SUBSCRIBE

Latvia May Restrict Russian

Latvia, a former member of the Soviet Union that shares a border with Russia, could move to restrict the Russian language in workplaces, according to the country’s deputy prime minister.

Jānis Bordāns, who also serves as Latvia’s justice minister, told the Delfi news service that the Ministry of Justice was working on a “bilingualism restriction law,” which would reduce the presence of Russian in Latvia’s public sphere. He argued that “society needs to know that the Latvian language should be used for business relations, as well as for communication in the workplace.”

The legislation indicates that Latvia may be distancing itself from Russia and its past as part of the USSR, the fall of which left more than 25 million ethnic Russians living outside of their home country.

“It is necessary to establish a ban on the use of a language that is not a language of the European Union, in addition to the state language, when selling goods or providing services. It is possible that Russian will also be excluded from telephone and banking messages,” Bordāns said.

He added that “the long-term consequences of Russification are such that the practice of simultaneous use of Latvian and Russian in everyday communication, places of service, and workplaces has become entrenched.”

This is not the first time Latvia has confronted the standing of Russian in its society. In February 2012, a nationwide referendum saw 75% of Latvians vote against making Russian a second official language.

Puerto Rico Teachers Get 30% Pay Rise

Approximately $215 million in previously awarded American Rescue Plan (ARP) funds have been disbursed to schools across Puerto Rico to help meet the needs of students and educators. The funds can be used for supports including mental health services, academic recovery, educator professional development, and community and family partnerships. Funding is also helping to boost compensation for educators in Puerto Rico. Beginning last month, public school teachers on the island started receiving a $1,000 monthly salary increase that was made possible through the critical federal funding. This is a 30% increase for the average teacher in Puerto Rico.

“One year ago, I met with Secretary Ramos Parés for the first time to discuss the collaborative and transparent work that we envisioned to serve students in Puerto Rico. Since that day we haven’t stopped working to ensure that every student across the island has their fair shot at success and for our teachers to be treated with the respect and dignity that they deserve,” said US Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona. “I’m confident that we will continue to work together as partners, for the students and educators of Puerto Rico and for the future of the island.” 

“We have worked with the U. Department of education to strengthen our educational programs, support our staff with better technology and instructional tools, and equip our students with more resources for an optimal learning experience,” said Puerto Rico Department of Education Secretary Eliezer Ramos Parés.  “We continue to face the infrastructure challenges of our campuses, managing the distribution of the federal funds and guaranteeing their proper use. I appreciate the support of Secretary Cardona and his team and I’m confident that communication between us will remain open and we’ll be proactive to provide an educational system that meets the needs of our students.”

As of July 2022, the Department has released nearly $6 billion to the PRDE including:

  • $2.9 billion from the American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ARP ESSER) and Homeless Children and Youth (ARP HCY);
  • $1.9 billion from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act); Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund (GEER Fund); Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2021 (CRRSA Act); and
  • $1 billion in FY 2021 and FY 2022 program grants.

The Aperture System Assesses SEL Competence

The Aperture System from Aperture Education houses the DESSA, a nationally standardized, strength-based behavior rating scale that assesses students’ social and emotional competence in eight key areas: self-awareness, optimistic thinking, self-management, goal-directed behavior, decision making, personal responsibility, relationship skills, and social awareness. The Aperture System includes the DESSA for grades K–8 and the DESSA–High School Edition. It is used by more than 7,000 schools and out-of-schooltime programs and has supported more than two million students.

Starting this fall, high school students can select from up to 14 different languages to take the DESSA self-evaluation—with more languages being added soon. The K–8 DESSA is typically administered by a teacher and is available in Spanish and English. The DESSA has gone through extensive research and development to ensure cultural sensitivity to mitigate any potential bias.
DESSA data identifies students’ social and emotional strengths and areas that may need additional support. This helps educators identify appropriate strategies for those students and empowers administrators to make strategic, data-driven decisions about social and emotional learning (SEL) in their districts.

SEL can be especially impactful for students whose first language is not English. Research (http://journals.iupui.edu/index.php/intesol/article/view/21625) shows improving the social and emotional well-being of language learners may be just as important as academic instructional support (INTESOL Journal, 14(1), 2017). SEL can assist in ELLs’ and immigrant students’ transition into schools and communities. It promotes strong relationships with educators and peers and equips students with skills to succeed in new environments.
https://apertureed.com

TOEFL Post Pandemic

Just as the rest of the education industry has learned, adapted, and pivoted over the last two and a half years, so too has ETS’s TOEFL® program. And while we have always been customer-centric, we have used this time to further reflect on what our stakeholders need and how we can best support them—whether it’s a student in China preparing for a graduate degree in London; an admissions office in Melbourne, Australia, extending an offer of admission to a student in Japan; an agent supporting a student in India whose dream is to study in Canada; a teacher in the US working to build their classroom’s English language skills; or any person, destination, or scenario in between. As we look ahead to the coming year, we are more laser focused than ever on providing the highest-quality tools and resources to all these groups to build and empower lifelong learning confidence in English.

Updates

The TOEFL iBT® test, our flagship assessment, continues to be the most widely recognized English language test globally, which is evidenced by its universal acceptance in the world’s most popular destination countries like the US, Canada, the UK, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand—more than 11,500 institutions in over 160 countries worldwide. Institutions trust TOEFL iBT because of its ability to measure English communication skills—reading, listening, speaking, and writing—in an academic context and because of the high quality associated with the test’s design, development, delivery, scoring, and security.

Just prior to the pandemic, TOEFL iBT began a transformation to enhance the test-taker experience. We shortened the TOEFL iBT test by 30 minutes; implemented a superscore feature called MyBest® scores; enabled test takers to view their unofficial reading and listening scores immediately following the test; provided more free practice materials; offered many more testing dates and locations; and made adjustments that eased the registration process, to name a few things.

Since that time, we’ve grown the TOEFL iBT test from a single format to a range of formats and added a second high-stakes test to the portfolio. Doing so has allowed us to serve test takers and institutions and provide opportunities that are convenient, accessible, and safe, while catering to test takers’ unique preferences and individualized circumstances. What started as the TOEFL iBT test offered in test centers prepandemic has since grown to three test formats—test center via computer (TOEFL iBT), at home via computer (TOEFL iBT® Home Edition), and in select locations, test center via paper and pencil for the reading, listening, and writing sections, followed by the speaking section at home via computer (TOEFL iBT® Paper Edition).

Additionally, just over a year ago, we launched TOEFL® Essentials™, a first-of-its-kind test that uniquely combines the quality institutions trust with the convenience and friendliness that students want in one single test. It measures foundational elements of English proficiency essential for communication ​in both academic and general (daily life) contexts and provides institutions with additional insights into applicants’ skills beyond academic English settings (e.g., for interviews and internships), through components such as writing and speech samples and a short, unscored personal video statement. And it provides an affordable, accessible, and convenient option for test takers—roughly half the cost and half the length of other major English language tests. As of late August 2022, nearly 450 college and university programs around the world are accepting the test.

In addition, we continue to offer English language products that are critical to supporting younger learners—the TOEFL Primary®, TOEFL Junior®, and TOEFL ITP® tests—for monitoring, placement, progression, and feedback. Just this year, ETS and the National Education Examinations Authority (NEEA) released results linking TOEFL Junior scores with China’s Standards of English (CSE), enabling young test takers, as well as teachers and parents, to better evaluate their English ability, promote more targeted English learning, and improve English language skills. This was the second TOEFL product to complete this important research, following TOEFL iBT in 2019. Additionally, just a couple of months ago, the TOEFL Primary and TOEFL Junior tests were named approved learning tools by the Education Alliance Finland (EAF)—the first assessment tools to receive EAF’s “quality seal.”

It’s been a busy—but highly rewarding—couple of years, and we’re excited for what’s to come.

Looking Ahead

The transformation and growth of the TOEFL portfolio over the last few years has generated a great deal of novelty and innovation that has supported our stakeholders when they needed it most. We view the upcoming year as a way to dig deeper into what we’ve established—refining, expanding, and doubling down on our offerings, relationships, and initiatives. A few of our priorities for the remainder of 2022 and 2023 include:

  • Increasing the acceptance of the TOEFL Essentials test so that more students and institutions can utilize scores for their study abroad journeys and recruitment efforts, respectively
  • Investing significantly more time and resources in key markets, such as India, to further our on-the-ground presence and better serve our stakeholders
  • Expanding access to TOEFL iBT products
  • Adding writing to the suite of skills assessed by the TOEFL Primary and TOEFL Junior tests
  • Maximizing meaningful engagement with subsidiaries and partners
  • Deepening relationships with key stakeholders in critical markets, especially English language teachers and educational consultants/agents, and providing them and their students with more tools, such as the Teaching Academic English course (for teachers) and the Official TOEFL iBT Prep Course (for students)
  • Continuing to provide assessments that are high quality, trustworthy, valid, and reliable
  • Keeping our stakeholders’ needs front and center in everything we do

This list is certainly not exhaustive, and as part of a mission-driven organization, our work is never done. We’re always looking at ways to ensure we’re showing up best where our stakeholders need us. What’s more, ETS recently appointed its seventh president and CEO in June, Amit Sevak. He believes in the fundamental power of assessment and in the importance of continuous lifelong learning. Under his leadership, we are poised for growth and success and look forward to the opportunities where TOEFL can realize our mission to advance quality to advance quality and equity in education for all learners worldwide.

Srikant Gopal is the executive director of the TOEFL Program at ETS, where he is responsible for the strategy, performance, and growth of the TOEFL portfolio of products.
He is a graduate of Birla Institute for Technology and Science (Pilani, India) and earned his MBA from Indiana University. To learn more about the TOEFL® Family of Assessments, visit www.ets.org/toefl.

China Criticized for “Cultural Genocide”

On 30 August, the United Nations Day for the Victims of Enforced Disappearance, activists from Tibet, East Turkistan, and South Mongolia called for the world community and the UN to “take urgent steps to stop disappearance and cultural genocide in China’s colonies.”

In addition to thousands of citizens of Tibet, East Turkistan and Southern Mongolia who disappear every year under the Chinese colonial rule, millions of children of 6 – 18 year age group have also disappeared into the brainwashing schools established by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in these colonies. While grown up individuals, who raise their voice against the Chinese colonialism in their respective countries vanish forever into the Chinese jails, these children are the victims of President Xi Jinping’s game plan of enforcing a ‘Common national Chinese identity’ as they will be lost forever to their own culture, families, and society. Experts from these three countries called upon the world community, especially the United Nations, to take urgent and effective steps to stop this process of disappearance and ‘cultural genocide’ in these Chinese colonies.

These experts made a common cause of their sufferings under China’s colonial rule at an international webinar on 30 August to mark the United Nation’s “International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearance”.  The webinar was organised jointly by the Centre for Himalayan Asia Studies and Engagement (CHASE) and Tibetan Youth Congress (TYC) and was entitled “Disappearing Victims of Chinese Colonialism.” The main focus of the discussion was the serious situation of disappearance of a large number of people in Tibet, East Turkistan and Southern Mongolia who dare to speak up against the problems being faced by local massed because of the colonial rule of China over their respective countries. It was one of those rare occasions when activist experts from these three countries, occupied by China, shared their pain and struggle from a common platform.

The three speakers who represented their respective country were Ms. Rinzin Choedon, the National Director, Students for a Free-Tibet India who spoke from Dharamshala; Ms. Nurgul Sawut, the Executive Chairperson of Uyghur Freedom Forum (UFF) who presented the Uyghur case from Canberra in Australia; and Mr. Enghebatu Togochog, the Director of Southern Mongolian Human Rights Information Center, who spoke from New York. Vijay Kranti, a senior Indian journalist, Tibetologist and Chairman of CHASE moderated the webinar from New Delhi.

Mr. Enghebatu Togochog, an internationally acclaimed and a prominent human rights activist from Southern Mongolia, spoke about the new policy of the Chinese government to replace the Mongolian language in the educational institutions and the official system in Southern Mongolia. “Under President Xi Jinping’s new campaign of adopting ‘Common Chinese national identity’ in the colonized regions he has started a ‘cultural-genocide’ which is aimed at destroying original national identity of these countries and submerge them into the Han Chinese identity. The Mongolian people are strongly resisting this Chinese policy. As a result of this national resistance movement thousands of Mongols who were fighting for their mother tongue have been arrested in recent times. Unfortunately, families of a large number of those who were arrested are not able to get any information about their whereabouts,” he added. 

Spanish-Speaking Star Voted Artist of the Year


Spanish-speaking Puerto Rican reggaeton star Bad Bunny made history at the Video Music Awards by becoming the first non-English-language performer to win the prize for artist of the year.

Bad Bunny beat out Drake, Ed Sheeran, Harry Styles, Jack Harlow, Lil Nas X, and Lizzo for the award. He was also nominated for song of the summer (“Me Porto Bonito”), best Latin (“Tití Me Preguntó”), and album of the year (Un Verano Sin Ti).

“I have been saying it and I always believed from the beginning that I could become great,” Bad Bunny said in his acceptance speech, translated from Spanish.

“That I could become one of the biggest stars in the world without having to change my culture, my language, my jargon. I am Benito Antonio Martínez from Puerto Rico to the whole world. Thank you!”

Earlier this year, Bad Bunny’s fourth studio album, Un Verano Sin Ti, became the second all-Spanish-language record to debut atop the Billboard 200 chart in the US, according to MTV.

Irish Schools Double in Northern Ireland

Irish-language education has undergone “unbelievable growth” over the past decade but resources are needed to fund development, according to language activists, after plans published by the Northern Ireland Education Authority revealed the number of Irish-language secondary schools in the country is set to double.

It would mean an increase from two to four Irish-medium post-elementary schools, with a new school in north Belfast and another to serve the west of Northern Ireland.

Speaking to the BBC, Ciarán Mac Giolla Bhéin of cultural center Culturlann McAdam Ó Fiaich said, “What we’ve seen over the past ten years is unbelievable growth in the sector, somewhere in the region of 70% growth. This is over a period where enrollment in schools generally has been in decline.”

“Irish education by and large is nondenominational, it is open to all. It has suffered, over many years, marginalization.
“This plan stated that there will be two [new] schools in the not-too-distant future, all this is is a plan, we need the strategy… and resources,” he said.

The Education Authority has also planned two new special schools—one of which is proposed in Mid Ulster and another to expand the Harberton North campus in Belfast—and a number of new integrated schools over the next few years. But it could mean some other schools could eventually close or merge due to a longer-term decline in pupil numbers.

$27 Million in Literacy and Biliteracy Supports for CA Students


California state superintendent of public instruction Tony Thurmond has announced a new $27 million digital literacy partnership that will provide free bilingual early literacy assistance to California children and families through interactive e-books, songs, and games in English and Spanish. This digital literacy partnership is part of a statewide literacy campaign to help all California students come to school ready to learn and read proficiently by third grade. According to the California Department of Education, “it is urgent for the state, and for all schools, to redouble efforts to help students recover and expand literacy skills amid national reports showing declines in student reading levels during the pandemic. Superintendent Thurmond remains steadfast in his commitment to investing in improving literacy statewide. The is working to roll out and build on the investments of $250 million in this year’s budget to fund literacy coaches and intensive literacy action plans in schools with low-income student populations and $15 million in one-time Proposition 98 funding to help 6,000 educators receive reading and literacy instruction certifications.”

Last September, Superintendent Thurmond launched an initiative to ensure students learn to read by third grade by 2026. To advance this goal, a literacy task force was created to design strategies and make recommendations and secured one million book donations for students in need. Through another public–private partnership with Renaissance Learning, Inc., students downloaded more than five million free online books as part of the literacy efforts. Superintendent Thurmond has also pledged to work with community libraries to expand student library memberships and access as part of the strategy to promote literacy in the state.

SLU and BloomBoard Collaborate to Help Paraprofessionals Get Certified

Saint Louis University (SLU) School of Education and BloomBoard have partnered to develop collaborative strategies with school districts and educational leaders to enhance the number of pre-k–12 teachers to meet the needs of today’s students. One of the first initiatives is the development of a program to support classroom aides and other paraprofessionals with earning bachelor’s degrees in education and qualifying for licensure as elementary teachers in many states. SLU has a long tradition of offering online education for undergraduate degree completion for busy adults who are building careers in business, nursing, social work, and information technology. Its School of Education has been developing teachers, principals, and superintendents through its academic programs and faculty-led research. BloomBoard’s technology and competency-based approach aligns with the university’s goals to address the nation’s major social challenges, including the teacher workforce shortages in schools serving students at the margins. According to Sanford Kenyon, BloomBoard’s CEO, “School districts are looking for new ways to show teachers’ aides and paraprofessionals that they honor their experience. By partnering with SLU, we will be able to provide these highly committed professionals an opportunity to earn accredited bachelor’s degrees in their employment context, often with significant financial support from their districts.” 

www.bloomboard.com

Congress Urged to Fund Childcare

“At a moment when Americans are struggling just to get by amid the worst inflation in decades, the Senate is moving forward with a reconciliation framework that excludes any investment to address the largest financial burden facing millions of families: childcare. America’s early learning system, which was already failing to meet the needs of families and providers before the pandemic, is currently being propped up by federal relief funding that will soon expire, putting the future of our nation’s childcare in jeopardy. Any reconciliation package that comes before Congress for a vote must include significant, sustained funding to prevent the collapse of our childcare and early learning system and make quality care options available and affordable for more families. 

“For the past two years, there has been clear acknowledgement from lawmakers and voters alike that Congress must invest in building a system of early learning and care that meets the needs of families, young children, and the providers they rely on. President Biden and Democratic leaders in the House and Senate touted early learning and care as foundational to supporting America’s workforce and in turn our nation’s economic recovery and long-term success, which was backed up by a proposed transformational investment in childcare, pre-K, and Head Start in the Build Back Better Act. It is unimaginable, then, that the Senate would move forward with a package that does not include a single penny to ensure childcare is available and accessible in every zip code across the country. Women, in particular, will bear the burden of Congress’s inaction, preventing countless moms from pursuing economic security—let alone economic success. 

“Indeed, failure to include childcare investments in reconciliation will not only be a missed opportunity to immediately lower costs for families; it pushes the nation’s early learning system closer to a catastrophic funding cliff that will affect America’s entire economy, resulting in higher prices and longer waitlists for families and reduced access to quality care for children, while lower wages push more early educators out of the field.

“There is no doubt that lawmakers understand that the positive impact of investing in early learning and care would be felt for generations. So too will the consequences of inaction. As congressional leaders turn this framework into a legislative package, they must add back in a meaningful portion of the original childcare and early learning funding that was eliminated, and come together through any means possible to provide the substantive investments that are desperately needed.”

Organizations: America Forward, Bank Street Education Center, CareForAllChildren, Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP), Child Care Aware of America, Council for a Strong America (CSA), Early Care and Education Consortium (ECE), Early Learning Ventures (ELV), Educare Learning Network, First Five Years Fund (FFYF), First Focus Campaign for Children, Futures without Violence, Imaginable Futures, Jumpstart for Young Children, LEGO Systems, Inc., Main Street Alliance (MSA), MomsRising, National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), National Head Start Association (NHSA), National Women’s Law Center (NWLC), Save the Children, Save the Children Action Network, Start Early, the Century Foundation, YWCA USA, ZERO TO THREE

1...505152...332Page 51 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