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No More Na Na Nana Na

Prepare to be surprised, shocked, and possibly even angered by what you didn’t know about songwriting. Your all-time favorite songs could very well be the unfortunate examples of all that is banal, baseless and badly written in the last 100-plus years in terms of lyrical content. Why? Because a fellow named Michael Koppy has taken upon himself to call popular songs to the carpet, and he’s of no mind to mince words on the subject. In his book, Words and Music Into the Future: A Songwriting Treatise and Manifesto, he builds a strong case, and the revolutionary thinking throughout ultimately makes a lot of sense.

The book is no small accomplishment. Indeed, it’s a conversational, occasionally even laugh-out-loud funny tour-de-force of steadfast passion for all that constitutes proper English, good writing, and worthwhile creative expression. What cannot be excused by Koppy is poor craftsmanship, inarticulate phrasing, slapdash word choice or inchoate composition—which we’re all expected to applaud simply because it’s got a nice melody, ‘seems to say something’, or comes from an industrially canonized pop star. He pays no obeisance to famous artists or well-known songs just because they may be popular. Bob Dylan won a Nobel Prize for literature, but if the Nobel folks ever get hold of Koppy’s book, they may reflect a while and ask for the award back.

Deftly exampled with numerous popular songs of the recent past, Koppy sets to work educating the reader on what does, and what doesn’t, meet the mark. He’s a champion of intelligent writers and intelligent listeners. And faced with what we’re regularly presented in popular songs, he asserts, “We deserve better!”

Take Don McLean’s “American Pie”, for example, which Koppy eviscerates with the efficiency of a skilled surgeon:

Bye, bye, Miss American Pie.           
Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry.
Them good ole boys were drinking whiskey and rye,
Singin’ this’ll be the day that I die;
This’ll be the day that I die.

First to get a thumbs down from Koppy is the dry levee conundrum—as a levee isn’t a body of water at all, merely a bulwark of earth, and only perhaps wet if someone drops a soda on it. He goes on, “And rye? Rye is a kind of whiskey—so ‘drinking whiskey and rye’ is roughly equivalent to ‘eating eggs and egg yolks’ or ‘watching television and a television show;’ a stumbling redundancy.”

There are more, many more, examples that challenge the reader into thinking, “Why haven’t I really questioned this (or that) song I’ve allowed into my life all these years?” In some cases, like “I am the Walrus” by John Lennon, the songwriter admits the words were picked out of a hat for the express purpose of being confusing and nonsensical, for clueless music critics to decipher and even fawn over in dumb admiration. Yet we’ve all accepted them—been conditioned to accept them—as Great Art. What gives? “Stairway to Heaven” by Led Zeppelin? Even the writers knew not what the song was supposedly ‘saying’. To many of us, it might not make a difference, but to Koppy, such lack of rigor is emblematic of the growing celebration of ignorance we see throughout popular culture. The writers may not have known what the May Queen was spring cleaning in “Stairway”, but the fact we never question it is a telling example of our mindless consumption of media.

Koppy also eschews word slinging for the sake of presumed poeticism. Under Koppy’s demanding microscope, songs like Dylan’s “A Hard Rain’s Gonna Fall” become an embarrassing testament to the pretensions we indulgently, often even eagerly, gobble up en masse.

The book is disciplined criticism with a sharp wit and a wealth of citations and informative footnotes, displaying an impressive erudition—all aimed at that most ubiquitously available of artforms, popular song. Koppy’s own command of English and use of vocabulary cements the claims he makes regarding the subject. Could this book be recommended collegiate reading? Most assuredly. And despite the solid intellectual foundations, the easy-going presentation makes for an accessible, entertaining read.

What makes a good song? It involves honing the language to the point where there are no better alternatives to detailing the subject or describing the story. “A writer’s job is to communicate,” Koppy declares, “and to do so lucidly and productively. A song requiring operatically pretzeled, wishful thinking ‘interpretation’ to reach some subjectively pre-imagined semblance of ostensible coherence is not an example of good songwriting, or of good writing. Words do have meanings, sentences do provide consistent direction, and a serious song does have a substantive purpose.”

According to Koppy, a proper song becomes noteworthy by virtue of the artful use of imagery and the seasoned practice of phrasing—turning words strung together into poems we can sing. (Read: it takes work.) Koppy takes time to underscore what he believes is one of the keys to understanding what makes a good song: “Music is the most powerful part of a song. But lyrics are the most important part of a song. We enjoy the tune and the performance, but we seek confirmation of what we expect or hope it’s all about in the lyrics, in the language.”

Take for example this stanza from “The Gambler” by Don Schlitz made famous by the late Kenny Rogers, a song Koppy points to as an example of rare excellence:

            He said, “Son, I’ve made a life
            Out of readin’ people’s faces;
            And knowin’ what the cards were
            By the way they held their eyes.
            So if you don’t mind me sayin’,
            I can see you’re out of aces.
            For a taste of your whiskey
            I’ll give you some advice.”

Like the protagonist in Schlitz’s song, we can all use a wise traveler to direct us to a possibly better understanding of the world. For those who seek better skills in the craft of songwriting—or writing generally, for that matter—Koppy may be that sage you’ve been looking for. And for those of us who simply appreciate good writing in a song, he’s on the right side, fighting the good fight.

Words and Music Into the Future;
A Songwriting Treatise and Manifesto

Michael Koppy

342 pgs

ISBN 978-0-9966400-2-2

Published by Good Track Records
West Hollywood, CA

Gregory Van Zuyen is a former creative director for Language Magazine and graphic arts and 3D printing instructor at Santa Monica College.

Benefits of Routine on Virtual Teaching

With only a month of virtual teaching under my belt, this year is already the wildest year I’ve ever taught. This isn’t the first time I’ve had to overcome challenges at the beginning of a school year, but it is the first time I’ve burned the candle at both ends without even a solid grip on the candle. Like so many others, I’ve worked 10-hour days that have left me falling asleep on the couch at 7 p.m., yet I feel like I barely know what I’m doing. I hope I’ll eventually figure out how to teach in this new way while still giving my students the same level of care, but I know I can’t unless I figure out how to keep my own mind right.

In that vein, I’ve changed my mindset from defense to offense by starting every day from a position of strength and focus. I used to wake up with just enough time to shower, get dressed, and toss back a cup of coffee, but now I’ve realized that when I don’t start the morning on the right foot, it’s nearly impossible to walk through the rest of the day without missteps.

My first decision was simply to get up earlier and go through the exact same series of events every day. Keeping my morning consistent means I don’t have to think about anything; instead, it becomes second nature. My second decision was to fill this extra time with activities that energize me. Here are a few practices that get me ready and roaring in the morning:

  1. I NEVER check my phone or computer first thing. The notifications and emails will still be there an hour later, when my mind and soul are more prepared to deal with them.
  2. If I let my brain wander when I wake up, my first thoughts are inevitably about exhausting or discouraging things. Instead, while I prepare for my day I consume books, music, and podcasts that lift me up.
  3. My favorite part of every morning is talking with my wife over coffee – our “morning meeting” – when we talk about our dreams and paths that will carry us ever closer to achieving them. It inspires me and reminds me of the real reasons I do all the things I do.

Look, I’m no professional at this stuff. I just know that this routine makes me feel great, and when I feel great I’m better equipped to focus on being the best teacher I can be. It helps me use the small chunks of time I get here and there to hone my skills with the help of great tools like HMH’s Teacher’s Corner. The online space offers a variety of bite-sized content that fits into my jam-packed schedule from short podcasts, to a virtual breakroom with other teachers, to quick tips on teaching to remote learners. Tools like Teacher’s Corner (and even my foolproof morning routine!) reinforce the idea that we don’t have to be superheroes, but that we can work with the circumstances we’ve got to overcome difficult times.

State Dept Promotes Critical Language Learning

Female translator with headphones using professional literature

The U.S. Department of State has launched a new website, Languages.State.Gov with the intention of developing a “new generation of critical language speakers.”  The website aims to be a one-stop platform for U.S. government language programs resource where Americans can take a quiz to identify language programs that fit their goals and explore U.S. government scholarships and other resources.  The website will categorize the language programs offered by the U.S. government by several criteria, including course length, location, and audience.

The focus is on enhancing the ability of Americans to study critical languages which in turn will help the U.S. meet national security goals. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accompanied the launch with an opinion article in Newsweek (10/15/20), where he argued “…we should follow the example set by our farsighted predecessors. That’s why I’ve directed the State Department to ramp up critical-language study, beginning with Mandarin but also encompassing other critical languages such as Russian, Hindi, Arabic, and Farsi.”

Pompeo continued, “Deeper knowledge of languages—and of the peoples and nations who speak them that such knowledge brings—can illuminate otherwise unseen threats and lower the likelihood of open conflict. It can bring into focus hidden opportunities for cooperation and enhance appreciation of a nation’s internal politics. Additionally, among friends, it can expand the trust and broaden the sympathies that already exist, which are crucial to an effective partnership.”

According to Pompeo, his department is expanding programs in advanced Mandarin and increasing the incentives for diplomats to pursue extra years of study, including increasing the number of Americans studying Chinese outside of China once travel restrictions are lifted.

The Secretary also called on Congress to pass legislation that would create ROTC-style, college-tuition vouchers for critical-language study, which he described as a “national imperative.”

The article concluded with a call to action, “One often-overlooked form of influence is the vigor and finesse in foreign affairs that comes from understanding our strategic competitors, as well as friends and partners, in the languages that formed their opinions, outlooks, and plans. There’s no time to waste.”

Why We Need to Support Teachers Now

1. When researching Whole (Whole: What Teachers Need to Help Students Thrive [Miller et al., 2020]), what surprised you about your findings?
We were looking for examples of schools “outperforming their zip code”—places where the community was viewed by outsiders as rife with poverty, violence, or other societal challenges and yet the schools were thriving. We were aware of research on stress and well-being from the last MindShift book, The Healthy Workplace Nudge (O’Neill, Williams, and Miller, 2018).

The findings, once we stepped back to make sense of them, were stark. Schools which first addressed the social and emotional needs of teachers enabled more effective student intervention. Also, prioritizing student emotional well-being first resulted in ongoing acceleration of learning. End of story.

2. How do the findings help us understand the impact of the current situation, with remote and hybrid learning?
We have known for years that “self-efficacy”—teacher self-confidence and student self-confidence—are two of the most important elements for teaching and learning. COVID has injected a mixture of chaos, fear, anxiety, and for many a significant level of trauma. Equity begins with social-emotional stability.

Students who have a self-confident, socially and emotionally well teacher will have better outcomes. Students who experience learning that supports their social and emotional well-being, which supports their feelings of confidence and self-efficacy, will have better outcomes.

For obvious reasons, many educators have been focused on “how do I learn new tools like Zoom or Google Classroom?” Many districts have been focused on feeding students, distributing laptops, and working to close the online connectivity gap. The next step is not delivering content. The next step is attending to the social and emotional well-being of our teachers and our students. “Do teachers and students feel successful? Are they set up for success?” These should be our next urgent set of questions.

3. What did you discover about how teachers’ overall well-being impacts student learning?
Teachers are the fourth most stressed occupation in the U.S. That is a fact. A well-known and documented statistic. Teacher stress is rising. That is also a fact. It is a well-known and documented statistic.

I wish our discovery was revolutionary, but honestly—when you step back from the problem and observe it from a distance—the findings are common sense.

Students have to be emotionally ready to learn. The primitive part of the brain—the amygdala, which regulates “fight or flight”—hijacks our ability to think deeply and critically and to concentrate. The person who most impacts student readiness to learn—who calms them, supports them, focuses them, attends to their immediate emotional needs—is their teacher.

No human—teacher or otherwise—has unlimited emotional resources to do that work. It’s like lifting weights at the gym. Eventually the muscles get tired. If I walk into my workout having lifted weights for eight hours already, I won’t have any strength left. If a teacher walks into the classroom concerned about how to pay their own bills, concerned about their administrator harshly evaluating them, concerned about anger from parents, or violence from students, or how to use new technology that was just dropped into their lap, etc., the teacher’s self-confidence and emotional reserves are already used up.

4. How can schools and districts do a better job of supporting teachers to promote the best outcomes for students?
Commit to teacher and student success by enabling it instead of demanding it—because the reality is you cannot adopt, mandate, legislate, evaluate, or assess into existence effective teaching and learning.

We have to understand that teaching and learning is a team effort between teacher and student, and we need our team members to take the field in the best shape possible. An interesting by-product of focusing on teams that support each other is the integration of skills that are critical in today’s economy. Win–win.

A few pearls of wisdom:
1. Stop forcing students to “sit in front of” content that is beyond their zone of proximal development. Adopt a competency-based model that allows students to engage with content at a level of difficulty within their success zone and allow them to master each level before moving on. The research behind competency-based approaches to learning is vast and definitive. Students build self-agency and self-confidence and accelerate their own learning capabilities. When teachers increase self-confidence and self-efficacy, they improve the effectiveness of their practice.

This is the primary design principle behind precision differentiation experiences like Achieve3000 Literacy—guaranteed student skill acquisition, success, and self-confidence. By helping teachers know each of their students’ individual reading levels and automatically assigning the just-right content at the just-right time, the platform supports the instructional needs of both teachers and students. In addition, because the platform uses the Lexile® reading measure to track student growth, everyone can celebrate students’ success.

2. Prioritize culture of learning over curriculum content. Look at every high-performing school—the small schools, the private schools, the schools like those we found in Whole and highlighted in our prior book Humanizing the Education Machine. The culture of the school, which begins with the culture of the classroom, is one that prioritizes how every student feels and how every teacher feels. Evaluate programs through a lens of caring and confidence building, not scope and standards.

3. If you measure something, measure social-emotional well-being—multiple times a day—for teachers and students. This is not difficult; there are inexpensive tools that can be used to do it. I personally like Rhithm (https://rhithm.app). Constantly and continuously check in on the health of the teacher and student team.

Reframe the conversation from “us vs. them” to “one boat, one team.” This begins with the boat. Standardize tools that are broad, flexible, and allow teachers and students to have a wide variety of experiences. I like Achieve3000’s Actively Learn (www.activelylearn.com) as a broad digital learning environment. Once you decide on the boat, enable the classrooms to focus on what is important for teaching and learning—the student/teacher teams.

5. Your co-author, Rex Miller, is a futurist, and the MindShift Collaborative is about solving “audacious problems.” What can schools become in the future?
I have a new favorite phrase: “COVID chrysalis.” The events of 2019 and 2020 will no doubt change us. The question is—what do we want to become?

We are at the beginning of the fourth industrial revolution. Schools are just now starting to look up and realize that the horizon has changed. “College and career readiness” has shifted dramatically. The SAT and ACT are declining; more students are opting in to new postsecondary learning and training experiences. The workplace is changing at a pace we can barely comprehend. From remote work to the gig economy, the impact of automation and AI—the world we are teaching our students to succeed within after high school is shifting more rapidly than ever. Schools can catch up—but it means aligning to the future of work, not the standards and practices of the past.

The surprising news—what we found in Whole: What Teachers Need to Help Students Thrive—is that the alignments and priorities required for effective teaching and learning are the same as those needed for success in the modern and emerging workplace. Humanizing our approach in schools is the key. By putting teacher and student well-being in the center of the circle and surrounding them with a focus on opportunities for success, creativity, individual exploration, and self-discovery, we lift up all boats. We ensure “no child is left behind” and “every student succeeds” by starting with the teacher. Every teacher is a well person, a cared-for team member, and a confident adult excited to meet the emotional needs of students so they are ready to learn. Then we let these incredibly committed, talented, caring professionals do their thing—wrapping each student in experiences where they succeed, where they find confidence, and where they unlock their passion and purpose.

The learning will come. Young people are eager to grow, to experience new things, to explore. Give them tools to do that safely and successfully, and watch them thrive.

Kevin E. Baird ([email protected]; @KevinEBaird) serves as chair at the nonprofit Center for College & Career Readiness and is a Wingspread Scholar, a Beinecke National Scholar, and a past member of the Secretary’s Circle of Phi Beta Kappa. Kevin is also a member of the Achieve3000 (www.achieve3000.com) academic cabinet as chief academic officer. He is a noted leader in accelerated human development and one of the world’s first researchers to use neuroscience technology to measure learner engagement. He holds patents focused on applied predictive analytics and is co-author of Whole: What Teachers Need to Help Students Thrive (2020); see www.habitat4heroes.org.

Sociocultural Competence in Action

Dual-language bilingual education (DLBE) programs, at the core, are about serving students who have been linguistically and culturally marginalized in U.S. schools (Izquierdo and Medina, in press). However, it is also important to understand that as DLBE has increased in popularity, the ideas of equity and social justice as focal points have been lost in translation for some who are guiding program implementation.

In our quest to ensure that students work toward bilingualism and biliteracy, some of us may have forgotten why we became DLBE program advocates in the first place. Ultimately, what good is it if our students are able to mobilize content understanding in two program languages if they are not ready to be critically self-reflective and engage in anti-bias and anti-racist (ABAR) work? Moreover, what does this say about us as facilitators of instruction if we are not lesson planning with this perspective in mind?

Being a dual-language educator and advocate is tough. We are working as part of a U.S. schooling system that has cradled English and protected its privilege as a way to view multilingualism and multiliteracy with disdain (Medina, 2020). Guiding Principles for Dual Language Education, third edition (GP3), as a resource for all practitioners, gives us a common framework that can guide our DLBE work. The three goals of DLBE are equally important: grade-level academic achievement, bilingualism and biliteracy, and sociocultural competence. GP3 delves deeper than previous editions into the components of cultural competence because the Center for Applied Linguistics (CAL) affirms that developing cultural competence is integral to language learning. In fact, language proficiency is enhanced when the culture it reflects is embedded in learning another language. A key factor is for students to appreciate the cultural context of language, the varieties of speech communities, and the diversity of speakers. For language teachers, this means situating language teaching within the culture of the speakers and providing students with examples of relevant cultural variation.

With the recent civil unrest resulting from the murder of George Floyd, the continued oppression of Black and/or Indigenous people of color (BIPOC), the ongoing marginalization of specific student and family communities, and the needed decolonization of our curriculum, resources, and instructional practices, sociocultural competence must be fully leveraged as a way to ensure that our emergent bilingual students engage in ABAR and critical consciousness work.

Sociocultural competence, as a programmatic goal, is grounded in the idea that our emergent bilingual students will be willing and able to embrace ongoing and unending critical self-reflection. That is, they will be able to see the similarities and differences in each other but will embrace the differences as opportunities to connect rather than obstacles to overcome (Medina, 2018). Moreover, through the lessons we plan around sociocultural competence, pre-K–12 students will come to understand that participation in DLBE involves using whatever privilege we have access to as a means to create access to that privilege for others (Izquierdo and Medina, in press).

We must be transparent and acknowledge that this is not the reality in many DLBE programs. For many, sociocultural competence has become a performative part of dual language. Having a multicultural night once a year after state assessments, having students read an article about African American excellence during Black History Month, or dressing up for Cinco de Mayo are entry points into this important work, albeit superficial ones.

Please understand that for some DLBE schools and educators, critical consciousness and ABAR work are the foundation and the direct access to the three goals of dual language each and every day.

Through dual language, students, teachers, and administrators are doing the hard work of chipping away at systems of oppression. The following are just a handful of examples of this important sociocultural competence work in action:

  • Kerri Valencia facilitates biliteracy lessons focused on racism with her kindergarten students at Brown Station Elementary School in Maryland. When a student in Ms. Valencia’s classroom made a derogatory remark about Black people, the class unpacked the comment via the sociocultural competence goal and co-created a color-coded anchor chart about inclusion. This is just one example of how the ABAR work is embedded in all that happens in the classroom.
  • Mayra Cruz is principal at Oyster-Adams Bilingual School in Washington, DC. The school’s ABAR work is palpable as they utilize the sociocultural competence goal to dismantle systems of oppression in varied ways, including the use of culture learning targets as a means to amplify the voices of marginalized communities, as part of the lesson-planning process.
  • Jerusha Hunt is a teacher at Wiggs Middle School in Texas. The adolescent emergent-bilingual students she serves engage in testimonio work as part of the sociocultural competence goal of DLBE. They identify those things that make them unique and special as a way to learn about how best to serve others.

As we return to school in the midst of a global pandemic, we must continue to shout from the rooftops that DLBE, first and foremost, is about creating educational access for students who have been marginalized in U.S. schools. The biliteracy instruction we facilitate must overtly be defiant of maintaining systems that oppress certain communities. Finally, we must understand that the GP3, as a resource, is a living and breathing tool that continues to evolve as research and biliteracy instructional practices do the same. Should we modify the goals of DLBE to include ABAR and critical consciousness? Sure. But, in the interim, how are we using sociocultural competence to engage our students and ourselves in that important work?

Reference

Howard, E. R., Lindholm-Leary, K. J., Rogers, D., Olague, N., Medina, J., Kennedy, B., Sugarman, J., & Christian, D. (2018). Guiding Principles for Dual Language Education (3rd ed.). Washington, DC: Center for Applied Linguistics.

M. Beatriz Arias, PhD, is a senior research scientist with the Center for Applied Linguistics (www.cal.org), where she focuses on language policy. Her recent book, Perspectives in Dual Language for the 21st Century, provides case studies of dual-language programs in grades K–12.

Dr. José L. Medina is the founder and chief educational advocate at Dr. José Medina: Educational Solutions. José provides dual-language technical assistance, professional development, and job-embedded support to dual-language programs across the U.S. and globally. He is a former dual-language school principal and has served as an administrator and educator at the elementary, middle, and high school levels. Dr. Medina co-authored the third edition of the widely used Guiding Principles for Dual Language Education (www.cal.org/resource-center/publications-products/guiding-principles-3).

Can I Speak about my Culture?

As Raul Herrera, says, “I’m finally learning to speak Spanish just for this…”


And Justice for ELs

A Leader’s Guide to Creating and Sustaining Equitable Schools by Ayanna Cooper

September 2020 | 152 pages | Corwin

And Justice for ELs is a resource every school leader must read right away—for that matter, keep within arm’s reach because you’re certain to refer to it constantly. Ayanna Cooper, editor of Language Magazine’s Pass the Mic series and a former U.S. Department of State English Language Specialist, has “been there, done that” and is now prepared to share with you how best to translate today’s federal mandates into actionable steps for ensuring the civil rights of our nation’s multilingual learners.

Because it is impossible to provide specific advice or guidance for every possible situation, Ayanna focuses on the “need-to knows” for making informed decisions within your own building:

  • Eight questions you must ask—and how to obtain answers—before planning English language development services
  • The most common EL program models, with special emphasis on scheduling, along with specific challenges and appropriate staffing
  • The why and how of evaluating English language education, regardless of the evaluation tool, and ways to facilitate conversations with teachers before and after observation
  • How to determine the type of professional learning that will have the greatest impact in your unique context
  • Recommendations for establishing productive relationships with linguistically diverse families and communities
  • Just about every tool you could possibly need, including a glossary of acronyms, useful advocacy organizations, and templates for supporting professional learning

But what you’ll love most is the way Ayanna “keeps it real.” Every chapter is framed around a “What Would You Do?” scenario, for which she ultimately provides an answer(s) as well as guiding questions to help you think through the issues. Take a look for yourself. We know you’ll agree that And Justice for ELs is without question a one-of-a-kind resource.

“And Justice for ELs is an excellent guide for practitioners who seek to provide their English learners with high-quality instruction in all subject areas. Too often such students are relegated an education that marginalizes them academically and fails to develop their native language skills. We can and must do a better job for these students, and in this book Ayanna Cooper shows us how.”

~Pedro A. Noguera

https://us.corwin.com/en-us/nam/and-justice-for-els/book270498#reviews

Education Begins with Language

At the Council of Europe’s initiative, the European Day of Languages has been celebrated every year since 2001 on September 26 with the European Commission.

This year, many of the celebrations moved online, including an online conference streamed live in English and interpreted into French, German, and Italian.

A new European Commission report, Education Begins with Language, was also officially launched, which seeks to support the implementation of the recommendation of the Council of the European Union (EU) on a comprehensive approach to the teaching and learning of languages. The report is based on research and a series of seminars produced by the commission.

According to the report, “Mastering multiple languages is key to enhancing the life and work of all individuals. In addition to promoting mobility, lifelong and innovative learning, and removing barriers to social inclusion, improving language learning was identified by the EU as a key enabler to achieving the EU’s vision for a European Education Area by 2025 in which ‘learning, studying, and doing research would not be hampered by borders.’

“The Council’s 2019 ‘Recommendation on a Comprehensive Approach to the Teaching and Learning of Languages’ supports this vision and sets the ambitious goal of ensuring that, by the time young people leave upper secondary education, they can speak at least three languages. In addition to this, by introducing the concepts of ‘literacy’ and ‘language awareness,’ the recommendation aims to change the mindset of policymakers and teachers, inspiring them to adopt comprehensive language education policies, as well as innovative and inclusive language teaching methods.”

The key recommendations of the report are:
• Expose children as early as possible to multiple foreign languages and promote mobility. Becoming proficient at speaking multiple languages is most effective when learning starts at a young age and studying two foreign languages is made compulsory at school. Immersion through mobility, both actual and virtual, is also one of the most effective ways to become fully fluent in a foreign language.

• Discard monolingual policies in favor of multilingual school policies, which support the development of the language of schooling, foreign languages, and home languages. Functional literacy transcends linguistic boundaries and is a basic foundational skill for learning. This is why literacy policies should target all pupils, not only pupils with a migrant background, as the cognitive and psycho-social benefits of language learning extend to all learners.

• Promote the adoption of whole-school approaches for language learning. Every teacher has a role to play in developing their pupils’ literacy in the language of schooling, foreign languages, and home languages. Parents and the wider community also play a key role in this.

• Promote specific language policies for vocational education and training (VET) and long-term VET mobility. Language capability is often neglected in the context of VET. However, VET students can and should learn multiple languages. This not only gives them important additional employability skills, but it is also a prerequisite for long-term VET mobility. Develop teacher education, mobility, and collaborative teaching. Language and subject teachers need training on how to adopt inclusive and linguistically sensitive pedagogies and to manage diversity in the classroom. Strengthened opportunities for mobility in initial teacher education and for in-service teachers as well as collaborative teaching are effective ways to help teachers to upskill and become more language aware.

• Support international school partnerships. Strong school partnerships are key to continuously developing and innovating teacher education, as they provide a basis for the exchange of good practices and the development of mobility programs. Teacher buy-in to the concept of language awareness is important and could be enhanced through exchange of practice with schools in different countries.

To download the complete report, visit https://ec.europa.eu/education/events/european-day-of-languages-2020_en.

Russia Criticizes Uzbek Language Policy

The Russian Foreign Ministry said this month that supporters of the Uzbekistan government’s plan to enforce the use of Uzbek in the civil service were “obviously in the minority.”

Moscow also urged that the former Soviet republic retain Russian as an official language in order to “keep in line with the spirit of history, time, and the quality of bilateral relations.”

However, the Uzbek Foreign Ministry further said in a statement that the as-yet-unsigned regulations were merely an enforcement of longstanding rules, and that such decisions were “domestic policy at the prerogative of the state, so outside interference is unacceptable.”

Russia was not singled out in the statement, but it did mention comments by “foreign officials.” Russian is widely used in the country, and millions of Uzbek laborers work in Russia. Current president Shavkat Mirziyoyev has moved the country back closer to Russia by making Uzbekistan an observer in the Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and signing a contract with Rosatom to build a nuclear power plant last year. Former president Islam Karimov had tried to distance the country from Russia.

A recent poll in Ukraine found that the majority (69%) of Ukrainians believe Ukrainian must remain the country’s only official language. Just 15% of respondents support Russian being an official language in some regions of Ukraine, and 12% say Russian should be the second official language, according to the nationwide survey conducted by the Ilko Kucheriv Democratic Initiatives Foundation and the Ukrainian Centre for Economic and Political Studies named after Oleksandr Razumkov.

Botswana to Introduce Swahili Language in Local Schools

Botswana plans to introduce Swahili language in the southern African country’s local schools, according to Fidelis Molao, the country’s minister of basic education. Speaking at a language-teaching workshop in Francistown, Botswana’s sec­ond-largest city, Molao said that the Swahili language would be an important asset for students in the country, where English is the official language.

Setswana, a Bantu language in which noun classes are denoted by prefixes, is widely spoken across the country. Other languages include Kalanga, Sarwa, Ndebele, Kgalagadi, Tswapong, !Xóõ, and Yeyi.

Swahili, also a Bantu language, is widely spoken in eastern and southeastern Africa including in Kenya, Tanzania, Burundi, Rwan­da, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and parts of Malawi.

Formerly one of the world’s poorest countries, Botswana has become an African success story with one of the world’s fast­est-growing economies and is now the conti­nent’s oldest continuous democracy. Swahili will be the first African language to be taught as a foreign language in the country, which relies heavily on mining and tourism.

Trade within the Southern African Development Community (SADC), which is headquartered in Botswana and has several Swahili-speaking countries as members, is seen as key to Botswana’s continued growth, Molao said. English, French, Portuguese, and Swahili are the working languages of the SADC.

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