Bilingual in America

It almost goes without saying that learning your partner’s language is a deposit in creating a lasting relationship. While inter-linguistic fluency is certainly not necessary for bilingual relationships to flourish, the act of learning a language for love is an investment – one that demonstrates a commitment and a desire to meet each other halfway. But, as you will hear, language is just a piece of the puzzle. It’s about customs, tradition, and getting to know people and culture. Based on recent research, it seems like language may not be as big a barrier as cultural differences. Let’s listen...

Children are like sponges and can absorb foreign languages so quickly. We've all heard these types of statements, and society is flooded with messages telling you who is and who isn’t good at language learning.  If you ask any random person who – in their opinion - excels at language learning, they would probably say children do.  This position is seldom challenged. So it must be true that children are the perfect language learners, and all that adults can hope for is to achieve some fraction of their success. Right? Wrong!!! There is a fatal flaw in this logic! Listen and celebrate your access to learning a new language!

Aside from the unique set of circumstances in which Gen Z is approaching adulthood, what do we know about this new generation?  We know it’s different from previous generations in some important ways but similar in many ways to the Millennial generation that came before it. Members of Gen Z are more racially and ethnically diverse than any previous generation, and they are on track to be the most well-educated generation yet. They are also digital natives who have little or no memory of the world as it existed before smartphones.  Still, when it comes to their views on key social and policy issues, they look very much like Millennials. GenZ: Making their mark... and making it count!

In this segment of Bilingual in America, we explore the challenges, rewards, and impacts of navigating community remote learning. What has been the impact on our children's learning? What has been the impact on our teachers and educators? How has remote learning shifted the role of parental support? We are aware of the challenges. What have been the rewards? How do we find the proverbial silver lining?

We have spoken about bilingualism with speakers of Spanish, Arabic, and Japanese. Last week we discussed identity as it relates to the Afro-LatinX community. Today we explore a debate that swings back and forth like a pendulum every few years. AAVE(African American Vernacular English) is also known as Black English or Ebonics. Is it a language and, if yes, do its speakers - typically African Americans - need ESL (English as a Second Language) support in school?

There’s no doubt that the intersection between Black and LatinX identity runs deep, and yet the Afro-LatinX experience remains mostly unacknowledged in mainstream media. So let’s look at it… What makes being AfroLatinX beautiful? Challenging? Unique? How do microaggressions impact one's sense of identity? How is bilingualism embraced? Today, we’ll begin to explore this conversation.

With all of the research out there, there is still so much to learn about how the brain functions, grows, and evolves. All experiences leave their mark—they change how we respond to similar situations,  and create knowledge or expertise in particular areas. In the vast majority of cases, individuals become bilingual through life circumstances and schooling experiences. How the brain acquires language, therefore, is a more involved process.  Today we'll talk with 2 experts in the field of language learning and brain development.

Our adventure in presenting Bilingual in America has been extraordinary- everything we ever expected that it would be. It's been exactly as complex and as easy; and as challenging and rewarding. We look forward to sharing more of your stories. In this episode, let us tell you why...

Over the past several months, how we teach and how we learn has been flipped upside down. Teachers are incorporating new tools into their lessons and students are experiencing new methods of learning. Now, more than ever, it is important for educators to find ways to stay connected to students while keeping them engaged and motivated in the digital world.

Today’s children are faced with a myriad of challenges and opportunities. Navigating all of that can be daunting - and so partnerships and supports are necessary to prepare our bilingual children for tomorrow.  In this segment, we’ll hear experiences that embody the importance of being a team member of the village that commits to the bilingual success of children and families. It takes a bilingual village to raise a bilingual child.