Language Goes To School

What happens when the ancient traditions of Native America encounter the modern traditions of Europe? One version of that story is the one we all know: the arrival of a certain Italian “explorer” that led to the violent colonization of the continent by subsequent waves of invaders from other European countries. Another version looks like this: Native values, such as communal care and cohesion, org...

Meeting David Rogers in 1997 at the second annual La Cosecha Dual-Language Education Conference in Albuquerque was memorable. That our meeting occurred just a few dozen feet from live giraffes, elephants, lions, chimps, and other exotic fauna, made that meeting even more memorable. You read that correctly. The conference had been such a success the year before, David and crew had to move it from D...

In which we continue our conversation with Warlance Chee. Warlance is a Diné (Navajo) language and culture educator and co-founder of Saad K’idilyé, a Diné language nest in Albuquerque. Saad K’idilyé means “the planting of the language.” This unique language nest educates and enculturates children, prenatal to preschool, by surrounding them with rich cultural experiences in Diné bizaad, the Navajo...

Create in your mind an image of a parent bird feeding its babies mouth-to-mouth and you have an apt metaphor for the concept of a human language nest. In a language nest, adults who are fluent in a language that is experiencing a steep decline in the number first language speakers, surround the youngest speakers in the community with the language, all the while engaging these young speakers in cul...

On January 30 of 2024, South Dakota became the 50th and final state to establish bilingual seal for high school graduates. The seal, which is affixed to the graduates’ diplomas, signifies the graduate has completed coursework in another language that certified them as fully bilingual and literate. For its part, New Mexico became the fifth state to establish a bilingual seal program, doing so on Ma...

The Zuni language has been an enigma for anthropologists and linguistics ever since the people of Zuni Pueblo, located in western New Mexico, first had contact with Europeans and Africans in the 16th century. Zuni is related to no other language in the region, in the country, or in the world. Arin Peywa is a native of Zuni Pueblo and a native speaker of the language, though her fluency was reduced...

Midway between Seasons 1 and 2, we thought we'd give you a peak at what we have in store for Season 2. We hope to release our first episode on September 1. See you then! Send us Fan Mail Support the show Contact us! Text : Click on Send us a Text Message in the episode view of your app Instagram & Facebook : @languagegoestoschool Email : languagegoestoschool@gmail.com Website : https://la...

If all you knew about José Luis was that he likes to travel, spend time with family and friends, and experience fine foods, you would be fulfilled. But lo! He teaches, too, in two different languages, and, in only sixteen years, has accrued a lifetime of experience in teaching elementary-aged kids. José Luis is, for the time being, the last in a series of teachers from Spain who have come to the r...

When we suggested we pin the word “cowboy” to Tee McDougal’s boyhood identity, we were politely redirected to the term “farm and ranch kid.” But what an understated description! As a young boy and on into high school, he was milking cows, raising hogs, cultivating fields, bailing and bucking hay, butchering beef, digging irrigation ditches, stomping cotton in the hopper, erecting and repairing fen...

Originally from New York State, Judy Gordon was one of the cofounders in 1995 of the Zia Elementary School dual language program in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She was hired to teach the Kindergarten-first-and-second grade class, while another teacher [podcast host clears throat] was hired to teach the third-fourth-and-fifth-grade class. To some, it might seem intimidating to take on the challenge of...

Michele Trujillo is the longest-serving kindergarten teacher in the dual-language program at Zia Elementary in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She joined the program in 2006. Since then, she has experienced various demographic changes in the neighborhood surrounding Zia. These changes have resulted in shifts in language knowledge, acquisition, and use in her classroom and in the school. We asked her abou...

On this, our first full episode of the podcast, we meet Grigori Grigoriev, the star of the story we told in Episode 0.  As a ten-year-old Russian immigrant to the United States in 1996, Grigori found himself enrolled in a 3rd-4th-and-5th grade, Spanish-English, dual-language program in the American Southwest. In this episode, Grigori provides his account of his experiences in that classroom, how h...

In this, our inaugural episode, we discuss the genesis of the podcast and present its mission, scope, and content.  We then present the interesting case of Grigori Grigoriev, a student from Russia who, some years ago, arrived unexpectedly in a 3rd-4th-and-5th grade Spanish-English dual-language classroom in New Mexico, halfway through the academic year.  After hearing our version of his experience...