I'm Julie & will be moderating tonights chat, joined by @JL_Delf as co moderator. I teach Spanish K-4 in midcoast Maine. Please introduce yourself and where/what you teach :) #earlylang
Hey #earlylang community! I'm Nathan - I teach French in Pre-K through grade 5 and serve as global learning coordinator at an independent school for girls in northern NJ/suburbs of NYC.
A1: Because they often seem to be one of the first things to go on the chopping block when there are budget issues. And there are not nearly enough early language programs, at least where I live. Parent and community support is very important! #earlylang
R1: Many #earlylang programs do not have secured funding from year to year, nor do admin/ community members always understand the critical importance of started languages as early as possible. Advocacy & education of these ADULTS is crucial to many programs existence
A1: I think advocacy is important bc many don’t know what early lang learning looks like in the classroom and the amazing benefits it can have, academically and socially #earlylang
My program would not even have come to fruition 20 years ago if parents hadn't advocated for a lang program-& it would have been cut multiple times if not for their continued support. I am so grateful to them! #earlylang
A1 #earlylang Teaching students to be global citizens and to be culturally competent begins when they are a child. Language learning goes hand in hand with these.
We need to advocate for our program because unfortunately not everyone sees that learning a language is just as (if not more!) beneficial than those core subjects #earlylang
A1: if you want to check out some good advocacy materials, go to NNELL's site: https://t.co/raq0pb1qbN . We have even more material in the Members Only setion of the website! ;-) #earlylang
R2: Keep parents informed of what is happening in their child's class; invite them in if possible. Participate in Open House, assemblies, special school events to have a presence and raise awareness of the program #earlylang
R2: I like to send articles on foreign language learning and #earlylang issues to my principal, superintendent & curriculum coordinator whenever I run into them. Keeps them informed on my practice & reminds them why we have a program
A2: We have a lot of constituent groups to whom we must adovcate - and it looks different for each group. Parents need to know why we do it and the benefits. Sometimes parents don't get what we do so we need to show them. #earlylang
We Specials Team have talked about that as a team, showcasing each of us. It's challenging to pull off, but can be super rewarding. We used to all participate in our Kinder Concert w parents which worked out really well! #earlylang
R2: Show stakeholders the results! Show what the kids can produce. Since I switched to a CI-based, proficiency-driven environment, my kids are producing more language than ever! #earlylang
I find one of the most potent arguments for parents is the long term impact-#earlylang means greater proficiency which in turn means a competitive edge in the workplace/ job search for their child
A2 #earlylang So many ways- possibly through a newsletter, your website, the school website, email, conversations, school publications, meetings (with admin and board), events, or activities.
"Sure, but it gives kids way more ways to enjoy and add to the world, and way more people to do so with"
"Maybe, but it's a lot easier than waiting until later"
"What do you mean by 'necessary'? In what ways are the other things elementary Ss do necessary?" #earlylang#langchat
That’s the key: Interdisciplinary. Parents and stakeholders need to see how world language connects to ALL curricular areas. We are not an isolated class! #earlylang
In reply to
@nathanlutz, @MundodePepita, @MoyerWorldLang
Class dojo! I was just typing this! It’s a great tool, especially bc you can put specific things to “reward” students for. The parents are getting a better idea of what we are doing and how it might be different from the mainstream classroom. #earlylang
"Sure, but it gives kids way more ways to enjoy and add to the world, and way more people to do so with"
"Maybe, but it's a lot easier than waiting until later"
"What do you mean by 'necessary'? In what ways are the other things elementary Ss do necessary?" #earlylang#langchat
Be proactive ! Invest time & effort in creating strong, effective messages that will convince decision-makers or influence decision makers. Create compelling messages that include a call to action. Take your time, and use them later #earlylang
A3:You do not need to be a policy expert, superintendent, or a principal ,but it helps to know where they stand on specific issues.!!! educate yourself about them #earlylang
I use it with 537 students 😂 but it has helped me be intentional bc I do a lot in the moment whereas before no one knew what was going on. My first year trying it out, so we’ll see how it goes #earlylang
Yes! And global citizenship and interculturality as part of the language experience are other ways that stakeholders may see more value in #earlylang programs.
In reply to
@MllesrtaUrso, @nathanlutz, @MundodePepita, @MoyerWorldLang
R3: Get involved at the local, state, & federal levels. Write/present to your school board, Senators (state & national), sign petitions, join your state World Languages association & join NNELL! #earlylang
A3: Look at the wave of states who have adopted the #sealofbiliteracy! Lawmakers know what businesses in their states need - people who can operate in more than one language to get business deals done! And bring more $$ to their states! #2bilit2quit#earlylang
A2 We also have a Fiesta Fun Night every other year for kids and parents to do crafts and take part in the culture. Dancers, crafts, food, etc! #EarlyLang
A3 #earlylang We are fortunate in Los Angeles to have local and state government that strongly supports language learning (especially Spanish!) however, I still have written Senators and Congress members to ask for their support for early language learning.
@MundodePepita R3 Don’t just join your state and national associations, GET INVOLVED! If it weren’t for NNELL, I wouldn’t know all of the wonderful teachers that I do! #earlylang
A2 Could you also send a few tips for practicing at home with that? Like - “here’s what we’re learning this week - ask your child this question in French!” #earlylang
R2: I like to send articles on foreign language learning and #earlylang issues to my principal, superintendent & curriculum coordinator whenever I run into them. Keeps them informed on my practice & reminds them why we have a program
R3 Connecticut is now awarding the @BiliteracySeal, so we are fortunate to have support from the state level. BUT...as legislators continue to turn over, educating them about our programs needs to be CONSTANT. #earlylang
Staying connected with other #earlylang teachers really helps with my sense of urgency and investment in teaching... so that I can build a worthwhile program to advocate for!
Most definitely to parents and other caretakers. I send articles to my administrators without the language component-I'm looking to educate them on the program as there has been a lot of turnover since the program was established in 1998. #earlylang
A3: And just to let you all know - NNELL sends a representative to @JNCLInfo 's Legislative Days every year to advocate for languages for early learners. @PreKlanguages went for us the last few years!
#earlylang
We use it for participation point to earn a reward! At the end of each month we talk about how many points some students have an how many our whole class has. Students make goals to improve as a class and individually. I recommend it! #earlylang
A3 is MUCH harder question!!! In PA there were districts that dealt with budget cuts by replacing language teachers with Rosetta Stone :( These people have a LOT to learn!! #earlylang
I think songs are useful for this too. As a parent, when my child comes home joyfully singing songs in Mandarin, and having me learn them, I feel good about his langauge experience #earlylang
A3 In fact, if you are a policy expert, superintendent, or principal, you know a lot LESS about benefits of early language learning than teachers do - so teachers should lead UP! :) #Earlylang
A3:You do not need to be a policy expert, superintendent, or a principal ,but it helps to know where they stand on specific issues.!!! educate yourself about them #earlylang
R4: I think the best way to involve kids is to provide them with a quality, exciting, engaging learning experience. They spread support by going home & sharing what they've done in school that day #earlylang
A3 In fact, if you are a policy expert, superintendent, or principal, you know a lot LESS about benefits of early language learning than teachers do - so teachers should lead UP! :) #Earlylang
A3:You do not need to be a policy expert, superintendent, or a principal ,but it helps to know where they stand on specific issues.!!! educate yourself about them #earlylang
A4: By trying to give them an engaging, joyful experience that they will want to share with their families, or the school community or beyond. Songs, some product they take home, performing for an audience in the school community or larger community... #earlylang
A4 #earlylang Getting our learners excited about the language and sharing it with others. We have events for each grade level to show off their Spanish, as well as school wide events.
A3 In US, we have every leader talking about the research showing benefits of bilingualism for children who speak other langs, but they advocate for LESS for English monolinguals! If being bilingual is good for immigrants, it’s good for all! https://t.co/AVxVQFZA1A#earlylang
R4: I think the best way to involve kids is to provide them with a quality, exciting, engaging learning experience. They spread support by going home & sharing what they've done in school that day #earlylang
if your students are excited about your class and they are learning they will show the world. As a matter of fact, today during playtime I saw my pk sts to create their own game using Spanish. They weren’t using many toys but their imagination and language learned. #earlylang
R5: Honestly, my success stories are saving my program multiple times from the chopping block-going to board mtgs, meeting w admin, asking parents to speak on behalf of the program to keep it from being cut #stillgoingstrong#earlylang
A5. Solid research. Many years ago I shared with my admin how early language (and frequency) was how ss would become proficient, and now we have a great prgrm bc our admin listened to the research #EarlyLang
R5: And continuing to advocate. Even a well established program can face cuts-letting up on being vigilant and proactive can have negative consequences- stay out in front. #earlylang
A5 The students are my best advocacy tool! Around conference time is the best when parents stop by and tell me that their child told them they just HAD to stop by to say Hola! #earlylang
Speaking Spanish everywhere you go is great! I sometimes run into students outside of the school, and speak to them only in Spanish, and even though they might respond to me only in English, their parents see that they understand a lot! #earlylang
A5: successful story: took my K sts to a pubic playground. We spoke Sp 100%, many moms who where there started talking & one of them asked me if his young son could join us even though he didn’t speak Sp. She was thrilled, her son was happy. Today is my student! #earlylang
A5 #earlylang One of our best advocacy stories involved us talking to our school board when we wanted to advance our use of educational technology in language classrooms. We ended up getting funding for a classroom set of iPads for Spanish.
A5 I like to comment on major blogs and national reports and to ask questions about languages during national webinars. If there’s a big new article about early learning, somebody should post a comment about including languages to build awareness #earlylang
As the economy goes up & down, so do taxpayer concerns over the school budget. & it doesn't help that the state has reduced funding to schools, & doesn't even meet the commitments it has made-local property owners have to pick up the slack :( #earlylang
A5: 1 thing that recently felt like a success was when some of my 3rd graders asked if we could present a hand-clapping game at our school's community meeting. There was so much excitement from the younger students about doing that in Spanish when they were older #earlylang
You just can't rest on your laurels.. parents, admin, board members, community members...they all change over time so you have to keep educating and advocating #neverending#earlylang
yes, you have to do that. People need to hear languages, I encourage native parents to do it, it is important. Some parents speak English in public :( #earlylang
A5 part 2: And by doing this at community meeting, administrators and many parents got to see too. Some students told me that they had taught it to family members to be able to do extra practice at home. They were so proud! #earlylang
Great book recommendation! We can learn so much from the ELL teaching community! After all, we are all teaching languages! :) Thank you @KarenNemethEdM#earlylang
I have to be more active EDUCATING people about language learning, dual-language learners ( these are my students) and make sure that the native speaker parents are encourage to talk to their kids in their native language in public too! #earlylang
Remember that we are a biweekly chat, so our next #earlylang chat will be on Wed, May 2 8:00pm EST. And follow @EarlyLang so you don't miss announcements for great webinars, and the Summer Institute!
RF: I love the idea of sharing articles with administrators, and sometimes parents. I might try this at both my school and my child's school. #earlylang
