SUBSCRIBE

New Standards for Short-Term TESOL Programs

ThinkstockPhotos-179216490In response to the proliferation of short-term TESOL certificate programs around the world, TESOL International Association has developed a set of standards for entry-level short-term certificate programs. The standards are intended to provide a framework for organizations to use in developing, implementing, and evaluating programs that prepare candidates to teach English as a second or foreign language. The new standards require 120-180 hours of study and are structured around three main areas: organization and program management standards, curriculum and instructor standards, and candidate standards.

Continue

October 2015

October 2015 Cover

B.O.O.S.T. Your Instruction!
Anne Paonessa finds ways to make the most of class contact time

Sisters Are Doin’ It for Themselves
Kristal Bivona on how increased access to communications technology has created new ways schools can use to develop international partnerships

Time to Listen
Monica Brady-Myerov suggests scaffolding listening in the English learner classroom

Meaningful Professional Growth
Amanda Seewald offers a spoonful of thoughts from a teacher coach

Taiwanese
Judy Heflin delves into the complexities of the Chinese dialect or topolect spoken in the former Formosa or “beautiful island”

Last Writes
Richard Lederer on the effect Yogi Berra had on our language

Reviews Jobshop Source and more.

Investing in Teachers instead of Prisons

kid at the back of the iron bar

Education Secretary Arne Duncan delivered a stirring speech at the National Press Club that was particularly relevant for minority and English learner students

“I agree with Secretary Duncan. Prison is not a solution to inequitable educational funding. All children deserve an education, not punitive incarceration, which only exacerbates divisions in our society,” commented Language Magazine editor, Daniel Ward.

“Secretary Duncan offers a wise prescription for ending the school-to-prison pipeline and investing in the future of our students and nation. The relationship between America’s failure to provide equal educational opportunities for children of color and the over-representation of people of color in our prisons is clear and tragic. Diverting funding from incarceration to education and tackling bias in school discipline will help break this chain once and for all,” said Dennis Parker, director of the American Civil Liberties Union’s Racial Justice Program.

Read on for the full transcript of Duncan’s speech.

Continue

Library of Congress Celebrates Hispanic Literature

Gabriel Garcia Marquez with Book on HeadIn honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, the Library of Congress launched an online selection of recordings of renowned Hispanic authors reading their works in their native languages. “I am so excited that the entire world will be able to hear some of these wonderful writers, such as Gabriel García Márquez and Octavio Paz, that we recorded for the Archive of Hispanic Literature on Tape,” said Georgette Dorn, chief of the Library’s Hispanic Division and curator of the archive. “Hearing the voice of a writer – according to Chile’s Nobel laureate Gabriela Mistral – brings him or her alive.”

Continue

Building to Code

Virginia “Jenny” Williams uses assessment and scaffolding to support the five stages of second-language acquisition

Academic language is a necessity to convey mastery of academic content for all students, but it is especially important that students with language differences in English be allowed to “practice” their language skills in the context of the classroom. For students who are English language learners (ELLs), learning English has many levels, and academic language is one that emerges quite late. ELLs will often learn the social contexts of English long before they master the elements that they need for learning and conveying their knowledge of academic content. Academic language can take five to seven years to acquire at levels that are needed for a typical classroom in the U.S. Alfred and Nino (2011) write in their text Leading Academic Achievement for English Language Learners, that “it is important for faculty members to understand that linguistic differences are another dimension of student diversity,” and that diversity can call for differentiated assessment and instruction. They suggest that ELLs require scaffold instruction to gain confidence and skills in academic language.

Continue

Manitoba to Promote Aboriginal Languages

South Side of the Manitoba Legislative Building

The new Manitoba Aboriginal Languages Strategy is a partnership between the Manitoba government, indigenous groups, post-secondary institutions and school boards will seek to “protect and promote” aboriginal languages. “Language is a critical component of cultural identity, and the Manitoba government recognizes the importance of working with our partners in the indigenous community to protect and promote aboriginal languages,” said Education and Advanced Learning Minister, James Allum.

Continue

Chinese Language Films for a Growing Middle Class

ThinkstockPhotos-179143106The market potential of China’s rising middle class is bringing big attention to the filmmaking world and the demand for quality Chinese language media. CNN reported that Warner Brothers recently struck a deal with China Media Capital (CMC) to create Flagship Entertainment Group in order to tap into a growing market for premium content in China. Warner Bros. will bring technical expertise, while CMC will give financial backing. China has not readily embraced foreign media in the past, but CMC chairman Ruigang Li said in a statement he wants the partnership to “enhance the cultural exchange between China and the rest of the world.”

Continue

The Home Run Book Experience

Vinnie Jordan Henkin and Stephen Krashen chronicle the Naruto Breakthrough: How the discovery of manga books was a catalyst in the English language development of a teen

The concept of the home run book was introduced by Trelease (2001), who hypothesized that one positive experience can be enough to create a permanent interest in reading. Many children have testified that the home run experience is real, that one book started them on the path to becoming dedicated readers (Kim and Krashen, 2000; Von Sprecken, Kim, and Krashen, 2000; Ujiie and Krashen, 2002).

The importance of the home run book phenomenon is that a reading habit will result in improvement in all aspects of literacy (Krashen, 2004) and greater school success (see cases such as of Elizabeth Murray and Geoffrey Canada, described in Krashen, 2004).

Continue

Chinese Enrollments Up 2000% in Texas

ThinkstockPhotos-460492787According to a recent study by researchers at the Confucius Institute at Texas A&M University, Texas has seen a dramatic rise in the number of K-12 students studying the Chinese language. Researchers found that enrollment in Chinese language education grew by more than 2,000% between 2000 and 2015. Over the period of a decade and a half, enrollment in Chinese language courses jumped from fewer than 1,000 students in five districts to almost 14,000 students in 48 districts. Although the US and China resumed diplomatic relations in 1979, Chinese language instruction didn’t begin in Texas until the 1990s, over two decades since the resumption of ties. The first districts to offer Chinese were Houston and Dallas, both of which were offering the language as early as 1994. However, the relationship between Texas and China has been growing along a number of dimensions, including economic and investment ties, education, and personal travel.

Continue

Feds Release English Learner Tool Kit

The U.S. Departments of Education (ED) and Justice (DOJ) today announced the completion of the English Learner (EL) Tool Kit to support states, districts, and schools in meeting their legal obligations to English Learners (ELs) and ensuring access to quality education.

Continue
1...257258259...332Page 258 of 332

Subscribe for exclusive content

Language Magazine is a monthly print and online publication that provides cutting-edge information for language learners, educators, and professionals around the world.

Subscribe

LanguageMagazine 2023

Language Magazine