Ed on its Head

While listening to this episode, think about why encouraging students to express their feelings, experiences, and knowledge through all their language abilities is important. I will share how making their learning relevant to them in personal ways by acknowledging not just their feelings and their experiences, but also their full language abilities, turns on learning instead of shutting it down. This is especially true when we couch the learning in the arts, such as poetry. We also welcome our first guest during this episode. Sharina Martinez-Cole will join us to talk about her experiences being a bilingual in America and to read some poetry in Spanish.

Let's learn to celebrate the different orthographies that exist in the world and among our students. The human race has come up with remarkable ways to put words down in print, and understanding the differences is key to understanding students in your classes who are emerging bilinguals.

In this episode, let’s consider why you should pay attention to and care about the program models used in schools for educating emerging bilinguals.

I invite you to have a conversation with me—one that might help turn the old model of education and assessment on its head, and create a new, more equitable model in its place that better serves all students. May I suggest that you check out the booklist on my shownotes at www.edonitshead.com/now/episodes? In particular, this post focuses on a new book by Dr. Catherine Taylor (with Susan Bobbit Nolen) called Culturally and Socially Responsible Assessement: Theory, Research, and Practice. I highly recommed it!

Learn about two instructional methods that work with and honor your emerging bi- and multilingual students! In this episode, I talk about translanguaging and Total Physical Response. Check out the show notes as well as videos, infographics, book suggestions, and links at https://www.edonitshead.com/now/

In our last episode, you heard about labels given to emerging bi- and multilingual students. Today, we delve into a few important historical American policies and laws that have driven the educational practices of bilingual students and affected those labels.

When a teacher has students whose home languages, or native languages, aren't English, typically they receive extra instruction in what you might know as ESL classes, or ELL classes. Multiple labels exist to identify these students, most of which short-change and deny the reality of students' ability to communicate. In this episode, I will talk about those labels and offer a better solution than what most teachers, schools, and policymakers use when talking about this group of students.