French artist Hervé Tullet has done it again! This time he has touched two school communities in Manhattan: P.S. 84 The Lillian Weber School of the Arts and Lafayette Academy (M.S. 256). Both schools boast a French dual-language program and now a beautiful collection of artworks painted by the entire community. Even an entire wall was unveiled, showing the impact of art in getting a community closer together.
Continue readingCategory Archives: Dual Language Programs
Multilingual Education Fair in Washington, DC

I am thrilled to keynote during DC’s upcoming Multilingual Education Fair on January 26. Co-sponsored by the key education institutions of the District, the fair features 100 exhibitors covering 12 languages to allow you to explore and deepen your linguistic and cultural skills, and learn about careers where language skills are crucial.
The Fair will be located on the Gallaudet University campus at the I. King Jordan Student Academic Center (800 Florida Ave NE, Washington DC 20002).
Sylvia Wellhoëfer and the Bilingual Revolution in German

Sylvia Wellhoëfer is a German mom I met a few years ago in Brooklyn. With a group of parents she created NYC’s first German dual-language program and she was the inspiration for my chapter on German in my book, The Bilingual Revolution. One thing leading to another, we are launching this book’s German version at Goethe-Institut New York on January 8 (see Book release of Die bilinguale revolution). I am pretty sure this will trigger many more good things here and in Germany.
Book cover credit: Raymond Verdaguer
Book Release Die bilinguale revolution

Join me on Tuesday January 8, 2019 for the book launch of Die bilingualerevolution, Zweisprachigkeit und die Zukunft der Bildung at the Goethe Institut of NewYork.
The book will be available for purchase and I will sign copies.
All net proceeds of the evening will support the German Dual Language Program at P.S. 18 Edward Bush located in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
The Japanese-English Dual Language Program in Bushwick, Brooklyn

Multilingual kids from all socio-economic and racial backgrounds thriving in a Japanese-English dual-language program. In Bushwick! In a public school! For free!
This is a no-brainer. Dual language programs are for everyone. They should be offered everywhere. And it shouldn’t be that complicated for parents and educators to create these programs. Read more about what it took to get the program started here. And watch a few videos from the school here
The Gift of Languages
During New York’s Bilingual Fair with Kathleen Stein-Smith and our soon-to-be released book, The Gift of Languages: Paradigm Shift In Foreign Language Education. The book explores the many advantages of multilingual education and sets the stage for a new paradigm in our approach to teaching and learning languages. Also, the book touches on the issue of foreign language deficit in the United States and the changes that need to occur in our schools to better serve our children and our linguistic communities. The book also explores the growth of dual-language education in recent years and explores the connection between both multilingual programming and solving the United States’ foreign language problem. You can pre-order on http://www.tbr-books.com
[FR] La Révolution bilingue arrive en France

La récente conférence sur le bilinguisme qui a eu lieu le 6 octobre à l’Assemblée Nationale à Paris a été un véritable succès. L’événement a été organisé par Roland Lescure, Député des Français.e.s d’Amérique du Nord et Président de la Commission des Affaires économiques.
Continue readingStartalk Keynote in Houston
I was thrilled to deliver the keynote speech during the STARTALK Fall Conference in Houston, Texas which was held on October 19 and 20, 2018, at the Royal Sonesta Houston Galleria Hotel. The STARTALK Fall 2018 Conference focused on sharing practices, innovative strategies, effective learning tools and resources, and insights uncovered by reflection practices that were experienced in various STARTALK programs.
STARTALK is a federal grant program funded by the National Security Agency and administered by the National Foreign Language Center at the University of Maryland. STARTALK grants fund summer world language learning programs as well as professional development programs for world language teachers. STARTALK grants support programs for students and teachers of eleven critical need languages: Arabic, Chinese, Dari, Hindi, Korean, Persian, Portuguese, Russian, Swahili, Turkish, and Urdu.
Through these programs, the STARTALK program seeks to achieve three goals:
– Increase the number of students enrolled in the study of critical languages
– Increase the number of highly effective critical-language teachers in the U.S.
– Increase the number of highly effective materials and curricula available to teachers and students of critical-need languages
My speech focused on the Bilingual Revolution and how parents and linguistic communities can play a role in creating multilingual programs in schools. After the presentation I met many interesting people who were willing to translate my book in Hindi, Urdu, Korean, Portuguese, Turkish and more.
[FR] La Révolution bilingue sur TV5Monde
[DE] Die bilinguale Revolution
Die bilinguale Revolution (German Edition coming soon). Als ein praktisches und zugängliches Buch konzipiert, das Sie in Ihrem Projekt begleiten wird, ist Die Bilinguale Revolution die Geschichte einer in Brooklyn geborenen Bewegung, erzählt aus der Sicht von Eltern und Lehrenden die duale Sprachprogramme in ihren Schulen gegründet haben, überzeugt davon, dass bilinguale Bildung ein Allgemeingut ist, das überall angeboten werden sollte, da es ein Kind, eine Schule, ein Land positiv verwandeln kann.
Artwork Credit: Raymond Verdaguer