Bilingual in America

Jacqueline  Cabrera, a seasoned special education teacher, wife, mother, and bilingual extraordinaire, shares her pearls of wisdom on bilingual language acquisition as it pertains to the uniqueness of all students.

Today's episode highlights the transformational work of Dra. Veronica Benavides, the founder, and CEO of The Language Preservation Project. She and her team work to reverse the trend of language loss across generations. The Language Preservation Project team works with families and educators to leverage the strength found within culture and language to develop proud and confident multilingual learners.  Dra. Benavides discusses her family's personal experience with internalized messages about assimilation, and how one chance encounter in college helped her see new possibilities for herself and others. Listen in!

Dr. Devin E. Naar, a Judeo-Spanish language scholar, is the author of Jewish Salonica, and is an Isaac Alhadeff Professor in Sephardic Studies, Associate Professor of History, and faculty at the Stroum Center for Jewish Studies in the Jackson School of International Studies at the University of Washington.  He speaks with us about the fascinating history of the Ladino language: Judeo Spanish and how it serves as a bridge between many cultures. Let's listen in to this captivating interview with co-host Suzanne Lasser.

Today's episode focuses on recently retired Patricia Galluzzo and Virginia Calderon. These two women have worked for over a quarter of a century providing translation support and assistance as needed in both Spanish and English. Patricia came to New York at the age of 9 from her native Argentina, while Virginia arrived at the age of 20 in California from her native Peru. Along the way, they learned English but not at the expense of their Spanish.  As they begin the next chapter in their stories, they leave behind a strong legacy of translations and have modeled for others the importance of activating communities and resources to help those in front of us.  Their dedication to this work went well beyond what was written in their job description! Listen in!

Andres Salguero was raised in Bogata, Columbia, and grew up with his father. He earned his Doctorate in music. Christina Sanabria, from Colombia, grew up in a Spanish-speaking household in America. She was always involved in theater and dance, and later earned a master’s degree in education from U Penn. Together they are… Latin Grammy winners 1,2,3 Andres, and make beautiful bilingual music for children and families. Enjoy their music and story with us!

Dual language stakeholders…get ready! Today we are visiting with educators, authors, and consultants Dr. Andrea Honigsfeld, TESOL professor at Molloy University, in New York, and Dr. Joan Lachance, Associate Professor of Teaching English as a Second Language at the University of North Carolina. Together this team is unstoppable as they venture into their latest book, Collaboration and Co-Teaching for Dual Language Learners: Transforming Programs for Multilingualism and Equity  Multilingualism, Asset lenses, collaboration, partner teaching, equity, special education, ENL teachers, administration, and assessment are just some of the topics woven into a hands-on complete guide. Listen in to an engaging talk.

Educator, Leader, and Change Agent Lorynn Guerrero is New Mexico's Teacher of the Year. She speaks with us about being beautifully bilingual at any stage of one's language learning journey, how she's left an impact at New America School La Cruces High School with the GRADS program, and how this is just the beginning of her legacy work. The GRADS program began as an in-school program for teenage parents and has since added onsite child care centers, career readiness, youth leadership, and fatherhood programs. Listen in!

This week on BiLingual in America, we continue the conversation with Dr. Virginia Collier and Dr. Wayne Thomas. They met in 1980, and for the past 40 years have devoted their professional attention to Dual Language programs and their benefits for students. They discuss how students in DL programs learn curriculum in their second language without the expense of losing their first language, why DL is necessary and emphasize that in terms of student success, it is the long-term results that really matter. Listen in to hear them share more of their love language, DATA! Speaking with them was such an honor for both of us! 

Dr. Virginia Collier and Dr. Wayne Thomas are internationally known for their research on long-term school effectiveness for culturally and linguistically diverse students. Dr. Thomas is a Professor Emeritus of Evaluation and Research Methodology and Dr. Collier is Professor Emerita of Bilingual/Multicultural/ESL Education, both at George Mason University.  Their research on dual language education is perhaps the most well-known across the United States. Their longitudinal studies of student achievement in various types of educational programs for English learners are considered seminal work in the field. Their Dual Language Learning series is published by Velazquez Press and available for purchase at www.dlenm.org.

On today's podcast, we continue to highlight scheduled speakers at La Cosecha Dual Language Conference, which begins on November 2nd. First, we hear from Dr. Barbara 'BK' Kennedy, founder of GlobaLingo Educational Consulting. BK is trilingual (English, German & Spanish), and has worked as a bilingual ESL and world languages teacher, as well as a district administrator and state program director. GlobaLingo provides customized Dual Language planning, evaluations, and professional development in the US and abroad. She is presenting two sessions at this year's La Cosecha Conference and shares a bit about each session's subject matter, along with why DLeNM (Dual Language Education of New Mexico) holds a special place in her instructional heart. We also went back to one of DLeNM's longtime supporters, James Lyons. Jim is one of the principal authors of the Bilingual Education Act of 1984. The impact of this historic Education Act is still felt today. Jim shares why one language is not enough; how multilingualism stimulates brain function; and why DLeNM has been successful in creating the best Dual Language conference in the United States.