Category: Bilingual Education

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Bilingual Revolution in Manhattan

Parents in Manhattan won an important victory and were able to convince schools authorities about creating a French dual-language program in a public school in the Upper East Side. Their journey, which started two years ago, has culminated in a series of recent meetings with elected officials, school leaders, and community leaders. Hailing from a number of countries, some parents want access to English or French and the equal opportunity they provide. Others want to sustain their heritage, and utilize bilingual education as a tool to do so. Others are interested in the benefits of bilingualism for cognitive development. Others are interested in the acquisition of a second, third, or fourth language because of the professional opportunities and advantages it will yield. Ultimately, these perspectives share the same goal: to create a multilingual society with greater access to languages and cultures.

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Bilingual Education Colloquium in Dakar

I was at the Musée des civilisations noires in Dakar for a colloquium on bilingualism and bilingual education organized by Laurent Bonardi and Ecole Actuelle Bilingue. Ranka Bijeljac-Babic, Thierry Nazzi, Aliou Seck, and I brought different perspectives on the advantage and importance of bilingual education and bilingualism in our societies, and their potential for cognitive, cultural, and economic development.

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European Priorities and the Potential of Multilingual Education

On September 26 –the European Day of Languages set to help raise awareness for multilingualism in Europe– I was invited to Brussels for the 2nd European Education Summit and presented a U.S. perspective on the growth and potential of dual-language education, particularly as European nations seek to adopt new educational approaches to educating the youth while accepting more immigrant families into their school systems.

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Rewolucja Dwujezyczna

#TBRBooks – The Bilingual Revolution is now available in POLISH: Rewolucja Dwujezyczna: Przyszlosc edukacji jest w dwóch jezykach. 🇵🇱 Pomyslana jako praktyczna i dostepna ksiazka, która wspomoze Twój projekt, Rewolucja Dwujezyczna, jest historia ruchu zapoczatkowanego na Brooklynie opowiedziana przez pryzmat rodziców i pedagogów, którzy zalozyli programy dwujezyczne w swoich szkolach, aby pokazac, ze edukacja bilingwalna … Continue reading Rewolucja Dwujezyczna

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Twenty Years of Bilingual Revolution

The things one finds cleaning one’s closet! Here is a certificate I received in 1999 for participating in the International Symposium on Bilingualism and Biliteracy through Schooling organized by Professor Ofelia García and Long Island University. At the time, I was in charge of Ecole Bilingue’s Middle and Upper schools in Cambridge, Massachusetts (the school is now called the International School of Boston). The symposium was a way for me to catch some air after a busy semester and connect with a community of bilingual education researchers and practitioners from all over the world. I was very excited to attend this event and learn from the best, and I did. I not only left recharged and inspired, I left changed.

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Colloque sur l’avenir de l’enseignement français à l’étranger

J’ai pu assister, le 15 mars dernier, à une partie du colloque sur les établissements français à l’étranger organisé le 15 mars dernier par la députée Samantha Cazebonne à la suite du rapport qu’elle a rédigé : L’enseignement français à l’étranger : une ambition réaffirmée dans un nouveau contexte international. J’étais bien sûr honoré de me retrouver dans la prestigieuse salle Colbert à l’Assemblée nationale de la République française et de retrouver plusieurs bonnes connaissances, dont le député Roland Lescure, l’ancien sénateur André Ferrand et Marine Havel, qui représentait ce jour-là la fédération des programmes FLAM des Etats-Unis.

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[DE] Buchvorstellung von Die bilinguale Revolution am Goethe-Institut

credit: Goethe-Institut

Anfang Januar habe ich am Goethe-Institut in New York die deutsche Version von The Bilingual Revolution vorgestellt, Die bilinguale revolution, Zweisprachigkeit und die Zukunft der Bildung. Da die meisten Eltern in New York ihre Kinder in den Kindergartenklassen anmeldeten, bot es sich an, über das deutsche zweisprachige Programm an der P.S. 18 Edward Bush in Williamsburg (Brooklyn) zu sprechen. Der Nettoerlös des Abends wurde an das aufstrebende zweisprachige Programm der Schule gespendet.

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Creating a Support Base for P.S. 147’s Japanese Dual-Language Program

With Yukari Levine, Kayo Kudo and Akiko Iwakawa-Grieve

As discussed in my book The Bilingual Revolution, a critically important task for parents engaged in their school’s dual-language program is to create a support base in the community, such as influential individuals, business leaders, elected officials, and supportive organizations. These include local and global businesses, embassies and consulates, cultural centers serving a language or a country, foundations with a focus on education or community development, tourism offices, chambers of commerce that serve businesses from two or more countries, and heritage and cultural societies and federations.

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