The Language of Life: Bullying and understanding differencesThe Language of Life: Bullying and understanding differences

In the past week, bullying has touched one of America's roughest sports: football.

As a parent, I was horrified when I watched reports of the exchanges between Miami Dolphins players Jonathan Martin and Richie Incognito. Regardless of how the story shakes out, the biggest takeaway is that whether you are 5, 15, 35 or any age for that matter, bullying hurts and no one - not even the seemingly toughest among us - is immune.

Martin allegedly walking away from his team after incidents of bullying sends a strong message that parents throughout the country can use if your child feels bullied. Children can know now, through Martin's ordeal, that they have the right to walk away if they are intentionally made to feel uncomfortable or distressed - and no dollar amount is worth their being upset, not even a lucrative multi-million-dollar contract.

When I first launched Global Language Project there was a 3rd grader, Laylah, who was being bullied in the classroom by some of the other girls. She was learning to speak Chinese and was making slower progress than the other students. She had grown up with these girls and had attended school with them since she was 5 years old. Something happened at the beginning of the 3rd grade year between these girls, and instead of Laylah being in one of the "in-crowds" she became a marked outsider. She tried to fit in but the other girls in the class were cruel. I was surprised by ability of children who, as young as 9 years old, could be so mean with biting comments.

Laylah's mom called to talk to me about the issue and asked for my advice. Laylah wanted to drop out of our program and at that time, I was very strong willed. I told Laylah's mom that she should not drop out that I would rather remove the other students who had poor behavior. My advice four years ago to Laylah and her mother were that they should stick it out; not let the bullies win.

But now as I watch what is happening in Miami, I empathize and understand how the pressures of bullying can be so great, that even the seemingly strongest and toughest among us can fold under this pressure. So imagine what our children are up against?

Read more here: http://www.kansas.com/2013/11/11/3110293/the-language-of-life-bullying.html#storylink=cpy

Read the rest of the column here: http://newsle.com/article/0/102356583/

The Language of Life: Finding global education inspiration for your child

WISE Conference

I attended the World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE) in Doha, Qatar, last week at the invitation of Qatar Foundation International. The theme of the conference was "Education Above All." Thought leaders, community activists and parents from around the world convened, to discuss issues of access to education for the world's most vulnerable children; children who are currently battling poverty and times of war, to gain access to education.

During the three days at the conference I couldn't help but think about how fortunate we are in the United States that our children have access to a public school system. Yes, I will admit that we still have problems of equity in education to deal with, but for the most part, a majority of our students can get to schools without their lives being threatened. And teachers can teach without fear of having their lives threatened, or worse yet, being killed.

Many parents can relate to waking their child up early in the morning and having them cry out that they don't want to go to school because they are tired. This is in stark contrast to many children in developing nations who walk miles to one-room schoolhouses, with the hope that an education can change their lives and transform their world. It made me think of the responsibility that this access to education brings and how we as parents of students here in the U.S. can communicate to our children that education is a privilege. As the parents of Western children, how do we engage our children to demonstrate how fortunate they are to be born in a time and place where they have free access to education, while in many parts of the world, it is a rare gift? How can we foster an appreciation for education in our children to instill in them a life-long zest for learning?

Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/2013/11/04/5304190/the-language-of-life-finding-global.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/2013/11/04/5304190/the-language-of-life-finding-global.html#storylink=cpy

The Language of Life: Practice makes perfect!

Angela Jackson, GLP Founder with students a PS 368

The old adage that "practice makes perfect" has never seems more true than when it is applied to parenting. A commonly shared keen observation - or even a funny "urban legend" of sorts - is how a first child in a family is cared for completely differently from how the following children are raised. Constant surveillance of every move child No. 1 makes is soon replaced with a top-of-the-line video baby monitor for child No. 2. And often, with the arrival of child No. 3 and onward, the overly cautious steps are no longer taken and the constant vulnerability is replaced with a firm sense of confidence.

This confidence often is created not so much by the experience of parenting, but the actual parenting practice that varies from child to child. The experience of parenting lasts a lifetime, but the practice of parenting is often for a more limited time, during the developmental stages of a child's life. And parenting practice has somewhat of a definitive end, when you can say you have indeed "parented," and you watch your child to journey into adulthood.

The process of learning a language is very much like the process of parenting, as it relates to experience versus practice.  

To read the complete article please visit my new column on the News Tribune:

http://www.thenewstribune.com/2013/09/23/2800570/the-language-of-life-practice.html

Read more here: http://www.thenewstribune.com/2013/09/23/2800570/the-language-of-life-practice.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.

Different Interests, One Goal: Mobilizing Support for World Language Education by Angela Jackson, Founder and Executive Director, Global Language Project

GLP Executive Director Angela Jackson (second from left) and
GLP Board Chair Justyn Makarewycz (far right) with event attendees
at My Dream Speaks

On April 11^th, 2013, Global Language Project hosted its 2^nd annual benefit, My Dream Speaks, to a host of positive feedback and support. What struck me about this year’s benefit was the sheer diversity of professional backgrounds that constituted our audience. I was amazed, after conversing with many, to learn about the different interests that have driven each individual to become invested in world language education. I realized then that what has been so key to GLP’s efforts to mobilize support is the idea that world language education holds different stakes for different people.

GLP Students:

Our students, whose voices are the most important here, experience learning a second language as a way to excel in their current academic subjects, to interact in new ways with their peers, and to realize their capacities for affecting change in their own communities.

GLP Parents and Educators:

The parents of our students and their teachers situate the importance of foreign language learning with other stakes in mind. Knowing a second language is a way for students to empower their local communities in the short and long term. Because teachers and parents have a more intimate knowledge of the kinds of struggles with self-conception and self-confidence that some of our students who live in neighborhoods plagued by systemic inequities confront, what knowing a second language means carries a different but no less important kind of weight for them.

GLP Students at the My Dream Speaks Benefit

Corporate Sector:

I have found that those who work in the corporate sector tend to view the importance of world language programs as a means for students to become competitive in an increasingly globalized workforce. 

Social Entrepreneurs:

Social entrepreneurs situate the importance of language on multiple registers—students who know another language can help to create and lead business practices that are more socially responsible and oriented towards a more multicultural audience.

So what does this mean for initiatives that seek to expand foreign language opportunities to young people?  A guiding question for me has always been, how do we get people with such different backgrounds, priorities, and interests to coalesce around something like world language education? What I have found in my experience, whether it be in organizing a major fundraiser, a small luncheon of business executives, or a day of celebrating the Chinese New Year in the classroom, is that these different interests do not have to be antithetical to one another. In fact, the differences are productive—they enable new kinds of relationships between people you would hardly see interacting with one another—hedge fund managers with the local school principal, media executives with NGO program directors, parents with leaders of government initiatives on language.  What they all have in common is that they value a second language. The relationships they produce have only helped GLP to continue to make the case that language is indeed a means towards multiple kinds of ends.

To see more photos of GLP's My Dream Speaks Benefit Reception, click here!

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!

Qatar’s Her Highness Sheika Moza Bint Nasser Visit to P.S. 368

On Thursday, September 20, 2012 our students at P.S. 368 were graced by a visit by Her Highness Sheika Moza.

Qatar is a monarchy and Her Heighness is the wife of His Highness the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani. Over the past 15 years in her role as Her Highness, Sheikh Moza has worked hard on education and social reform in the nation of Qatar.

Qatar’s Her Highness supports GLP’s classes, through her role as Chairperson of Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development that helps fund GLP.

Her Highness with students at PS 368

Last week was the first time that she visited one of the Arabic programs supported by Qatar Foundation International.  An impressionable experience for our students, parents, administrators and staff - the visit highlighted the growth of our program and also was an offshoot of the school community and GLP’s mission to support and foster 21^st century students.

GLP’s very first program was at P.S.368.  We started by teaching Spanish and Mandarin to 30 third graders.  In less than three years, we have grown the program to serve all 243 students at P.S. 368. This will ensure that all students who graduate from the school will have an opportunity to learn a language.  This is no small feat in a community where 100% of students receive free or reduced lunch and in a community that has been ravaged by unemployment and the shrinking job market.

In the face of these obstacles we are demonstrating to these students that they can still dream bigger than their current circumstances.  We are also demonstrating that people around the globe not only believe in them but also support them in their quest to be successful global citizens. 

This sounds great, but actions speak louder than words.  Qatar’s Her Highness asked that we keep her visit at a low profile.  She wanted to meet the students, talk to them and, yes, sit on the floor and help them practice their Arabic.   It was amazing to see how the students immediately gravitated to her warm personality.

Below are highlights from the visit:

 

Qatar’s first lady is a passionate education advocate. In our meeting she was eager to learn more about the State of Education in New York City and our work with Global Language Project to ensure that students receive a global education.

Sheikha Mozah has joined with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to launch his new Education First initiative, announcing new commitments to a campaign aimed at providing education to 61 million children around the world who are not in school.

I meant so much to GLP when Qatar's Her Highness said to me, “You know, you are changing lives."

Our gratitude goes out to Qatar’s Her Highness, her staff and the entire Qatar Foundation International team their continued support in our mission to create the next generation of global citizens!