Author: Natalya Seals

A walk through Heritage Elementary School in Woodburn, Oregon, can make you feel like you’re touring Europe. In one classroom, a group of third-graders learn to read in Spanish. In another, students recite multiplication tables in Russian. In other parts of the school, students are receiving instruction in English.  Heritage Elementary School isn’t a fancy…

So much of the discussion on English language learners in U.S. schools focuses on what they don’t have (for example, academic English) or what they haven’t been able to do (such as graduate in rates comparable to proficient English speakers). These are real problems that deserve our attention. But, sometimes it is important to turn…

To build on ongoing work to improve the language and literacy development of our state’s children, Ohio was awarded a $35 million Striving Readers Comprehensive Literacy Grant from the U.S. Department of Education. “Reading is the foundational skill that supports all learning,” said Paolo DeMaria, superintendent of public instruction. “Ohio is committed to improving outcomes…

Article by Steve Leveen at LeadWithLanguages.org. Let me welcome you to America the Bilingual, a podcast for monolingual Americans, like me, who are learning their second language—or want to begin. Today, it’s normal for Americans, even highly educated ones, to grow up speaking only English. I’m an example, despite taking Spanish and German in school. It…

Laura Grey is proficient in five languages: English, French, Spanish, Italian and German. She is also learning Russian, Mandarin Chinese and Dutch. She is doing this although she has a learning disability. A learning disability is a condition that makes learning difficult. Grey has dyslexia, a learning disability that makes reading, writing and spelling difficult….

Culturally Responsive Teaching (CRT) is a current buzzword in education. And you know what? As an ambassador for English Language Learners, I’m going to capitalize on this momentum. First, let’s make sure we have a common understanding of the term. There’s nothing more frustrating than someone saying, “let’s be more culturally responsive” or “teach with…