we’re going as a nation,’ other than to see if it aligns with something that we have some evidence of locally,” said Kristina Robertson, the English-language-development program administrator at Roseville Area Schools in Minnesota.

Instead, the main value in the latest WIDA scores, experts say, is in considering them a starting point in assessing English-learners’ language proficiency and growth during the pandemic.

There are major caveats in reviewing results

The 30 percent decline in English-learners taking the language assessment in 2021 raises a number of questions both in terms of students tested and those whose scores are missing.

For instance, the results may be rosier or worse off than the true results depending on whether the students who happened to be tested had higher or lower levels of language proficiency than those not tested, said Gary Cook, senior director of assessment at WIDA. This prevents an apples to apples comparison to both past and future aggregate results.

There are even concerns among state education agencies that the most vulnerable English-learners weren’t tested, said Amaya Garcia, deputy director of preK-12 education at the think tank New America.

In the Roseville district there was a 17 percent drop in the number of English-learners taking the 2021 WIDA test from the year before, and that’s despite outreach efforts such as providing transportation to school for the test during their remote learning year, said Robertson.

While she can’t definitively say why these students didn’t participate, she identified possible disconnects.

“It’s not a test that they need to graduate. And parents are sort of, like, why am I sending my kid to take this test when they’re not even coming to school to learn?” she said.

English-learner advocates in some states last year were pushing for parents to be able to opt-out of the in-person test, or for tests to be delayed due to COVID safety concerns. The federal government encouraged this testing to proceed in 2021, even if it meant extending the testing window.

School closures forced some schools to administer the test well into the current academic year as opposed to the traditional spring testing window, Cook said, possibly giving some students more time than others to develop their language skills before being assessed.

Robertson said bringing students into school buildings may also have affected their performance. Many students who had been stuck at home for remote learning were seeing their peers for the first time in a while on test day, which was likely exciting and distracting.

Even with the caveats in mind, the 2021 test results do have one potential use, said Derek Briggs, a University of Colorado Boulder professor and president of the National Council on Measurement in Education, whose members design and study K-12 assessments: They’re a tool for helping figure out where individual students are with English proficiency, and what their needs are moving forward.

But because of the major changes in who got tested overall, you can’t make inferences about English-learners as a population, even at a district level, he added.

What do we know from the results?

Amid all the caveats, aggregate student data from 2021 revealed an overall downward trend in language proficiency and growth compared to 2020 and 2019.

The pandemic’s impact as seen in the 2021 scores varied by grade and each of the four language domains. There were relatively larger declines in speaking, according to WIDA’s report, and in 1st and 6th grades.

Garcia, with New America, found it concerning that there were more declines in language growth in the younger years since there’s the hope that children will become proficient early enough to exit out of an English-learner program by 4th grade to avoid the risk of becoming a long-term English-learner, who may end up stagnated academically.

And while Garcia was surprised that the decline in reading wasn’t as big as in the other domains, opening up the question of how much reading was involved in virtual learning, the decline in speaking wasn’t a shock.

“Virtual learning didn’t necessarily lend itself to a lot of speaking and practicing talking,” Garcia said.

While the return to in-person school itself can address the need for more opportunities to develop speaking skills, the decline is of note considering how key speaking is to learning a language overall, she added.

Educators should look at multiple factors

As Robertson’s team in Minnesota reviews local English-learner assessment results, they’re keeping in mind that students can do more in a classroom setting than they can in a standardized testing situation.

Standardized tests can’t, for instance, track advances students make in their home languages, Robertson said. And the test results alone shouldn’t be used to make assumptions on student progress.

“I just think there has to be a broader conversation about triangulation of data, how we look at the multiple factors that go into this,” she said.

Robertson is also mindful of the continued outreach staff within her district are doing to determine how the pandemic impacted students beyond academics. She’s aware, for instance, that there were several COVID-related deaths in their English-learner community.

A version of this article appeared in the November 17, 2021 edition of Education Week as The Complicated Picture of English-Learners’ Progress During the Pandemic

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Dismantling Barriers for English Language Learners

English language learners with diverse abilities can thrive with simple supports in an an equity-driven learning environment.

With increasing numbers of English language learners (ELLs)—especially those with diverse abilities (hidden and identifiable physical, emotional, and mental differences)—the demands of literacy have transformed dramatically in all grades. 

ELLs are in a unique position of acquiring a new language while being in the immersion process in the mainstream classroom. Now that educators are more aware of myriad approaches for a spectrum of diverse abilities, there are more opportunities for intentional change. Without appropriate implementation of instructions and accommodations, ELLs with diverse abilities are at an academic disadvantage compared with their peers. Aside from acknowledging and accommodating the students’ linguistic needs, students with diverse abilities benefit from being in an equity-driven learning space that makes them feel valued while learning.

With the appropriate considerations, students with diverse abilities will be accommodated and thriving members of the classroom team.You can utilize new and updated teaching methodologies to help your students receive immediate and long-term benefits.

Consult With Students’ Accommodation Plans Frequently

Many students with identifiable diverse abilities who have been medically diagnosed might have an accommodation plan. An individualized education program or a 504 intervention plan contains specific interventions that can be implemented to support students in their lessons. In your teaching practice, you can include additional time on an assignment or assessment, chunking the text, working with a partner, etc. These actions can help the student focus more on achieving the objective and master the intended goals.

Understand That Students Come With Knowledge

ELLs—no matter the level of their language acquisition—all enter the classroom with some knowledge. It’s useful to find out the extent of their knowledge and interests and include them in the classroom community. Research posits that to better support this population of students, teachers should integrate Gloria Ladson-Billings’ culturally responsive teaching practices to meet their students’ cultural and linguistic needs.

For example, in English, I use real-world global content that my students can relate to in order to help them engage with a text or in a discussion. Our discussions this year included powerful exchanges where students sometimes chose the topic—such as societal and cultural norms, identity, academic expectations, race, and religion. Students make academic gains when they feel themselves represented positively in the classroom. Equity pedagogy supports teachers in utilizing instructional strategies that embrace linguistic and cultural diversity.

A lack of culturally responsive background knowledge, teaching strategies, and concepts minimizes teachers’ impact when working with diverse learners and limits their academic success. Try incorporating texts representing a variety of cultures into your classes, or find some that fit your students’ needs: Amy Tan’s Fish Cheeks ; The House on Mango Street , by Sandra Cisneros; Coming to America: A Muslim Family’s Story , by Bernard Wolf; Tea Time , by Lawrence Tolbert; and Testing the Ice: A True Story About Jackie Robinson , by Sharon Robinson.

Incorporate Varying Levels of Technology

During the Covid-19 pandemic, we had no choice but to utilize technology to meet our students’ needs. When I access certain technological resources, I feel more equipped to support my ELLs with diverse needs. My ninth-grade professional learning community (PLC) used Microsoft Teams and the BigBlueButton platform to focus on enrichment and remediation. I also often use fun resources like Kahoot, Quizizz, and Nearpod , which give students the option to work collaboratively or individually.

Use the Gradual Release of Responsibility Model

I always consider which stage of the language acquisition process my students are in, to ensure that as they progress through their zone of proximal development, I’m scaffolding appropriately and allowing them enough time and space to master the tasks.

When I understand where my students are, then I can apply the gradual release of responsibility model as needed. This method of teaching was especially useful this year with the ongoing pandemic, as many teachers relied heavily on it to simultaneously engage learners who were face-to-face and those who were virtual. In this model, the students can work together in small groups or practice the concept on their own to help achieve mastery.

Prepare to Pivot

Students with diverse abilities might need more time to process the information being delivered. There will be days when you might need to pivot or change course from the curriculum sequence. A lesson might need more differentiation in delivery (review ideas in small chunks, focus on one area of discussion at a time) and practice as well as more intentional scaffolding to help students with varying abilities master smaller pieces of information.

For example, some students can quickly answer writing prompts and use complex graphic organizers. Alternate options for students with diverse abilities are sentence stems with fill-in-the-blanks or a graphic organizer that is partially filled out with some answers, which help the students feel like they have an attainable task. Additionally, having the students use the turn-and-talk method or giving them the option to work in groups of two to discuss ideas allows a level of support that is outside of the teacher.

Give Brain Breaks

ELLs with diverse abilities may be unable to focus for periods as long as their peers can. They might need more opportunities to relax their minds before moving on to the next lesson.

Brain breaks are a simple way to counter the monotony of a lesson or aid students in processing the information. I use turn-and-talk, stretches, and computer games in my classes to give students a well-deserved brain break. I also incorporate music and sometimes change locations of learning from the classroom to an outside setting. My PLC and I have even planned and visited each other’s classrooms to give the students a change of pace, scenery, and delivery of lessons. These pauses in instruction activate the brain and are instrumental in deterring fatigue.

With the appropriate considerations, students with diverse abilities will be accommodated and thriving members of the classroom team. You can utilize new and updated teaching methodologies to help your students receive immediate and long-term benefits.

Multilingual education: A key to quality and inclusive learning

Language is more than a tool for communication; it’s a very specific human cognitive faculty and the foundation of our shared humanity. It enables the transmission of experiences, traditions, knowledge and identities across generations.

Languages play a crucial role in promoting peace, fostering intercultural dialogue and driving sustainable development. They permeate every facet of our lives—from family and work to education, politics, media, justice, research and technology. Our values, beliefs, knowledge, identities and worldviews are intricately shaped by language, reflecting the richness of the human experience.

Languages are at risk and must be championed

But languages are under significant threat. UNESCO data indicates that around 600 languages have disappeared in the last century. If current trends continue, up to 90 per cent of the world’s languages may become extinct by the end of this century.

International Mother Language Day, observed annually on 21 February, underscores the urgent need to champion linguistic diversity and multilingual education rooted in mother tongues.

For more than seven decades, UNESCO has promoted mother language-based and multilingual education as fundamental to achieving quality, inclusive learning.

Why multilingual education matters

Enhanced learning.  First, and most obviously, students learn best in a language they understand. Yet UNESCO data shows that 40 per cent of the world’s population does not have access to an education in a language they speak or understand. Our research documents the benefits of being taught in learners’ native languages: in upper-middle- and high-income countries, children who speak the language they are taught in are 14 per cent more likely to read with understanding at the end of primary, compared to those who do not.

In France, children who speak French at home are 28 per cent more likely to be able to read with understanding at the end of primary than children who do not. This share rises to over 60 per cent more likely in countries such as the Islamic Republic of Iran, Slovakia, South Africa and Türkiye.

At the end of lower secondary, adolescents speaking the language of instruction are over 40 per cent more likely to be able to read with understanding compared to those who did not. This ranges from a 4 per cent gap in Canada to around 40 per cent in Germany and the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and over 60 per cent in Thailand.

Improved access and inclusivity through mother tongue education.  Adopting a mother language-based, multilingual education improves access to and inclusion in education, particularly for population groups that speak non-dominant, minority and indigenous languages. Studies have shown that such approaches can boost classroom participation, improve retention rates and encourage family and community involvement in education. They also play a vital role in mitigating the challenges faced by migrant and refugee learners, promoting a sense of safety and resilience. Yet—at a time of record displacement—over 31 million young people who have fled war or crisis situations are learning in a language that differs from the official language of their country of origin.

Contributing to peace and sustainable development.  The achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals is intricately linked to linguistic diversity and multilingualism. The  Global Action Plan of the International Decade of Indigenous Languages (2022–2032) , spearheaded by UNESCO, underscores the importance of language choice for human dignity, peaceful coexistence and sustainable development. Commitment to these ideals drives UNESCO support for building inclusive and equitable, quality education opportunities in indigenous languages in both formal, non-formal and informal educational settings.

Helping mother language education thrive

The potential of multilingual education is enormous, but realizing its full benefits requires a commitment to lifelong learning and a deeper appreciation of the value of linguistic diversity.

To foster thriving multilingual education, we need robust policy support, advocacy and innovation. This includes adopting policies that promote mother language education from early childhood, as seen in diverse countries such as Ghana, Peru, Singapore and South Africa. It also involves recruiting and training teachers and community members competent in learners’ mother tongues, as well as exploring innovative solutions, such as partnerships with digital platforms, to meet diverse language needs.

Partnerships and cooperation at all levels, including across universities, academic centres and institutions that support language development, can also enhance capacity, and expand access to teaching and learning materials in local languages in both print and digital forms. This must be accompanied by formative and summative assessments that are appropriately designed to monitor the learning outcomes of multilingual learners.

Mother language-based, multilingual education must be part of our efforts to address the learning crisis and learning poverty facing many countries around the world.

In an increasingly globalized world, UNESCO remains committed to promoting multilingual education and cultural and linguistic diversity as cornerstones for the sustainability of our societies.

This article by UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Education, Stefania Giannini, was originally  published in the UN Chronicle on 20 February 2024, ahead of International Mother Language Day. 

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The Magic of Bilingual Education

Seven educators and one former student on how learning another language can change lives, 1923: the right to let children learn a foreign language, một kỷ niệm yêu quý khi là giáo viên song ngữ, my favorite memory as a bilingual teacher.

Bilingual education for me has been a validation of my language, culture and identity that I did not receive as a child of public education. I grew up in a time when English was the sole focus of language acquisition. For my students, our school system’s Vietnamese dual-language program opens the door of access for their present and future. Most of the students have been with the program since kindergarten; those now in high school have reached notable achievements that are recognized at the state level and can be put on résumés for work or higher education. A more personal triumph for me is seeing how dual-language education affects students’ present lives. The most impactful memory I carry is the deep gratitude a grandmother once shared at an end-of-year celebration. She thanked me for giving her 7-year-old grandson the ability to communicate with her. It was, she said, the first time that she was able to get to know her grandson.

Tu Dinh is a language learning specialist at the district office of Highline Public Schools in Washington state. He spent five years at White Center Heights Elementary School as the first-grade Vietnamese dual-language teacher and two years as a Vietnamese instructional coach and dual-language facilitator.

Les programmes d’immersion linguistique enseignent bien plus qu’une autre langue

Language immersion programs teach much more than another language.

During my senior year at Spelman College, I applied to become a Peace Corps volunteer. Soon after graduation, I boarded a plane with 35 others for training in Senegal. Most of us only spoke English and had not previously traveled outside the United States. Our training focused on intercultural education, adjusting to different living conditions — and intensive language immersion.

After six weeks, I began my assignment as a high school English teacher in a village in Guinea. Although Guineans speak many languages, French is the national language. My French had to be strong enough to work and survive — sink or swim.

Over my two years in Guinea, I swam and survived. I learned that the ability to communicate in French and other languages enabled me to make genuine connections with my students, colleagues and neighbors. I witnessed my students’ English acquisition make a similar impact. I became a firm believer in the importance of language immersion as a way to better understand others.

After a decade-long career in international development and education policy, I began working for the Elsie Whitlow Stokes Community Freedom Public Charter School, a 25-year-old language immersion elementary school in Washington (which was founded by my mother and named after my grandmother). It was the first charter school in D.C. to offer Spanish and French immersion. This year I celebrate 20 years of working at the school and 10 years as the head of school. I have seen hundreds of children enter prekindergarten and graduate from the fifth grade with the ability to speak, learn, read, write and communicate in two or more languages.

Pre-pandemic, as a culminating event for their language immersion studies, our graduating students would travel to Panama or Martinique for a week-long international study tour. During their travels, not only would they explore a new country and connect with local students, they also participated in radio interviews in French and presidential palace tours in Spanish. The experience of traveling abroad and communicating in French or Spanish has changed the trajectory of many students’ lives. This school year, we look forward to completing our first international study tour since the pandemic.

Erika Bryant is executive director of the Elsie Whitlow Stokes Community Freedom Public Charter School.

Apoyemos a todos los niños multilingües a mantener su lengua materna

Let’s support all multilingual children in keeping their home language.

My family immigrated to California from Mexico in 1992 when I was 3 years old. My parents immediately enrolled me in Head Start, where I was lucky to have access to bilingual education, which supported and used my home language (Spanish) to help me develop proficiency and literacy in English. I was enrolled in bilingual classes until second grade, and I credit this experience as the reason I am bilingual and biliterate today. My mom still likes to talk about how I read 500 books in kindergarten in both languages. Bilingual education was crucial to my development and enabled me to communicate with and stay connected to my family both in Mexico and California. In 1998, California eliminated bilingual education, which means that — until 2016 when it was reinstated — generations after me were denied the opportunity to maintain their home language.

Leslie Villegas is a senior policy analyst at New America, where she focuses on improving equity for English learners in pre-K-to-12 education.

Nuwôpanâmun

We are wampanoag.

In our community, the bilingual education that our Weetumuw School students receive is meaningful on a much larger scale. Wôpanâak, the language spoken by the Indigenous people of eastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island, was a sleeping language for generations, and it is only in the past couple of decades that it has begun to come back to us.

Weetumuw is an independent school founded in 2016 that serves roughly 25 students in Mashpee, Mass. Today, with dedication from teachers, students and their families, as well as linguists who contribute to the school’s language content, we are able to see Wôpanâak reemerge as a language of children. And it is children who give life to the language. It is Wampanoag children who will allow Wôpanâak to thrive as they learn and grow.

With their language learning comes cultural understanding, and with both of these things providing a firm foundation from a young age, we are creating a generation of Wampanoag children who have a steadfast and invaluable sense of pride in their identity.

Nitana Hicks Greendeer is a citizen of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe. She is the head of the Weetumuw School as well as the mother of five current and former Weetumuw students.

El renacimiento también existe en español

The renaissance exists in spanish too.

My mom grew up in Mexico, my dad in the United States, and this meant I had access to both English and Spanish from childhood. My formal study of Spanish didn’t start until high school, when I learned for the first time to read and write in Spanish and acquired the vocabulary to better get to know some of my family. While I knew I loved Shakespeare early in life, I had no exposure to the Renaissance writers I teach today until I learned about them in college: Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, Miguel de Cervantes, Lope de Vega, María de Zayas. Teaching and learning Spanish connects me to the rich cultural and political histories of Spanish in the United States, Latin America and Spain, past and present. The most gratifying part of my job is affirming the home languages of my students and advocating for early access to multilingualism and language learning. This means teaching my undergraduates about the value of their language stories, and partnering with local K-12 schools to recognize these biliteracies and strengthen second-language learning for all students.

Margaret Boyle is director of Latin American, Caribbean and Latinx studies and associate professor of Romance Languages and Literatures at Bowdoin College. She directs the Multilingual Mainers program for early elementary students and educators.

三者三様-日本語を学ぶ意義とは ～ 公立学校の三人の日本語教師が語る

One school system. three teachers. many reasons to study japanese..

Bilingual education is my passion and life work. In my school’s Japanese immersion program, 90 percent of students’ first language is English, which means they experience what it feels like to be a language minority at a young age. Through struggles and frustration in communicating in another language, they develop empathy for speakers of languages other than English, greater resiliency and a growth mindset. They are supportive of each other and also understanding when I stumble with English. Bilingual education fosters sensitivity to other people’s needs along with language proficiency and cultural competency, and I believe it has a significant impact on creating a caring society.

Noriko Otsuka is a Japanese immersion teacher at Fox Mill Elementary School in Fairfax County, Va.

I began taking Japanese in middle school. Learning the language required me to see beyond the Japanese pop culture I was familiar with and provided opportunities to meet new people and hear new perspectives. I decided that one of the most valuable skills we can learn is how to communicate with more people through languages. Now, as a teacher, I get to see my students learn to appreciate differences and similarities between cultures, and to reserve judgment about practices different from their own. Language learning has expanded my world, and the reason I teach is to pass that opportunity on to my students.

Cynthia Rinehart is a Japanese immersion teacher at Great Falls Elementary School in Fairfax County, Va.

My journey to becoming bilingual started with my daily English lessons in kindergarten in Japan. My father taught Chinese at Japanese colleges, and many international students and professors visited us at our home — giving me the opportunity to try my English. I was timid at first, but the excitement I felt when they understood me is still a precious memory. Learning English taught me important life skills. Communicating in another language is difficult. It requires patience, perseverance and creativity. If one way to express yourself is not effective enough, then you have to try again. As a Japanese immersion teacher, I wish my students a rewarding journey as they become lifelong language learners.

Lili Kennington is a Japanese immersion teacher at Great Falls Elementary School in Fairfax County, Va.

Language policy and political issues in education

Teresa L. McCarty and Stephen May (eds). Language Policy and Political Issues in Education. Springer International Publishing, Cham, 2017, 3rd edition, 563 pp. Encyclopedia of Language and Education series. ISBN 978-3-319-02343-4 (hbk), ISBN 978-3-319-02344-1 (eBook)

• Book Review
• Published: 05 February 2020
• Volume 66 , pages 415–418, ( 2020 )

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• Birgit Brock-Utne 1  

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In the context of sociolinguistics, the term superdiversity refers to some current levels of population diversity that are significantly higher than before. It denotes increased diversity not only between immigrant and ethnic minority groups, but also within them. It has also been called the "diversification of diversity".

Makalela, L. (2018). Community elders’ narrative accounts of ubuntu translanguaging: Learning and teaching in African education. International Review of Education 64 (6), 823–843.

Haugen, E. (1959). Planning for a standard language in modern Norway. Anthropological Linguistics, I (3), 8–21.

The Constitution of India currently recognises 22 official regional languages.

Nehru, J. (1968). Future of English in India.(speech delivered on 22 July 1963 at the Central Institute of English, Hyderabad). In J. Nehru, Selected speeches , vol. 5: 1963–1964 (pp. 32–39). New Delhi: Publications Division Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Government of India.

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Brock-Utne, B. Language policy and political issues in education. Int Rev Educ 66 , 415–418 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11159-020-09823-4

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