Bilingual in America

Palma Multilingual Educational Solutions, LLC led by Mario Palma , and his team, Jessica Canul Diaz and Jordan Montalvo, are committed to enhancing multilingual learning nationwide. With over 25 years of expertise, Mario and his team specialize in equipping educators with the knowledge and tools to integrate the science of reading and language acquisition research. Through innovative strategies, e...

Dr. Audrey Cohan is the Senior Dean for Research, Scholarship, and Graduate Studies at Molloy University, Rockville Centre, New York where she has worked for twenty-nine years, Dr. Cohan began her career as a special education teacher in New York City, working with students with special needs and then went on to pursue certification in TESOL. Dr. Andrea Honigsfeld is TESOL professor at Molloy Univ...

How many Latinos are in the field of aviation? Listen in to hear from Jonathan Tejada who was born and raised in the US by his Colombian parents and became interested in aviation as a young boy when they would travel to Queens, NY to watch planes landing and taking off at LaGuardia Airport. He shares his journey in aviation and how it led him to birth Cafe Avion. Alex Retamozo migrated to the US f...

123 Andrés is a husband-and-wife duo that creates children's music in both English and Spanish. They have performed for audiences across the US as well as in Puerto Rico, Panama, and Mexico. They are performers, songwriters, advocates, authors, podcasters, and teacher trainers. This year, 2024, they won their second Grammy Award for Best Children's Music Album for their album We Grow Toget...

Just like the mariposas monarcas, María Chinchilla left everything that was familiar to migrate from Guatemala to New York at the age of seventeen. In her first published children’s book, Maria Becomes A Butterfly , María beautifully tells the story of how she weathered tormentas, discovered her superpowers, and finally found a sense of belonging. This story will resonate with not only young reade...

Angela Alvarez-Cooper and Dr. Laura Florez Gomez , clinicians, advocates, leaders, and everyday experts, talk with us about language acquisition myths that impact students with language delays and language challenges. Listen in and bust these myths, as they have never served our multilingual learners well.

Marla Felton and Sue Spiegel join Bilingual in America to talk about the not-for-profit, Common Circles, founded by Marla Felton. Their interactive exhibit aims to increase empathy, decrease bias and help people find their shared humanity. After conducting extensive research, they have created a multi-faceted experience for students that allows them to learn about the lives of others and, as a res...

Dr. Andrea Honigsfel d speaks with us about her soon-to-be released secondary professional resource, Growing Language & Literacy for Grades 6-12. This is a follow-up to her 2019 Heinemann publication by the same title for grades K-8. We discuss her use of TESOL levels, the four areas that she weaves into each chapter, and the added value of lived experiences and linguistic assets of multilingu...

Today we have the distinct honor of speaking with Dr. Alma Flor Ada and Dr. Isabel Campoy , educators, leaders, authors, advocates for multilingual education, and social justice trendsetters. Their children's books and poetry illuminate the richness of the Latino culture and their strong belief in the power of transformation and social justice. Their legacy work continues as they travel the wo...

Judith Aucar , Deputy Director of El Centro Hispano in Westchester, New York, joins us to talk about their 50th anniversary and how they will celebrate this important milestone. El Centro offers services to support all immigrants, regardless of language background, as they begin life in search of a better future. As Judith reflects on the growth of El Centro since its inception, she also shares so...

David Rogers supports the work of Dual Language Education of New Mexico-DLeNM , whose mission is to promote the effective design and implementation of dual language education (www.dlenm.org) in New Mexico and beyond. As they continue to serve students, families, and educators, they have added the MITOTE podcast to their repertoire! Welcome to the airways, MITOTE!

Valentina Gonzalez is an educational consultant for Rooted Linguistics and a content creator working with educators across the nation to support multilingual learners and their families. Her personal experiences as an immigrant fuels her passion for the work she does. She works with schools and districts to provide professional learning experiences that are tailored to meet the needs of educators....

What does it take to truly make an impact in this world? Author Dr. Vilma Luz Cabán, well known as an educator and dedicated champion for women impacted by domestic violence and social and economic inequalities, has blazed a trail of success and passion. In her wide-ranging and often heart-wrenching memoir, Cabán weaves her personal experiences and lessons from her survival with her deepest wish t...

Julia Chapa has served emergent bilinguals as a Bilingual and ESL teacher in Texas for over 20 years. She has experience providing scaffolded instruction for second language learners, resulting in outstanding student achievement. In 2018, she began her company EDU Specialist, which supports parents and teachers working in bilingual and DL settings. Listen in to hear the ways EDU Specialist support...

Michael Rodriguez , Executive Director of Dual Language Education of New Mexico, reflects on this year's Dual Language conference, La Cosecha, that took place in Albuquerque, New Mexico, this past November, hosting more than 3500 attendees. And YES! We even have a save the date for next year's conference... Let's listen in...

Jesus Cervantes is the National Director of Biliteracy and English Language Development (ELD) for Benchmark Education and a longtime advocate of bilingual education and Dual Language instruction. He has focused his career on providing English learners access to language and literacy. His areas of expertise are in literacy, biliteracy, and language development. He is a published author of children’...

A language learner in her own right, Alexandra Güílamo has spent more than twenty years serving a wide range of language learner programs. Alexandra is a former teacher, academic coach, elementary school principal, and district-level director in highly diverse urban and suburban school districts. She is a leading dual-language expert, author, keynote speaker, and the Chief Equity and Achievement O...

Claribel Gonzalez speaks with us about how sketch notes serve as an access point for abstract ideas and the various ways that images and visual literacy can support anyone but especially our Multilingual Learners (MLLs). Claribel has been a bilingual teacher, a bilingual coach, and a staff developer. When she is not designing sketch notes for researchers, authors, and teachers, she is hard at work...

Dr. Lillian Ardell , founder of Language Matters, is a biliteracy advocate, coach & staff developer. At her core, she is an applied linguist with a passion for teaching and learning. She speaks with us about the work she does to disturb monolingual bias, help educators flex into the bilingual advantage, and the need to experience small brave moments.

Today. my co-host, Yarina Sencion , and I have the great fortune of speaking with Dr .Aradhana Mudambi , an accomplished, multilingual educator and social justice activist. We had the opportunity to make her acquaintance last year at La Cosecha , the annual dual language education conference, and we are just amazed at all the different things that we have in common and the initiatives that she is...

While we are resting and recharging over the summer we are also working behind the scenes to get ready for Season 4. Listen in to meet Gaby Maldonado and hear who she is and what gifts she is bringing to BiLingual in America.

While Mariachi bands date back to 18th-century Mexico, it wasn’t until the 20th century that the music transformed regional folk music into more of an urban phenomenon. During Season 2 of Bilingual in America , we first introduced the White Plains, NY High School Mariachi band as part of our episode titled "Music as a Global Language". Today’s episode goes a bit deeper as we hear from st...

Bilingual children’s book author Maria Twena is a second-generation Latina, who felt very much like an outsider while growing up in New Orleans, Louisiana where she was balancing two languages and two cultures. Maria is the creator of the book series, MariVi: The Master Navigator , which will now also be featured as an animated series for TV. Through her longitudinal book series, Maria gives bilin...

Flor Bromley is a bilingual songstress originally from Peru. She is signed with 8 Pound Gorilla Records and has released three family albums. Her work has been praised by The Recording Academy, Red Tricycle, Broadway Workd, Parents Latina, Rockmommy, and The Toybook, among others. Her songs have been featured and played on the top 13 of Kids Place Live Sirius XM. In 2022 her album, Fiesta Global ,...

Areli Morales Romero was born in Puebla, Mexico, but was raised in New York City. She is a DACA recipient, and Areli Is a Dreamer is her debut children's book. A graduate of CUNY-Brooklyn College with a Bachelor's degree in childhood bilingual education, she currently works as a preschool teacher. Join us as Areli shares her story of living the life of a Dreamer.