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Box Tops for Education now offering an app

Box Tops for Education is now offering an app that allows users to scan their store receipts and earn money for local schools. The Box Tops program, which was founded by General Mills in 1996, allows consumers to collect box tops from participating products and send them to their child’s enrolled elementary or middle school. Schools then send the box tops, each worth 10 cents, to General Mills to be redeemed for cash. Since its inception, the Box Tops program has raised upwards of $913 million for more than 70,000 schools across the country. To download the free app and earn money for your child’s school, click here.

Ebola Crisis Sparks Language Research in Democratic Republic of Congo

Humanitarians and health care providers in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are questioning what language to use when communicating with people at risk of Ebola. Two weeks ago, Ebola was declared an international health emergency by the World Health Organization (WHO), and just yesterday, a second person died of Ebola in Goma, DRC. This comes after four cases of Ebola were confirmed in an eastern region of the DRC.

Translators Without Borders, a nonprofit organization set up to provide translation services for humanitarian non-profits. The organization assessed public reception in Goma, DRC in February 2019, to gauge response to French, standard Swahili, and localized (Congolese) Swahili. There findings were:

  • French is the official language of the DRC, and is one of the languages used most frequently used for humanitarian communications.
    • Respondents had difficulty understanding several French terms in a poster about Ebola, including sanglant (“bloody”), sperme (“sperm”) or gencives (“gums”). Comprehension rates of French messages were lower than for messages in Congolese Swahili.
  • Standard Swahili refers to the form of Swahili spoken in Kenya and Tanzania.
    • When the organization tested comprehension of a vaccine consent form, they learned that words such as fomu (“form”) or critical concepts such as ridhaa (“consent”) in standard Swahili caused confusion. One woman said, “Someone needs to change these messages [in the vaccine form] into Swahili so that everyone can understand and not be confused by standard Swahili.”
  • Congolese Swahili refers to the different form of Swahili spoken and taught in schools in DRC.
    • Congolese Swahili was the most widely understood language, and people preferred it at more than twice the rates of other languages. It is the most effective language for communicating with people about Ebola in Goma.

While these findings are relevant to Goma, DRC, Translators Without Borders need to conduct more research to understand what languages should be used in other parts of linguistically-rich DRC. The organization is returning to the DRC in August to research which languages people in other affected areas prefer and understand.

To donate to help fund Translators Without Borders research efforts, click here.

Poll Finds out What Latino Voters Want in Presidential Candidate

UnidosUS, the United State’s largest nonprofit advocacy organization, has recently released its 2020 National Latino Electorate Survey. The Survey was based on a poll conducted by Latino Decisions to measure Latino sentiment toward the parties, and gain insight into what Latinos want to see in a presidential candidate along with what issues Latinos prioritize. The survey measured 1,854 Latino registered voters between June1-13, 2019.

33% of voters said that speaking Spanish was “very important” in a presidential candidate, while a whopping 76% claimed that a candidate that “values diversity and brings people together” was very important.

“Our community’s voters are sending a strong message: candidates matter, positions matter, and meaningful outreach is essential. Latino voters continue to show that they care about substance,” said Clarissa Martínez de Castro, UnidosUS Deputy Vice President for Policy and Advocacy. “Historically, a substantial number of Latino voters have been potential swing voters not bound by party affiliation. But it is also clear that there is a shift away from the GOP, as the Republican party has come to be seen as embracing or leading the charge on anti-immigrant and anti-Latino rhetoric and actions,” she said.

Full results of the poll can be found here: https://www.unidosus.org/issues/voting/articles/2020-national-latino-electorate-survey

The poll coincided with the 2019 annual UnidosUS conference which was from August 3-6 in San Diego, California. During the conference, UnidosUS spoke live with presidential candidates Bernie Sanders, Kamala Harris, Amy Klobuchar, Julián Castro, and Joe Biden on issues facing Latino voters. The presentation was livestreamed in English an Spanish in conjunction with Telemundo. While UnidosUS’s promotional materials omitted advertising , Julián Castro, looking at the comment section of the livestream, Castro seems to have gone over well with at-home viewers, with many comments singing his praises.

500 Million Portuguese Speakers by 2100

According to José Luís Carneiro, Portugal’s secretary of state for Portuguese communities abroad, “By 2060, the Portuguese language is predicted to be spoken by 380 million people, and by the end of the century that number could increase to 500 million Portuguese speakers worldwide.”


Carneiro claimed that “there are very clear indicators related to [Portuguese’s] growth all around the world. As an example, three years ago, there were only three universities in China that taught Portuguese. Now, there are more than 40. In South Africa, demand to learn Portuguese is increasing by about 40%,” cited the official.
The secretary, speaking at a seminar entitled the Return of the Emigrants held in Vimioso, Bragança, in northern Portugal, added that on the west coast of Africa, from Ivory Coast to Namibia, “there is a growing demand for the Portuguese language.” 
In South America, demand is also growing in Spanish-speaking countries, especially Argentina. “The Portuguese language is very relevant for culture, but also for economic opportunity, especially in Latin America and Southern Africa, which is why Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Instituto Camões indicators show increased interest in Portuguese,” said Carneiro.


“It is in Latin America where Portuguese is most widely spoken, but there are predictions that by the end of the century Portuguese will be more widely spoken on the African continent, due to the expected population growth in countries such as Angola and Mozambique,” he added.

Beyoncé in Kiswahili

Beyoncé has released a song featuring lyrics in Kiswahili, one of Africa’s more widely spoken languages.


The song, “Spirit,” is featured on the Lion King album produced by the star, which is the soundtrack to Disney’s new version of the classic movie The Lion King. The song’s intro features words in Kiswahili: “Uishi kwa mda mrefu mfalme,” a voice chants twice at the start of the song. The phrase, translated into English, means “Long live the king.” The album, which was released on July 19, the date of the global release of the film, features the work of several African producers, according to Beyoncé.


‘‘It was important that the music was not only performed by the most interesting and talented artists but also produced by the best African producers. Authenticity and heart were important to me,’‘ Beyoncé said in a statement issued on Tuesday, July 30.
The statement adds that the album is “steeped in African influences from various corners of the continent, with unexpected collaborations, pulsating rhythms, and crisp production that celebrate the African diaspora.


“This love letter to Africa highlights the setting of the film, rooted in African culture and wondrous narratives.”


Last year, South Africa’s Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party leader Julius Malema called for Africans to adopt Kiswahili as a common language. “Maybe not in our generation, but in generations to come, we must develop a common language that can be used throughout the continent, like Swahili, if it can be developed as the language of the continent,” said Malema.

[Image: Photo by Steve Granitz/WireImage]

International Poll Reveals Language Choices

According to recent international research by YouGov, English is accepted as the most important language for children to learn, but Chinese is catching up fast. The YouGov–Cambridge Centre partnered with the Guardian and the Bennett Institute for Public Policy at Cambridge University to produce the YouGov–Cambridge Globalism Project: a new annual study and the largest of its kind on populism and the public state of globalization, including national samples in 23 countries spanning the world. The project has involved collaboration with numerous academics and practitioners to develop an extensive, multidimensional survey that can correlate attitudes and behavior across myriad areas of life: from politics and democracy to food, travel, and technology; from soft power and supra-nationalism to consumer habits and the environment.


YouGov polled more than 25,000 adults across 23 countries on which language was the most important to learn in 2019. Participants were able to select up to four responses. The study showed that English was overwhelmingly seen as the most vital language for children today, with every country polled putting it ahead of Chinese, which came second in every country. On average, 31% of those polled—excluding people in China—believed speaking Chinese was an important asset for today’s children. French and Spanish followed as the next most important languages, with just under a third of respondents in nations excluding France and Spain seeing them as important. In the U.S., 73% of adults believed English was the most important language to know, followed by Spanish. Chinese was named the third most useful language, with 28% of participants saying children should learn it. In Britain, English, Spanish, and Mandarin were listed as the most important.

In China, 84% of respondents ranked English as one of the most important, while 81% cited Chinese. In Europe, English was overwhelmingly seen as the most important language to learn, with 91% of people in Poland ranking it first. Thailand and Australia, after China, were the countries where the largest proportion of respondents felt Chinese was important. French and Spanish followed as the next most important languages. While a simple average puts Spanish and French neck and neck at 31% apiece across the other nations, the French language ranked second to fifth in importance in each other country, while the Spanish range was slightly less positive at second to eighth. The divide seems to be between Europe and the Americas (which tend to see Spanish as more important) and Africa, Asia, and the Middle East (which see French as more important). Perhaps most worryingly for Spanish prospects, the world’s two most populous countries—India and China—are noticeably more likely to see the importance in French than Spanish. The results are available at

https://yougov.co.uk/topics/international/articles-reports/2019/06/25/mandarin-more-important-learn-french-or-spanish.

Understanding Dyslexia and How Alternative Teaching Methods Can Help Breed Success

In some cases, a dyslexia diagnosis may mean that alternative teaching methods might be necessary to help children be successful, for it is through empowerment of bright students with dyslexia that they will ultimately fulfill their potential.

What Is Dyslexia?
Dyslexia is a language-based learning difference. It affects a child’s ability to read and may also interfere with reading comprehension, spelling, writing, math, and judgement. Dyslexia has nothing to do with intelligence or vision. Children with dyslexia have trouble decoding words, matching letters to sounds, recognizing individual sounds in words, and using those skills to read accurately and fluently.

The most common learning issue, dyslexia may affect as many as 17% of the population; most experts agree that the number is at least 5–10%. The wide range is because dyslexia is a catchall term for disorders that affect reading or interpreting words, letters, or symbols, and experts have not reached agreement on precisely what falls in that category.

Daily Functions
Dyslexia affects a number of daily functions. Writing, for example, requires the ability to synthesize or develop a thought, work out how the thought will be written, and perform the physical act of writing. Each of these steps requires a different brain process, and all must work correctly and in sequence to get a cohesive thought onto paper. A child with dyslexia will struggle with one or more of those steps; instead of a structured, well-ordered sentence, words may be jumbled and misspelled.

The automated processes in the brain that humans use every day to complete daily tasks are also affected by dyslexia. A child with dyslexia has poor memory recall and forgets words or concepts quickly. Also, a child with dyslexia may not always hear what others hear. For instance, “Pacific” might become “specific.”

Dealing with Dyslexia
The earlier dyslexia is recognized and diagnosed, the sooner intervention can begin and a child can be helped appropriately. Early signs of dyslexia can appear in preschool; they may look like a child being unable to recognize when two words rhyme or having difficulty learning new words. Older children may have trouble reading, spelling, writing, or comprehending what they read.

Each child with dyslexia has a unique learning profile, and education must involve an individualized, systematic program for the child. For example, phonemic awareness is the ability to break words apart and manipulate sounds; children with dyslexia need extensive repetition and focused instruction in this skill. They may also need to read much more to help the brain learn to interpret patterns and recognize words.

Additionally, children and their families may need extra support and specialized instruction such as through an individualized educational plan (IEP), occupational therapy, or a specialized school with a smaller student-to-teacher ratio and trained teachers experienced in learning differences. Beyond streamlined textbooks and academic instruction, students with dyslexia need interventions to enhance reading practice, develop fluency, support vocabulary development, boost math comprehension, maximize individual and whole-class learning, cultivate keyboard skills and healthy work habits, and monitor progress.

A Silver Lining
While dyslexia can certainly cause difficulties in reading, the inability to rely on memory means children with dyslexia can become very good at solving complex problems. Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, and Einstein were all dyslexic. The condition helped them develop excellent imaginations, which gave them the ability to create inventions, art, and concepts that transformed the world.

Dyslexia can also foster tenacity; a child with dyslexia does have to try harder, but that can be seen as part of the learning process and lead to great success in other areas of his or her life in the long run. If your child has dyslexia or displays characteristics of concern, please seek advice. The earlier the intervention, the better the outcome for the student.

This article originally appeared in Language Magazine in October, 2017. Eric Horowitz joined the Prentice School teaching staff in the fall of 2007. He completed his undergraduate studies both in New York City at Sarah Lawrence College and in London at the London School of Economics and earned his MA in education. Eric has completed year two of the Slingerland multisensory structured language approach through the University of San Diego and continues to use the Slingerland method in the classroom. The Prentice School, located in N. Tustin, California, is a private, certified nonpublic school through the California Department of Education and is fully accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. Prentice offers an unparalleled learning experience to students with learning differences who possess average to high intelligence and whose needs have not been met in a more traditional classroom setting.

House Boosts Language Funding in Defense Bill

Last month, the House of Representatives voted unanimously to include the World Language Advancement and Readiness Act (WLARA) as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal year 2020. However, the NDAA was passed in the House without a single Republican vote, marking the first time in history that the annual defense spending bill has not received bipartisan support. Hopefully, the amendment will be added to the Senate version of the bill during committee reconciliation this summer.

Advocacy efforts, led by the Joint National Committee for Languages/National Council for Languages and International Studies (JNCL-NCLIS), have sought passage of the WLARA for several years, so House approval of the amendment marked a major step forward.

The WLARA seeks to expand language learning at the elementary and secondary levels. The amendment would create a grant program to increase and improve world language education in Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) schools and in local education agencies (LEAs), which would have to provide matching funds unless they could not afford them. At least 75% of funds are earmarked for elementary schools and the same percentage for languages deemed critical to national security.

According to the amendment, “Special consideration [will be given] to applications describing programs that: “include intensive summer world language programs for professional development of world language teachers; “link nonnative English speakers in the community with the schools in order to promote two-way language learning; “promote the sequential study of a world language for students, beginning in elementary schools; “make effective use of technology, such as computer-assisted instruction, language laboratories, or distance learning, to promote world language study; “promote innovative activities, such as dual-language immersion, partial world-language immersion, or content-based instruction; and are carried out through a consortium comprised of the eligible entity receiving the grant, an elementary school or secondary school, and an institution of higher education.”

Representative David Price (D-North Carolina), who introduced the amendment, commented, “The U.S. is lagging behind other nations in language proficiency, which threatens our ability to succeed in global military and diplomatic missions.”
Representative Don Young (R-Alaska), an early supporter and original sponsor of WLARA in the House, added, “The World Language Advancement and Readiness Act helps America keep pace with other developed nations by providing the language education our students need to secure good jobs, achieve success in global marketplaces, and successfully navigate multilingual business environments.

The legislation also helps build a pipeline for growing experts in languages that are critical to our national defense. I am grateful to Congressman Price for joining me in this important initiative to help us boost our national defense and global competitiveness.” Other cosponsors were Representatives Gil Cisneros (D-California), Rick Larsen (D-Washington), Jimmy Panetta (D-California), Jim Langevin (D-Rhode Island), and Seth Moulton (D-Massachusetts).

“None of this would have been possible without the connections our advocates have made over the past three to four years with members of Congress and staffers,” said Dr. Bill Rivers, executive director of JNCL-NCLIS. “I hope our advocates understand that this is the direct result of their impact. They deserve this victory.”

Helping Students Find Their Voices

Imagine being a student whose family has recently immigrated to the U.S. Your family is often struggling to make ends meet, is undocumented, and lives in poverty. Your ability to speak English is limited, yet you are the most fluent in your family, so you are required to take time off of school to be the translator in adult situations such as doctor’s appointments and job interviews. You have no agency over your situation while you are trying to navigate life as a teenager in a foreign place, deal with adult conversations and adult concerns, and hide from the stigma associated with your home language. Then, on top of all of this, imagine that your school launches a new course that requires you to participate in online discussions or to engage with materials online. You are being asked to master yet another level of communication that is outside of your comfort zone.

This scenario isn’t unusual among English language learners (ELLs). I have been working with ELL students since 1998, and one thing I have learned through my years of experience is that it is important for educators to understand the unique challenges that ELL students face and the impact these challenges have on their social-emotional and academic health.

ELLs Unique Stressors

A 2010 study by Andres J. Pumariega and Eugenio Rothe published in the American Journal of Orthopsychiatry details the stressors that immigrant students and their families often face and the impact they can have on their mental health. These stressors include multiple moves, new economic pressures, new customs, and new legal and educational systems.

As the English as a new language (ENL) teacher at Urban Assembly School of Business for Young Woman (UASBYW) in lower Manhattan, I worked with a diverse population of first-generation students from the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Mexico, Côte d’Ivoire, Mali, Pakistan, and Yemen. My students had experiences, responsibilities, and pressures that rival what many adults have to face, despite their young ages. These unique stressors can lead to students having difficulty finding the time and space to focus on their learning. One way schools can help ELL students deal with the pressures they are under is through an organized central focus on SEL and creating a strong sense of community within the schools.

Using SEL to Help ENL Students

The Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning has identified five core social-emotional competencies—self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision making—as the keys to social and emotional well-being. UASBYW is participating in an Urban Assembly pilot program around social-emotional learning (SEL) and helping students learn these skills. As part of this pilot, the school administers an online SEL assessment called Apperson Evo Social/Emotional that uses the Devereux Student Strengths Assessment (DESSA) to measure students’ social-emotional competencies. Our students also self-assess with the DESSA as part of the pilot. The data from these assessments helps educators determine which SEL skills a student may be in need of improving. When I am working with ENL students, I adjust these core competencies to meet their unique needs. The strategies I use fall into the following areas:

  1. Creating safe spaces for sharing our struggles and celebrating our accomplishments
  2. Helping ENL students find their voices to be advocates for themselves and their communities
  3. Looking at the whole child to be more aware of home situations that may affect students in the classroom
  4. Helping students build confidence to be active participants in blended/online learning

Creating Safe Spaces

One way that I have been able to create a safe space for students is through highly functioning advisory programs. These allow one teacher to meet with a small group of students multiple times a week in an environment where everyone is made to feel that their voice and presence matter and where students can have structured conversations around topics that are unique to ENL students.

Each advisor stays with the same group of students throughout the year, building a rapport with them and becoming someone their students look to as a source of support. In addition to helping the students work on relationships with others at the school, the advisor becomes the point person between the homes and the school. Blended advisories of ENL students and non-ENL students focus on understanding and respect for other cultures. A lot of what I do as an ENL teacher and an advisor is help students figure out who they are and teach them to value their cultural differences and languages as assets. Teaching students that their cultures and backgrounds are a resource and not a hindrance to their education is a cornerstone of creating pride and contributes to students buying in to the dynamic educational and social community we strive to create. Within advisory, we focus on SEL skills such as communicating well with peers and respecting each other’s opinions. During advisory students practice their language skills through conversation, listening to classmates, writing personal affirmations, and reading articles on issues germane to young women. For example, we discussed pay equity focusing on the recent lawsuit involving the U.S. Women’s Soccer Federation. We practiced math skills by going through graphs and charts associated with the articles and we practiced reading skills by reading aloud.

Students who struggle with pronouncing words are coached by other students, and we all patiently wait as they work through the process. In addition, we all live by the community agreements posted in the classroom designed to create a safe environment. These include “What is said here stays here” and “What is learned here leaves here.” These rules help emphasize the confidence and privacy of our advisory discussions.

Helping Students Find Their Voices

It is particularly important that ENL students know that their voices are valuable, and we work diligently to help them feel confident in using their voices. A lot of girls arrive here without having had much of a say in how they got here or in their living situations. They often believe they don’t have any power over their lives or themselves, and we use SEL skills to help them realize that they do have power over their lives and their actions.Every Monday in advisory, we “circle up” to talk about a particular topic. I start with a topic, such as pay equity or forgiveness, and each student participates in the discussion. After the person who starts the circle finishes her share, she turns to her shoulder neighbor and greets her by name with a “good morning.” Then that student responds to the opening prompt and continues the circle by passing it to her shoulder neighbor by name and with a “good morning.” The circle is complete when everyone who wants to share has had an opportunity to speak and every student has been greeted by name.

Looking at the Whole Child

Another important part of SEL instruction is to consider the whole child and to help students with metacognition. All ENL students come to the classroom with unique skills. Some may be bored, but unable to communicate their needs, while others may not comprehend content because of language barriers. As we help them understand their own adolescent brains, they learn to recognize how to use the skills they already have communicating in their home languages to become better communicators in English.

Through learning about their brains and how to be metacognitive, they also learn to be patient with themselves and become better advocates for their learning needs. As advisors, we can look at a student’s action, help her work through what she did, and help her make better decisions in the future. Advisors and teachers partner with students as they determine who they are and what their long-term life goals are. By putting student needs before predetermined curriculum, we develop engaging lessons and classroom routines that address students’ learning styles as well as their emotional needs.

Setting Students Up for Blended/Online Learning

As my ENL students move into the upper grades at their school, they will engage more often in online and blended learning. These can be great tools for ELL students, because they can allow for more personalized instruction. Mawi Asgedom, an Ethiopian refugee who develops professional development courses for ELL teachers, stated during a May 6 webinar by the International Association for K–12 Online Learning that ELL students are often more willing to open up with teachers in an online-only environment, because they aren’t as worried about being judged due to their accents. Additionally, some online courses offer translated materials or video summaries in the students’ native language while some are led by bilingual instructors. ENL students often do well in a blended learning model, Asgedom said, where some instruction is completed online and some is completed in a traditional classroom. For example, a flipped classroom model—in which students go through the materials at home and then complete the assignments together—helps ENL students grow and develop their skills, he said. The same SEL skills that I use in the classroom also apply to online and blended learning environments. For example, our community rules can live in online environments as well. The SEL skills I teach in my class, such as patience, perseverance, and respect, apply to interactions and coursework in an online or blended learning environment as well as in a traditional face-to-face classroom. By teaching students the importance of these learning tools now, I am setting them up for future academic success in online and blended learning environments. This ensures that students will have a good base in digital literacy to prepare them for taking online or blended learning courses in the future. It may ease any fears they have about jumping into online learning environments. By teaching ENL students social-emotional learning skills and preparing them for the courses and types of learning they will encounter down the road, we can help set them up for success in academics and in life.

This article originally appeared in Language Magazine in September, 2016. Adrienne Almeida was an ENL teacher at the Urban Assembly School of Business for Young Women in Manhattan during the 2015–16 school year.

Urge Congress to Support the Legacy of Esther Martinez

The Esther Martinez Native American Languages Programs Reauthorization Act strengthens Tribally-developed Native American language revitalization programs across the country.

The program recognizes and honors the late storyteller and Tewa language advocate, Esther Martinez, who passed away in 2006.

We’re so close…the Senate has already passes the bill (unanimously).

Now, members of the House can show support by cosponsoring the legislation.

H.R. 912 would:

  1. Reauthorize the language grants program until 2024;
  2. Expand eligibility for those programs to smaller-sized Tribal language programs; and
  3. Allow both programs to offer longer grant periods.

We need your help to get Esther’s legacy across the finish-line:

Contact Congress!

Thank you for your support!

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