All MA teachers, students, language depts , and districts will be honoring the study of a world language this week. Although we spend time every day respecting diversity, cultural differences,  and intercultural connections, this week gives us an increased opportunity to showcase those extra aspects of language that are small slices of global experience.

In my own district , many teachers do special projects or activities that bring the language to life such as the Manie Musicale. We have a very colorful bulletin board complete with QR codes for students to participate. We have another bulletin  with ‘ailes’from different countries for students to have their fotos taken with. Our high school principal dedicated Thursday as ‘International T Shirt Day’. All staff are encouraged to wear a shirt of foreign origin. The Spanish Honor Society typically has dancing classes for bachata and tango. French Honor Society just celebrated Marci Gras.

Junior high advisory periods have various games by day for prizes as well as cooking demos of arepas and churros.

I do a video cast called ‘Ciao, Falmouth’ and will broadcast through local cable pictures of teachers and students honoring Mardi Gras , et al. Students also broadcast morning news and have an intro to the week planned for Monday morning. Later on, the Asst Superintendent and Director of DEI and I will also discuss live how the district is highlighting all the diversity and rich cultural heritage there is in Falmouth. We will mention how important the study of other languages is and how we make the transitions from one school to the next higher level seamlessly. We call it ‘ Smooth Sailing ’.

We hope you plan some special events, cooking demos, and  field trips, or exchanges to provide students with motivation and the encouragement to continue learning about our global neighbors near and far. Share your ideas with us!

Submitted by Pat DiPillo, MAFLA Past President

World Language Week 2024 (2)

Do you have a Successful K-12 Public Schools Heritage Language Program?
Please see below  to help CAL with information.

The Center for Applied Linguistics (CAL) has recently been awarded a three-year grant by the International Research and Studies Program of the U.S. Department of Education to develop a free, online self-access training program that supports teachers, administrators, and families in understanding best practices for and their roles in building and sustaining an effective K-12 heritage language (HL) program.

As part of this project, we are currently searching for existing successful K-12 heritage language programs in the U.S. to find out more about the practices that have helped them succeed.

Could you please share the following online form with MaFLA’s membership to help us identify successful K-12 public school heritage language programs? https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/SuccessfulHLPrograms

You can read more about the project at https://www.cal.org/projects/building-an-effective-heritage-language-program-training-for-k-12-teachers-administrators-and-families/.

JNCL-NCLIS is excited to announce the introduction of the World Language Education Assistance Program (World LEAP) Act! Over the past year, the JNCL-NCLIS team has been working closely with Congressman Jimmy Panetta (D-CA) to design this legislation with the support and insight of our advocates and member organizations. We are thrilled to see it move forward and are eager to support next steps.

The World LEAP Act will establish the first K-12 world language and dual language education grants program at the U.S. Department of Education in over 14 years. This important legislation prioritizes funding for the development of programs offered across all socioeconomic and demographic groups, builds opportunity for heritage and English language learners, requires a reservation of funds for professional development, and promotes career pathways that will generate economic success for our nation.

This legislation is at the heart of why JNCL exists as it is our purpose to nationalize the discussion of equitable access to language education as an essential facet of K-12 learning in the United States through advocacy that leads to legislation and policy. 

Thank you for your advocacy and support, and please join us in sharing the news and celebrating the introduction of the World LEAP Act!
The full press release is available here.

FROM JNCL-NCLIS

Senators Brian Schatz (D-HI) and Todd Young (R-IN) are circulating an e-Dear Colleague letter to urge Senate Members to sign on and support robust funding for Title VI and Fulbright-Hays International Education and Foreign Language Studies programs at the Department of Education. Take action today to ask your Senators to sign on in support of this request.

There is a growing need for American professionals who have language abilities and cultural knowledge in an expanding range of sectors: health, cybersecurity, food safety, environment, law enforcement, engineering, and more. Unfortunately, the United States lags in the percentage of its citizens who know a second language as compared to other nations. To address these gaps, we need strong academic programs in critical world languages and intensive training in multi-disciplinary regional studies that are vital to our global economic competitiveness, national security, and other key priorities.

The extended deadline for Senate Members to sign on is April 7th.

TAKE ACTION HERE