I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the plethora of resources available to teachers of multilingual learners, administrators, policy makers, and multilingual families. However, there is often a gap between the resources themselves and their dissemination. In this post I will share some valuable sources that offer information, materials, webinars, and the like. As you can see, several are available in Spanish and English. I hope you’ll find one or more that are useful to you in your own setting.
English Learner/Emergent Bilingual Collegial Community meeting. Our monthly come-as-you-can meetings welcome all participants who are interested in discussing multilingual literacy research and practice. Sponsored by The Reading League and facilitated by Kari Kurto, Claude Goldenberg, and myself (Jana Echevarria), we meet on the last Friday of each month.
The next meeting will be on April 26, 2024 at 12:30 pm PST / 3:30 pm EST when we welcome Magdalena Zavalia and colleagues from Intelexia. They will describe research conducted on their Spanish foundational skills program, Aprendo Leyendo, both in the U.S. and South America. This is an important presentation for multilingual educators because criticism of the “science of reading” (which is simply research on how individuals learn to read) is that its research is only conducted with monolingual English speakers, OR that the research was done exclusively in other countries. The presentations the past two months were centered around seminal studies conducted with Spanish-speaking students in the U.S.
We would be delighted to have you join us, whatever your perspective. Please complete the Google Form invitation to get a zoom link. Also, feel free to pass the invitation along to any interested colleagues and friends.
In addition to lively, informative discussions, an added benefit of membership in the community is access to a Google drive folder containing previous recordings and readings. Hope to see you Friday, April 26th.
Evidence Advocacy Center (EAC). A group of passionate educators and researchers has begun an effort to promote the use of evidence (aka research) by those who make decisions about policies, practices, procedures, programs, curricula, and so forth. Called the Evidence Advocacy Center, it is aimed at policy makers, educational administrators (at the national, state, local, and building levels), teacher educators, interest groups and organization leaders, instructional coaches, and teachers. It is not designed to promote specific curricula, assessments, or other educational products; it is designed to assist those who make instructional decisions locate and interpret trustworthy evidence about education – what works and what does not. Please visit the website where there is loads of information including a powerful video from Ameer Baraka who learned to read at 45 years of age after a stint in prison. This video speaks to the critical need to reach every child in the early grades of their schooling. There’s no time to waste!
Sold A Story Podcast. (English and Spanish) In this popular podcast series, investigative journalist Emily Hansford reported about what is characterized as American education’s failures to teach reading. To tell the story, Ms. Hansford interviewed parents, children, educators, and others. She heard and reported about problems that were prevalent across the country. The reports have had an impact on the public as well as educators. In part, the series prompted a national discussion that has resulted new laws in at least 15 states to try to change the way reading is taught in schools.
Just recently, Sold a Story became available in Spanish and can be accessed through your preferred podcast outlet.
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sold-a-story-en-espa%C3%B1ol/id1735791319
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/35siysSMOUySvDzPiIftKR
This is the kind of resource that schools should share with Spanish-speaking families. It might prompt a discussion amongst families and school personnel and give families a voice in the national discussion about reading.
The Reading League Compass (English and Spanish) Some of the content on the Compass site includes a resource developed by The Reading League and the National Committee on Effective Literacy (NCEL): a Joint Statement: Understanding the Difference: The Science of Reading and Implementation for English Learners / Emergent Bilinguals. The groups, who are sometimes characterized as representing dichotomous perspectives, came together and found areas of agreement. This Joint Statement was a significant step forward in realizing the areas of agreement and diminishing the perception that there is widespread disagreement in how reading needs to be taught.
A related resource is a page on the science of reading (SOR) and English learners which contains various resources at your fingertips (or clicks!). Be sure to spend some time exploring the resources there.
Families in Schools. (English and Spanish) Although the website is intended to serve the greater Los Angeles area, you will find that its themes and resources are universal. For over 20 years, Families In Schools (FIS) has served “low-income, immigrant, and communities of color, knowing that education remains the single most important opportunity for them. The mission of Families in Schools is to involve families and communities in their children’s education to achieve lifelong success.” One resource for promoting early literacy is their ReadLA! Campaign: Literacy and Justice for All. Please visit the site to find ideas that may apply to your district and/or state.
La Ciencia de la Lectura en la Enseñanza de la Lectura (The Science of Reading in the Teaching of Reading). Dr. Horacio Alvarez Marinelli, Education Policy Expert & Creator of Let’s All Learn to Read provides an engaging and informative presentation in Spanish. A link to the transcript of the presentation is found below the video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9i2HdN1OHFU. In this presentation, Dr. Alvarez offers data from several countries that show the discrepancy between those who can understand oral language and written language. He characterizes lack of reading ability as “criminal” because of the limits it places on children. It is a very powerful presentation situated in a discussion of worldwide reading data.
Conclusion
We have a responsibility to help educators access evidence-based resources that will drive classroom practice. Also, we need to reach out to parents so that they are informed about the education of their children. Too often families who are not proficient in English are left out of important conversations taking place in educational circles (including their own schools), conversations in which English-proficient families have a voice.
The resources in this post are intended to be shared widely with colleagues, families, and others interested in literacy. Please feel free to pass along this post so that the dissemination gap is minimized.