Almost a year after the state found that thousands of city students were not getting the language help mandated by law, the city still does not have a plan in place to fix the problem.

And this year’s budget cuts have made the situation even worse, teachers and parents say, as English as a Second Language instructors have been cut and services reduced even further.

At Public School 152 in Washington Heights, at least 48 children are getting half as many hours – or less – than they should, staff members said. Kindergartener Joan Guzman, 5, is one of them. (more…)

Toddlers who learn a second language from infancy have an edge over their unilingual peers, says a new research.

Researchers from Concordia University and York University in Canada and the Universite de Provence in France tested the understanding of English and French words among 24-month-olds to see if bilingual toddlers had acquired comparable vocabulary in each language.

As part of the investigation, 63 toddlers were divided into groups of unilingual and bilingual infants. To assess levels of bilingualism, parents completed a language exposure interview and vocabulary checklists, while children completed 5 basic language and cognitive tests.

“Bilingual children outperformed their unilingual counterparts on tasks where they were distracted,” said Dr. Poulin-Dubois.
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The mere mention of the English Language Arts content area, for many people, might conjure images of ancient, dusty tomes, the sound of a classroom full of pens scratching across college-ruled paper, or the palpable befuddlement of students staring down a school year full of challenging texts and writing. Enter technology, and along with it an entirely new skill set and accompanying literacies. This is the twenty-first century after all, and English teachers would be remiss if they did not take advantage of the latest and greatest technological methods of reading, expression, and communication.

Alvermann (2007) points out the irony in many of today’s curricular standards and teaching practices, which shy away from those technologies and literacies, opting for a push toward more traditional approaches at a time when our digitally native students are immersed in and engaging with “multiple sign systems (image, print, sound, gesture, digital) and finding their own reasons for becoming literate” (p. 19). Fear not, fellow English teachers, for it is possible to embrace those technologies and address those modern skills and literacies in ways that still maintain focus on state and district standards, all while piquing student interest and bolstering motivation and collaboration. It’s only a matter of finding creative ways to incorporate technology, or simply putting an updated, modern spin on typical assessments and activities. (more…)

Debaters Michael Shapira and Meir Yarom, from the University of Haifa, were named top ESL team after 12 fierce rounds of debate at the competition.

Teams from across the world competed in the 10-day tournament, which was held this year at the University of Botswana in Gabarone. From foreign policy to internet privacy, Shapira and Yarom debated a wide range of topics before winning their title.

In the final round, which was streamed live on the internet, Haifa took on teams from Slovenia, Holland, and Malaysia to debate whether courts should break up consistently dominant political parties. (more…)

Rosetta Stone Inc., a leading provider of technology-based language-learning solutions, announced today the creation of the Rosetta Stone® English as a Second Language (ESL) Classroom Innovators Contest, recognizing ESL teachers who have introduced forward-thinking practices and technology into their curriculum. Principals and school administrators are encouraged to nominate an ESL teacher in their school by describing in 500 words or less how the teacher innovated in the classroom with technology.

The winning teacher will receive a $500 gift card and the newest innovative solution – Rosetta Stone® Version 4 TOTALe™ – in the language of their choice. The school with the winning teacher will also receive three additional subscriptions to Version 4 TOTALe for professional development. From developing a strong language-learning foundation to building confidence and strengthening conversation skills, Version 4 TOTALe combines learning in the award-winning Rosetta Course with practice in Rosetta Studio with a native speaking Studio Coach and play in the Rosetta World community to create a comprehensive, powerful, interactive environment for higher education. (more…)