Lifting Language

There really is not enough useful information out there about gifted multilingual learners. Are they underrepresented in our schools? How can we better identify and serve gifted MLs? How do we support their families so they too can advocate for the right programs and instruction? And what can teachers do now as they plan to meet the needs of gifted MLs in their classrooms? I talk to Amber Gonzalez...

As teachers of MLs, we serve students and teachers through many roles. We coplan alongside teachers, we co-teach with our colleagues, and we work with students in small-group instruction too. Collaboration is a critical factor in the success of these.  In this episode, Dr. Katie Toppel, Sara Sparks, and Stacy Brown share their unique and valuable perspectives. We talk about what collaboration is a...

Many of you know that I love sketchnoting. It's been a longtime personal and professional practice that I enjoy. I invited Emily Francis, Pamela Broussard, and Lauren Sheppard to the roundtable to discuss sketchnoting with multilingual learners. I've seen their work with students and wanted to pick their brains about how they implement this powerful instructional method. In this episode, y...

Bilingual Education has long been known to have positive effects on students academically and socially. Studies show that Bilingual students outperform monolingual students and as the guests in this episode point out a number of times, bilingualism has numerous other benefits.  I counted myself extremely lucky to sit down with Ms. Norma Garcia, the director of Multi-Language in Harlingen, Texas, D...

Did you study a language when you were in school? Can you speak it fluently today? In this episode, I visit with a group of passionate educators about innovative Modern World Language classrooms. We discuss how LOTE or World Language classrooms have evolved over the years and they share the challenges teachers and students face. We also explore what effective instruction looks like in a lesson. Th...

Is creating a sense of belonging important in our roles as educators?  I visited with Dr. Carol Salva, Hieu Frazer, and Noa Daniels to talk about belonging. These rockstar professionals shared bravely from their own experiences and diverse perspectives giving us practical ideas and also lots to think about as we move forward to create a culture of belonging in all that we do. Get ready because we...

This powerful half-hour is all about unique and creative ways for educators to collaborate for a common goal, success for multilingual learners! You will love hearing from Esther Park and Sara Sparks who both have had various roles in education and share fresh ideas. We discuss practical ways to communicate with colleagues and also share a few concrete tips you can try immediately! I ask them both...

Instructional Practices for Early Childhood MLs and teaching early childhood MLs In this episode of Lifting Language, I gathered three leaders in the early childhood field to talk about teaching early childhood multilingual learners. Karen Nemeth, the author of numerous books and publications, Lena Cordova, an early childhood education specialist in Texas for Head Start, and Wendy Ditmars an ELA t...

When I invited Natalia Heckman and Stephanie Ledger to sit down with me at the roundtable to talk about supporting and developing secondary multilingual writers I had an idea that the conversation would be informative, but I didn’t realize how deep we would actually go and just how delightful it would be. I took pages of notes! The fact is that we didn’t even get to all of the questions I had plan...

Andrea Bitner reminds us that “no one reaches success alone.” In this episode, I sit down with Andrea Bitner, Carly Spina , and Viana Armstrong and we discuss how they engage families of multilingual learners. These leaders share success stories, mistakes, and advice. I promise you will leave this episode with at least one new idea to share with your colleagues or implement in your own work. There...

How can we use technology to increase participation and engagement on DAY 1 with multilingual Learners? In this episode, I talk with technology and EL experts and educators Dr. Irina McGrath, Michelle Shory, Jenny Vo, and Katie Gardner, each who come with vast and varied professional and personal experiences. They offer words of caution about using technology and much more to help us understand ho...

Is math universal? Does culture impact mathematics? How does background knowledge affect math? Does language play a part in math instruction? Katelyn Ngooi, Carmen Nguyen, and Dr. Jim Ewing share their wisdom and practical advice with us about math and multilingual learners.  In this episode, Dr. Ewing references these books:  Teaching Math to English Learners 7 Steps to a Language-Rich...

This is a brief overview about what listeners will enjoy.