Multilingual Mania

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Bilingualism: Linked to a Variety of Positive Cognitive Benefits?

Multilingual Mania posted an article on - Feb 7, 2012, 9:37 pm
// // // ]]> Fluency in more than one language is considered to benefit the overall development of an individual. There has been a lot of debate on this issue but finally, bilingualism has been proven to improve the cognitive and mental abilities of a person. Nevertheless, there is still confusio...
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Student Essay: Julia de Burgos

Multilingual Mania posted an article on - Nov 1, 2011, 11:28 pm
... the United States and Puerto Rico multiple times. Julia de Burgos had two marriages, both of ... . She suffered from depression leading to her being an alcoholic and sorrowfully died of pneumonia. Julia de Burgos’ work was always and has always been astounding. My favorites include To Julia...
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Help Us Choose a Logo!

Multilingual Mania posted an article on - Oct 31, 2011, 5:52 pm
This month we hosted a contest for a logo for the Multilingual Mania blog. To date we received a total of 29 submissions for the blog header and logo design. We are at a loss at this point of which one to pick because we want all of them! We really value your feedback, so we wanted to show you the t...
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Student Essay: A Latino Person That is Important to Me

Multilingual Mania posted an article on - Oct 26, 2011, 8:57 pm
Our second entry for our second annual student writing contest for Hispanic Heritage month is from Diana Vargas, a seventh grade student from Texas. Do you admire a Latino person that has done something good for society? A person who you admire a lot, because he did or makes something that inspire...
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Student Essay: Sonia Sotomayor, Supreme Court Justice

Multilingual Mania posted an article on - Oct 25, 2011, 9:34 pm
Our first entry for our second annual student writing contest for Hispanic Heritage month is from Priscilla Dueñas, a twelve year old student in the seventh grade at Lincoln Middle School. Sonia Sotomayor, Supreme Court Justice About Sonia Sonia Sotomayor was born on June 25, 1954. She is the 11...
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Parent to Parent: Spanish is the Bridge That Connects Us to Family

Multilingual Mania posted an article on - Oct 10, 2011, 10:28 pm
This week’s Parent to Parent interview features Ana L. Flores, co-founder of Spanglishbaby, an online community of parents raising bilingual children. Tell us a little bit about yourself and your family. Are you monolingual? Multilingual? In which way are you raising bilingual children? I was b...
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Parent to Parent: Being Multilingual is Part of the Fabric of Our Everyday Life

Multilingual Mania posted an article on - Oct 4, 2011, 12:02 am
Jen is a British mother who is raising her children to speak German, French and English. She blogs about her experiences with raising trilingual children on her blog Trilingual Trio. Tell us a little bit about yourself and your family. Are you monolingual? Multilingual? In which way are you raisin...
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Latino Desegregation and Its Role in the Brown v. Board of Education Ruling

Multilingual Mania posted an article on - Oct 2, 2011, 7:00 pm
For years, the focus on Brown v. Board of Education and the African American Civil Rights Movement has colored the desegregation discussion entirely in black and white. What few realize is that it was Mexican American children in California who also paved the way for black students in Kansas to def...
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Parent to Parent: "Multilingualism Fosters Greater Understanding and Acceptance of Other Cultures"

Multilingual Mania posted an article on - Sep 27, 2011, 12:39 am
Cordelia Newlin de Rojas is a multilingual mama who is raising her child trilingually in English, Spanish and French. She is the author of the blog Multilingual Mama as well as a frequent contributor to Inculture Parent magazine. Tell us a little bit about yourself and your family. Are you multili...
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Action Alert: Urge Governor Brown to Support the Seal of Biliteracy

Multilingual Mania posted an article on - Sep 25, 2011, 11:26 pm
Please join us in urging  Governor Brown to support the Seal of Biliteracy! Sign our petition below! In the past we have highlighted the Seal of Biliteracy, an award of distinction that recognizes high levels of proficiency in English and another language. Many school districts in California have ...
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Parent to Parent: "The Brain Changes When Exposed to Another Language"

Multilingual Mania posted an article on - Sep 19, 2011, 11:53 pm
Jenean Flanagan is a mother who is exposing her daughter to Spanish, French and Mandarin. She also owns Peninsula Lango, which teaches Spanish, Mandarin and French to preschool and elementary aged children. Tell us a little bit about yourself and your family. Are you monolingual? Multilingual? In w...
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Hispanic Heritage Student Writing Contest [2011]

Multilingual Mania posted an article on - Sep 14, 2011, 11:22 pm
Every year September 15 marks the start of Hispanic Heritage month, a month of celebration which runs from September 15-October 15 of each year. This year we will be hosting our second annual Hispanic Heritage Student Writing Contest where students in grades 3-12 write about a Latina or Latino who h...
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Parent to Parent: It's About Much More Than Bilingualism

Multilingual Mania posted an article on - Sep 13, 2011, 12:48 am
Our first interview to kick off the Parent to Parent interview series is with Deonne Knill, a mother of a second grader who is in a Spanish immersion program. Deonne is also a school board member of Arco Iris Spanish Immersion School. Tell us a little bit about yourself and your family. I am a mot...
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Multilingual Mania Launches New Interview Series of Parents Raising Bilingual Children

Multilingual Mania posted an article on - Sep 8, 2011, 1:25 am
On Monday, September 12, 2011 Multilingual Mania will be launching Parent to Parent, a weekly interview series of parents who are raising bilingual children. Every Monday, the Parent to Parent interview series will feature one parent each week who will share their personal experiences, tips, and res...
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Confession: I Had Low Expectations For My English Language Learners

Multilingual Mania posted an article on - Sep 2, 2011, 1:43 am
There once was a time when I really underestimated the potential of my English language learners. When I first started teaching, I was placed in a fifth grade bilingual classroom, and my students had previously been transitioned into English-only instruction in the fourth grade. Who would have thoug...
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Hitting a Multilingual Parenting Road Block: Tips and Ideas

Multilingual Mania posted an article on - Aug 30, 2011, 11:54 pm
It’s not uncommon these days to find families with parents speaking different tongues. With advancement in global communication, we see people of different cultures and even countries interacting and coming together. One of the results of this is growing multicultural and multilingual families. Th...
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Linguistic Racism in the U.S.

Multilingual Mania posted an article on - Aug 24, 2011, 3:25 am
A story out of Denver highlights a growing trend in the United States: linguistic racism. The tale, as reported by ABC 7, involved the arrest and detention of a number of legal immigrants by ICE. Their crime: the individuals arrested were all speaking Spanish. The Colorado American Civil Liberties U...
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The Benefits of the Seal of Biliteracy

Multilingual Mania posted an article on - Aug 17, 2011, 12:42 am
The Seal of Biliteracy is a special recognition that promotes and validates bilingualism and biliteracy in English and another language. The Seal of Biliteracy has been implemented by many school districts in California and is currently spreading to other districts throughout the nation. There are m...
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Giveaway: 32 Emergent Reader Books in Spanish

Multilingual Mania posted an article on - Aug 14, 2011, 8:07 pm
As bilingual educators, we know how hard it is to get your hands on multilingual materials and books. Luckily we are hosting a giveaway of a set of 32 emergent reader books in Spanish for educators as well as parents who are raising bilingual children. This set of 32 Spanish books consists of fictio...
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My Love-Hate Relationship With Homework

Multilingual Mania posted an article on - Aug 9, 2011, 12:44 am
I have had a complicated love-hate relationship with homework all of my life. As a child I hated completing it and when I would complete it, I just ended up losing it or throwing it away by accident. I was always the child whose mother or teacher would find her homework squished up in the bottom of ...
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When Dual Immersion Programs Become Exclusionary

Multilingual Mania posted an article on - Aug 3, 2011, 1:21 am
I wish that I could give you all the dirt on what a drama-filled day that I had at work today, but I can’t. I pride myself on being a professional who tries to stay above all the drama and tries to remain professional even during times of great conflict. I’m really angry and perturbed over some ...
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Job Prospects During Immigration?

Multilingual Mania posted an article on - Jul 29, 2011, 7:09 pm
Here’s a story where multilingualism evolved into polylingualism… American travelers are quite comfortable filling out immigration forms, standing in line, and smiling at the officers manning immigration windows. I don’t mind this process myself, though I’ve had interesting experiences wher...
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The Power of Being Bilingual

Multilingual Mania posted an article on - Jul 19, 2011, 7:39 pm
For me it’s an honor to be bilingual. Ever since I was young I loved the idea of being able to speak two languages and communicate with other people. Being bilingual has not only helped me in my family, but also in my community as I performed my community service hours for the Community Service pr...
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El Poder de Ser Bilingüe

Multilingual Mania posted an article on - Jul 19, 2011, 7:29 pm
Para mí es una gran dicha el poder ser bilingüe. Desde que era pequeña, me encantaba la idea de poder hablar dos idiomas y el poder comunicarme con las demás personas. Ser bilingüe no solo me ayudó en mi familia, pero también en mi comunidad mientras hacía mis horas de servicio comunitario p...
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The Linguistic Worlds of Technology

Multilingual Mania posted an article on - Jul 7, 2011, 1:38 am
The World Wide Web and modern communication technologies have been connecting people around the globe, and technology is further changing how we interact. Languages seemingly play ever less of a role as we all come together in one global techno-culture, and gain ever more technological crutches to a...
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English Language Development (ELD) in a First Grade Dual Immersion Classroom

Multilingual Mania posted an article on - Jun 24, 2011, 9:52 pm
We wanted to share some pictures from a classroom demonstration that we recently conducted in a first grade Dual Immersion classroom. Although the students receive 80% of their instruction in Spanish, we modeled a Project GLAD Science unit during their English language development time in order to d...
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Who Is Advocating for "Regular" Bilingual Programs?

Multilingual Mania posted an article on - Jun 24, 2011, 1:40 am
Last night I laid in bed until 3:00 in the morning, feeling a little down. I couldn’t stop thinking about all of the myths, misconceptions, and comments that I hear people constantly making about bilingual education. What is most frustrating to me is that many times I hear these comments made by m...
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A Letter to Your School or Program Administrator/Director on Supporting Dual Language Learners in Preschool

Multilingual Mania posted an article on - Jun 22, 2011, 11:16 am
We sometimes underestimate the power of advocacy. This letter from Karen Nemeth is an excellent tool to help you get started in advocating for language learners: Letter to Administrators about Dual Language Learners in Preschool (a template you can use – by Karen Nemeth) Dear: I appreciate the...
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The Dream Act: Dream a Little DREAM With Me

Multilingual Mania posted an article on - Jun 20, 2011, 12:15 am
// I refuse to refer to any immigrant as “illegal” or “alien,” especially one who was brought to the United States as a young child, much like I was hauled from southern Illinois to Chicago at the tender age of two. Had southern Illinois been southern Mexico, for example, that’s what I ...
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Bilingual Classroom Pictures: First Grade Dual Immersion

Multilingual Mania posted an article on - May 25, 2011, 10:51 pm
This week we have been modeling strategies with Dual Immersion teachers and wanted to share a few photos with you. After working with a group of bilingual teachers, we also later visited their classrooms and took tons of pictures! Bilingual teachers don’t have many opportunities to visit other bil...
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Diplomacy in Thailand Without Thai?

Multilingual Mania posted an article on - May 18, 2011, 7:18 pm
// It’s amusing how some of my Caucasian family members expect Asiatic people, be it Chinese, Japanese, or Korean, to magically communicate among other Asian cultures. The stereotypically slanted eyes lends an assumption of universal communicative ease. Okay, sarcastically amusing. So this was ...
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What is the Seal of Biliteracy?

Multilingual Mania posted an article on - May 17, 2011, 1:45 am
// The Seal of Biliteracy is a special recognition that has been adopted by school districts in an effort to validate and promote biliteracy in English and another language. In response to the veto of similar legislation at the state level, a coalition of language organizations promoted the imple...
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Language, Language Everywhere-But Not So Many We Speak

Multilingual Mania posted an article on - May 13, 2011, 1:02 am
// One of the big advantages of multilingualism is that it expands one’s horizon – and a look beyond the horizon helps find new ideas. Unfortunately, when one compares between language skill in the USA and Europe, for example, it becomes clear that the same problems apply – though with quite...
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Give Yourself the Gift of "Me Time" for Mother's Day

Multilingual Mania posted an article on - May 8, 2011, 3:50 pm
On an every day basis, mothers all around the world give all of themselves to their children, and rarely take any time out to nurture themselves. Multilingual mamas have a double duty- all of the typical responsibilities that motherhood entails, while at the same time constantly putting in the dedic...
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Speak Spanish? At Your Own Risk: Minority Languages and Anti-immigrant Fever in the United States

Multilingual Mania posted an article on - May 5, 2011, 2:43 am
On April 2nd, 2010, Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested 42 Amway salespeople on their way to a convention after an undercover agent heard them speaking Spanish at a restaurant in Omaha, Nebraska. In November, the American Civil Liberties Union filed an ethnic stereotyping and racial profil...
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Teacher Appreciation Week: An Open Letter to Bilingual Educators

Multilingual Mania posted an article on - May 4, 2011, 3:31 am
Dear Bilingual Educator, I’d like to extend a huge thank you for everything that you do to make this world a better place for multilingual and multicultural children. It’s definitely not an easy job, but each and every one of you is touching and influencing the lives of countless children on a...
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Lexiophile's Top 100 Language Lovers Competition

Multilingual Mania posted an article on - May 4, 2011, 2:44 am
Last year we made the list of Lexiophile’s Top 100 Language Blogs of 2010 and were ecstatic about it. We’ve luckily been nominated again for the 2011 awards, and we’ll let you know when the voting begins because we would really love to make the list again! This year Lexiophiles is changing up...
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April's Blogging Carnival on Bilingualism

Multilingual Mania posted an article on - May 2, 2011, 1:42 am
We are so excited to be hosting April’s Blogging on Bilingualism Carnival! We have found a lot of new blogs that we plan on following and adding soon to the Web Resources section of our blog. A blogging carnival is an excellent way for us to share the multilingual love out in the blogosphere. If y...
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Call for Submissions: April's Blogging Carnival on Bilingualism

Multilingual Mania posted an article on - Apr 27, 2011, 1:06 am
This month we are hosting April’s Blogging Carnival on Bilingualism, a great opportunity for bloggers to share their favorite posts that they have written about topics associated with bilingualism. We realize that the month of April is practically over, but we just realized that April came and wen...
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What Should You Do If One Parent is Hesitant About Dual Immersion Programs?

Multilingual Mania posted an article on - Apr 6, 2011, 11:47 am
Today I answered an “Ask an Expert” question over on Spanglishbaby for a mother who had a question about which type of school she should choose for her children. She had always assumed that her children would be placed in a Spanish-English Dual Immersion program, but her husband recently express...
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Vme Premieres Major Education Special – Los hispanos y la educación en EEUU

Multilingual Mania posted an article on - Apr 6, 2011, 3:00 am
Multiplatform Program Highlights National issues in Education NEW YORK, April 5th, 2011 – As part of its partnership with the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics, Vme will air a special Oppenheimer Presenta premiering April 8 at 10pm, “Los hispanos y la educación ...
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Of Fitting in and Assimilation

Multilingual Mania posted an article on - Apr 5, 2011, 2:34 am
Australia has been very welcoming to immigrants for quite some time now. In fact, the country’s immigration program has been going strong since the end of World War I, all the way into the 21st century. Though it historically started off as a penal colony for the English, today’s Australia is on...
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Happy 2nd Birthday, Multilingual Mania!

Multilingual Mania posted an article on - Mar 31, 2011, 11:45 pm
Happy birthday to us! Happy to us! Happy birthday, dear us, happy birthday to us! We can hardly believe that we blinked for a minute this week and totally missed our second birthday here at Multilingual Mania! Although we are four days past our two-year birthday, we are still happy as heck that ...
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Not a Child Anymore….

Multilingual Mania posted an article on - Mar 31, 2011, 10:10 pm
More than any other field of knowledge, the study of languages suffers from some pernicious clichés. Sure, you can excuse yourself from knowledge of higher mathematics in a similar way, citing a lack of talent and too little a need, and everybody will understand because it is difficult to learn ind...
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Realizations of Culture Week

Multilingual Mania posted an article on - Mar 29, 2011, 11:08 pm
Culture Week permitted the opportunity for non-multilingual youths to peek into the lives of multilingual classmates. The proverbial veils parted to expose life’s inner workings for a “foreign” family. Although the extra attention garnered during those days fostered jubilant feelings, or thoug...
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Endangered Languages-Can We Really Resist Extinction?

Multilingual Mania posted an article on - Mar 17, 2011, 11:21 pm
Linguists estimate that the world loses another endangered language about once every two weeks. While some of this language extinction is natural, much is due to what scholars call linguistic imperialism: the imposition of a majority language by a dominant group of people as a means of taking or m...
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The Curious Case of the Affective Filter

Multilingual Mania posted an article on - Mar 15, 2011, 1:15 am
It’s been a couple of weeks since my last post about the affective filter about how it’s been significant to my overall language learning. New thoughts bring to mind the following story: My cousin studied Spanish for four years in high school and three years at the university. Despite having sp...
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Homeschooling Parents Can Teach Foreign Languages

Multilingual Mania posted an article on - Mar 10, 2011, 9:41 pm
Foreign languages are increasingly becoming part of homeschool curricula for a variety of reasons. Typically, to be effective, the parent or parents need to learn the language with their child. This is especially the case with young kids, because they need to interact with other people in their seco...
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National Conversations on English Learner Education

Multilingual Mania posted an article on - Mar 9, 2011, 2:15 am
This week we attended “National Conversations on English Learner Education”, a forum hosted in Los Angeles by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of English Language Acquisition (OELA). The forum was facilitated by Dr. Rosalinda Barrera, OELA’s Assistant Deputy Secretary, and Juan Sep...
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