The Language of Life: Making music while parenting

Parenting involves countless hours of teaching, and teaching while parenting consists of constant repetition. In order for everything that we feel is important to sink deep into our children's hearts and minds, we repeat key items almost daily, if not hourly. "Put your shoes away so no one will trip over them," and "do your homework when you get home from school" or "clear your dishes when you are finished eating."

Parents can behave as if the seventh or 20th time something is said will make such a marked difference in that particular moment, that children finally will place the fact into their mental "life lessons" file and, suddenly, they won't need any more reminders about the matter.

While repetition is a great tool to use for teaching or learning just about anything, repetition without structure isn't the same thing and often little impact. The use of structured repetition works in music: verse, chorus, verse, same chorus, verse, same chorus, maybe a bridge, and then the same chorus again to end.

And what is the difference between a good song and a hit song? Song structure.

So is the difference between good parenting and great parenting structure? Perhaps. The process of learning anything is easier when music is added, and this rule certainly applies to parenting, so music can - and should - be applied more often in parent-child relationships.

Just as parenting and learning a foreign language are similar processes, they are both enhanced when music is added. The copious amounts of practice drills involved in mastering a foreign language are very much like the daily activities of parenting, which require constant recaps and reviews.

Word pronunciation and emphasis take on new life on a foreign tongue when a musical backdrop is added. And what was seen as a struggle with unfamiliar words and sounds only moments before, suddenly becomes a fun activity when foreign songs, rather than words, are being taught. Bursting out with a show tune on the virtues of remembering to do homework during a hurried evening routine might not be beneficial. But a short rhyme or song about the school day not being over until all of the homework is complete, could be a fun and effective way for your child to independently make sure they are prepared each night. Or rephrasing a popular chorus from your child's favorite song that reminds them to clear their dishes, will likely earn a memorable laugh and save future frustrations for all involved.

Global Language Project successfully teaches foreign languages to young children free of charge and uses music as a part of their successful teaching technique. Because GLP realizes the critical role that music plays in the language learning process for both the children and their parents, they are releasing "Coloreando," a collection of traditional children's songs from Spain and Latin America, performed by Marta Gomez. The recorded songs allow parents to teach, sing, play and most importantly, have fun with their children of all ages, while they all also happen to be learning a foreign language.

Repetition and structure are key elements to great music and to great parenting. If music is a universal "language," so is parenting. Watching a mother in Russia, Argentina or Los Angeles shush her wiggly child at a wedding requires pretty much the same gesture. But if those mothers chose instead to hum their child's favorite song in his or her ear to shush them, it is likely they would universally receive the same satisfactory response.

Listen to the COLOREANDO CD here:  http://glp4educators.org/coloreando/

Read more here: http://www.sanluisobispo.com/2013/10/07/2721576/the-language-of-life-making-music.html#storylink=cpy

Teaching Tolerance Globally - Angela Jackson, Founder Global Language Project

Dr. Christoper Stone
Hunter College

It is with a heavy heart that I write this post. One of GLP's champions, Professor Christopher Stone was injured last week while on Sabbatical in Egypt. Professor Stone is the Chair of the Arabic Department at Hunter College.  He was also recently appointed head of the US-based Center for Arabic Study Abroad (CASA) by the American University in Cairo (AUC).

Stone is someone who is a great advocate for the Middle-East region here in the states.  The news accounts state that he was visiting the US Embassy when he was approached by his assailant and asked in Arabic whether he was Egyptian or American. When he replied in Arabic that he was American, the assailant stabbed him.

The incident amplifies why global education and tolerance should be a mandatory component in elementary school curricula worldwide . Cultural understanding, tolerance and appreciation helps to prevent people from painting entire races and cultures with one brush stroke.

In an instant, Stone’s life work and support of the Middle East were erased just because he was American. As a people, we need to begin to intentionally teach that the actions or non-actions of one person or a small group of political leaders do not necessarily reflect the sentiment of an entire community or people.

Growing up, I attended a middle school that was predominantly white. While attending this school, some of the students would refer to me using racial epithets.  Based on this experience, I had a choice.  I could have chosen to believe that all people who were Caucasian were racist or decide that these students were the minority and were ill-informed.

My work with GLP aims to give children a leveled experience where they can make informed decisions as to how they will view and process today’s current events, and how they will choose to relate to an ethnically and racially diverse world that is becoming increasingly interconnected . As we teach languages, we also teach an appreciation and respect for other cultures and ways of life. In the process we let these students know that how they will decide to perceive others and the world around them, can be a choice based on a worldly and cultivated ethos of global citizenship.

Language as a Means: The Multiple Ends of Language Learning

At Global Language Project, our approach is to think about language proficiency not only as an end in itself, but as a means for students to achieve success in a multitude of areas.  Our curriculum is designed to make direct links between learning the structure of a new language and the core subjects that students are learning in their daily classes and core subjects. Students need to engage on a deep level with another language not only to gain more opportunities in the workforce, but to also develop the skills they already are cultivating in the classroom. These skills are also critical ones for students in higher education and in the workforce.

Often in public schools, we see world language learning siphoned off into its own category, which leaves students and educators perplexed as to why achieving language proficiency becomes such a challenging process. As foreign as a new language might seem, we believe that there is a way to make learning a new language a process that students can identify with and in which they can find familiarity.  At GLP, our language classes are structured so that students reinforce the multiple skill sets, including social habits, they are learning in the classroom, but through the eyes of another language and culture.  Doing math exercises, for example, in Spanish not only enhances student comprehension of new Spanish vocabulary but also reinforces basic mathematical skills. Looking at the lives of important figures in the history of Spanish-speaking countries not only provides students with important cultural knowledge of a region, but also enables an appreciation of history as a way of looking at the world.

While language is our starting point, in many ways, the ends we hope to achieve are bigger, and the stakes higher. Many of GLP’s students come from communities that have limited educational resources and that suffer from poverty and its social consequences. We have found that our language programs have given students a safe space to channel their energies into something productive, and to see the value in developing teamwork, leadership skills, and productive relationships with their peers. In other words, language learning becomes common ground for giving students in under-served communities the chance to work towards broader goals for themselves and even for their local neighborhoods. 

 Whether our students are saying Hola!, Ni Hao!, Bonjour!, or Marhaba!, the value of learning another language remains constant. For us, it is about enabling students to become a better version of themselves as students, as potential members of the workforce, as global citizens, and as members of their communities. 

Advice on Teaching Variations of a Language

Advice on Teaching Variations of a Language 

Dr. Victoria Gilbert, Chair of the Foreign Languages Department, Saint David's School, New York

I think one of the beauties of being a language teacher is that you get to introduce students to the flexibility of thinking that comes when learning another language. Humanity is rich with expression!

For the little ones, to keep it simple, just introduce one dialect (per person) at a time. Children are much more flexible than we imagine as long as we give them a heads up on or an identity to associate with the code switch. If teachers are worried that their “version” of Spanish/French/Arabic/Chinese, etc. is not clear to students, you could rely on a flag sign that indicates the English you use (I am assuming here a US flag) on one side and the Spanish flag of whatever nation your accent and dialect is from (luckily, we have 21 varieties!!) on the other side. This way, there is not just “one” that is the correct one. It is best to stick to one for each teacher whom the little ones encounter for the sake of consistency. You don’t need to make it any more explicit than that to them when you say “cerdito” and the first grade teacher says “marranito.” They will adjust to it, first as a quirk of that teacher, then become aware that certain words follow certain flags, countries, etc.   For 2^nd or 3^rd graders, it would be fun to keep a “word” wall (or for the traveling teacher a folding map) with countries and flags and an index card with words that correspond to other words across borders. Students could investigate the varieties of these words within their own communities.

Depending on where you learned to speak, you should take that dialect as your default since it contains the words most likely to come to mind. European and American romance languages have a standard that you could consider teaching as the academic register at school---meaning you could find those words in the dictionary (www.wordreference.com) or in the Microsoft word review of languages under the editing tool. This way, other native speakers would understand a future business/personal exchange using that language. While I am not familiar with other countries, I know that English was never standardized linguistically the way that Spanish and French were –hence our crazy multiple spellings for the same sounds!

Older students are used to being “bicultural-bilingual” all the time. For example, there are words/expressions that they use with their friends that they wouldn’t use around parents and teachers. Given this, as lifetime language learners, we should ask ourselves, why should objects/things/ideas only have one label? It is important to remember that the “label” you use may very well be an original version of the word or it may have mutated in culturally grounded way. One of the advantages of starting a second language at the same time the first one is still developing is that the knowledge becomes encoded by the brain as “just another label” for that thing, rather than a specific linguistic track. This flexibility is part of what early language programs aim to provide for their students.

 Welcome to the wonderful world of being a language teacher!

Giving the Gift of Language This Holiday

As we enter the holiday season and you make your many lists, consider giving the gift of language this year by clicking here.  It is the gift that truly keeps on giving.  At GLP, we do not look at learning language as an end to itself but as a means that unlocks communication and culture.  At GLP, we often say a “second language is a second life.”  Yes it may sound catchy, but after traveling the world twice over and meeting countless people who have recounted how either speaking or not speaking the language of a country has positively impacted their travels or how speaking a language has opened doors in their careers and personal lives.

Most of us know all too well the utility of language skills when you find yourself in a place where your mother tongue is not spoken.  But more than that, when you understand a language, you can begin to understand a culture.  And at GLP, our holiday wish is for more understanding and tolerance around the world.

We want to thank all of our supporters for making our work possible this year, and look forward to bringing more language programs to students across the country!

All the best!

Angela

P.S Check out a recent feature on New York 1 on GLP’s programs!

Amira Yahyaoui- Vital Voices--The Power of Women Leading Change Around The World

Meet Amira Yahyaoui.  Yahahyaouia, a Tunisian peace activist and founder of Al Bawsala, an NGO that monitors the constitutional assembly and Parliament to protect the free expression of the Tunisian people and advocate or human rights. Yahyaoui has been a tireless advocate for freedom of expression for over a decade---and she is only 26!

Yahyaoui shares how being multilingual has empowers her work.

To learn more about Yahyaoui and her work visit: http://www.vitalvoices.org/node/2673

Apsen Ideas Festival--Using Language to Kick Start a Jobs Movement

This week I'm excited to share with you what I learn at the Aspen Ideas Festival.  Wherever I go, I welcome opportunities to see how world language and culture is integrated in the very fabric of our society.

In my first session at the festival I had the good fortune of catching Arianna Huffington of the Huffington Post’s “Starting a Movement to Kick Start Jobs”.

Arianna shared recent research by LinkedIn that there are 3.7 million jobs here in America that are going unfilled because we don’t have enough people with the right skills to fill the positions.  3.7 Million Jobs?

In New York state we have an 8.5% unemployment rate. Could you image what it would mean to the state, local communities and families to put even a small percentage of these people back to work?

Hearing the statistic about the unfilled jobs made me think about language and wonder how many of these jobs that are unfilled are related to language or lack thereof.

A report by the Defense Language and National Security Education Office said that there is a critical deficit of multilingual employees within government that impacts national security and foreign relations; this sector has 3.1 million employees but less than 8% of them have the ability to speak a second language. 

Locally, there are jobs in healthcare that require multilingual skills to serve a growing diverse population…not to mention, travel and tourism and trade.  These are all 21^st century jobs that will need to be eventually filled by students…our future workforce if our country is to be successful.

Back to Arianna Huffington, who was born in Greece and has had considerable success with Huffington Post. Her command of English allowed this.  Would the Huffington Post have the same impact if it were only in Greek?  Media’s ability to transact across borders is priceless in today’s global society.