New Brief and Podcast Focus on Teaching Math to ELs |
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It’s Mathematics Awareness Month! The third NCELA Teaching Practice Brief, Integrating Language While Teaching Mathematics, highlights current research findings and evidence-based instructional practices for teaching math to ELs. The brief provides five key educator and teacher leader practices to help prepare the next generation of teachers:
- Embrace asset beliefs that position and support ELs as full participants in mathematical learning
- Engage ELs in meaningful interactions and discourse with others
- Provide support for ELs to engage in mathematical practices
- Sustain an explicit focus on language as it is used in math
- Design mathematical learning experiences that engage ELs in rich communications integrating oral and written language
The practices are also discussed in a new podcast featuring former OELA Education Program Specialist Anthony Sepulveda and Haiwen Chu, Senior Program Associate in Mathematics at WestEd. Sepulveda and Chu explore three key themes: academic rigor for all students, quality interactions around math content, and purposeful language focus in a mathematics classroom.
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My Name, My Identity Campaign
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Take the pledge! The My Name, My Identity Campaign was created by the Santa Clara County Office of Education in partnership with the National Association for Bilingual Education (NABE). By pronouncing students’ names correctly, you can foster a sense of belonging and build positive relationships in the classroom, which are crucial for healthy social, psychological, and educational outcomes.
Check out the campaign website for classroom, communication, and professional development resources.
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Save the Date: English Learners in Secondary Schools Webinar |
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Join OELA and the National Research and Development Center to Improve Education for Secondary English Learners on April 21, 2021 at 3:30 p.m. ET for a discussion research about the academic trajectories of ELs at the secondary level, including the trajectories of newcomers, students who have been labeled long-term ELs, ELs with disabilities, and former ELs. We will explore structural barriers and discuss policies and practices that may potentially reduce these barriers, facilitate students’ full access to content, and promote their successful graduation.
Speakers include:
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Dr. Karen Thompson, Oregon State University
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Dr. Ilana Umansky, University of Oregon
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Aída Walqui, WestEd
A certificate of completion will be available to registered attendees who participate in at least 90% of the webinar time.
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April 20
Online Conversations
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The Center for Applied Linguistics is hosting live, open discussions with policymakers on the status of digital equity in U.S. education. Each 30-minute episode of the webinar series examines education for multilingual learners and culturally diverse populations through the lens of digital equity. Topics range from student assessment to teacher education, students with disabilities, early childhood education, and more. |
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April 22
Virtual Showcase
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This showcase will highlight programs that are making a positive impact on bilingual/multilingual learners; building a network of champions for bilingual/multilingual learners; and celebrating and honoring student artwork winners and school and district teams. |
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April 27
Virtual Conference
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Join the National Association of English Learner Program Administrators (NAELPA) on April 27 for its 2021 Virtual Annual Conference. The theme of the conference is “Defining the Role of EL Program Administrators in These Changing Times.” There will be at least three pre-conference sessions leading up to the conference. |
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April 27-29
Hybrid Conference
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The NABE conference will be structured as a 2-day hybrid conference with a pre-conference on April 27, followed by the conference on April 28-29. The theme is “Honoring the Past, Treasuring the Present, Shaping the Future.” |
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May 27-28 or June 1-2, and June 3-4
Summer Institutes
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Join leading experts during these virtual summer institutes to get support for navigating this ever-changing educational climate for your ELs and emerging bilinguals. Teachers, instructional coaches, and district leaders will have the opportunity to dive deeper into best practices, cultural responsiveness, and support for language learners. |
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Registration is now open for the CARLA Summer Institutes, which are targeted at elementary through post-secondary foreign/world language educators and language teacher educators. All of the institutes will be taught online in either an asynchronous or synchronous format. |
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July 14-16
Virtual Conference
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Learn from fellow educators, education leaders, and SIOP® authors how to make learning relevant and comprehensible for ELs. |
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November 10-13
Hybrid Conference
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La Cosecha 2021 will be a hybrid event, comprising both a virtual and an in-person conference. Virtual registration is open now, and in-person registration is expected to open in July. La Cosecha Conference offers you the unique opportunity to share best practices and resources, current theory and practice, build networks, and fuel community efforts to build a better future for our children as we “harvest” the best of our multilingual and multicultural communities. The call for proposals is now open, and proposals will be accepted until April 30.
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EdSource
“Newcomer” students are students who have immigrated to the United States within the past three years. Newcomer students need to learn English, learn about a new school system, and develop a sense of community. The pandemic and a move to virtual schooling have presented these students with additional challenges as evidenced by their lower online class attendance rates. This article describes how several school districts in California use coaches and peer mentors to support newcomer students in navigating their new school system and staying engaged and enrolled in school.
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New America
The $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan (ARP) commits $123 billion to K-12 education. As with previous coronavirus relief bills, states will disburse these funds to school districts based on districts’ proportional enrollment of low-income students. This article advocates for school districts to take the opportunity afforded by ARP funds to provide ELs with the supports they need to achieve better outcomes in gaining English language proficiency and academic achievement.
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eSchool News
“A culturally responsive classroom (is one) where all students can identify themselves and see their communities reflected in the content.” For students who are ELs or, as the author prefers, “emergent bilinguals,” knowing that the teacher and other students value their languages and cultures is very important to their success. This article describes six steps teachers can take to make their classrooms culturally responsive to ELs and all students.
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The Center for Applied Linguistics (CAL)
CAL announces new resources for world language and heritage language educators:
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OELA is seeking individuals to serve as peer reviewers for the NPD program grant competition. The department is interested in peer reviewers with professional expertise in EL programs or services, including current and former pre-K-12 teachers and principals, LEA and state educational agency leaders, college and university educators, educational evaluators, and others with EL education and language acquisition expertise.
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This program focuses on closing the gap for heritage school teachers and/or native speakers by creating a Personalized Learning Plan to work toward state certification. This teacher training program will support up to 50 prospective teachers in eight, targeted, STARTALK languages to address the critical need for K-12 language programs in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia.
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This program is designed to help early-career language educators succeed in their current assignments and learn the skills to be successful in the long term. Mentors and mentees will be matched by language, level, interest, and location as best as possible. Three mentor programs are available: the traditional program for in-person educators, the distance-language-educator program for those who teach online, and a hybrid program for those currently teaching in-person and remotely.
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California State University Channel Islands
Camarillo, CA
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Cambridge Public Schools
Cambridge, MA
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Podcast: Dual Language Education
How can you position yourself as an advocate for quality dual language programs? Learn the history behind these programs and get useful teaching tips and ideas for serving ELs and DLLs in this two-part OELA podcast.
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Subscribe to NCELA Nexus
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Submit Your News
Do you have news to share with the Nexus community?
Send your alerts, upcoming events, resources, and job postings to AskNCELA
by Tuesday, April 13 for inclusion in the next edition of Nexus.
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National Clearinghouse for English Language Acquisition (NCELA)
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Disclaimer: NCELA Nexus is intended to share information that can be of use to educators, parents, learners, leaders, and other stakeholders in their efforts to ensure that every student, including ELs, is provided with the highest quality education and expanded opportunities to succeed. The information and materials presented on NCELA Nexus do not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by NCELA, the Office of English Language Acquisition (OELA), or the U.S. Department of Education.
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