This grant will be used to train secondary school ESL teachers. Many older students enroll in school here and there is a shortage of teachers to teach them English. DP
By Courtney Bryce, Special to The Sun
Edmondsun.com: The University of Central Oklahoma’s College of Education and Professional Studies strives to make a difference in the lives of English learning students in secondary metropolitan schools.
The Office of English Language Acquisition of the U.S. Department of Education recently awarded the college a $1.3 million grant to fund Project SEEDS (Supporting Excellent Education for Diverse Students). The grant will be disbursed during the course of the next five years.
“The main thing we’re concentrating on is that immigrants that move here that don’t speak English don’t always start in the first-grade,” said April Haulman of UCO’s Bilingual Language/Teaching English as a Second Language Program.
Haulman said most schools in the metropolitan area have language specialists or bilingual teachers.
“That’s not enough,” she said. “They need teachers that know how to adapt to teach them in the classroom.”
Haulman said the grant will help achieve this by funding training and new curriculum for UCO’s current education teachers so they can better teach their students how to adapt to English language learners. Training modules, materials and course syllabi will be adapted in the first year. Forty teachers will receive materials, coaching and professional implementation during the course of the next five years.
Be sure to read the rest of this story! This is only a small part of it.
Monday, August 27, 2007
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Language barrier biggest hurdle for educators, immigrants
This school partners every new immigrant child with someone who speaks their language. They understand that communication is the most important hurdle to overcome, especially with 29 different languages spoken there. DP
By ERICA JACOBSON, Norwich Bulletin
norwichbulletin.com: There are a lot of things school administrators don't know about immigrant students attending their schools for the first time this fall.
It's hard to know which countries they will come from, what records of previous education they will bring or what amount of English, if any, they will speak.
One thing the region's schools can count on is immigrant students will come.
And schools will need to be prepared to do everything from welcome them into new classrooms to act as initial ambassadors to a completely new culture.
"They're not immigrant kids, they're our kids," said Bill Hull, assistant superintendent of Montville schools. "We welcome them with open arms as we do with all students."
Communication is typically the biggest hurdle to overcome.
Even if an immigrant student has a fairly good grasp of English, there is no guarantee the child's parents will understand what educators are saying. At Montville, school information is prepared in several languages, including Chinese.
"What makes it more difficult for us at times is that communication piece," Hull said. "It is so different."
There are 29 languages represented in the student body at Norwich Free Academy, according to guidance director Larry Rich. He said the school uses existing students and staff members to help acclimate new arrivals.
Be sure to read the rest of this story! This is only a small part of it.
By ERICA JACOBSON, Norwich Bulletin
norwichbulletin.com: There are a lot of things school administrators don't know about immigrant students attending their schools for the first time this fall.
It's hard to know which countries they will come from, what records of previous education they will bring or what amount of English, if any, they will speak.
One thing the region's schools can count on is immigrant students will come.
And schools will need to be prepared to do everything from welcome them into new classrooms to act as initial ambassadors to a completely new culture.
"They're not immigrant kids, they're our kids," said Bill Hull, assistant superintendent of Montville schools. "We welcome them with open arms as we do with all students."
Communication is typically the biggest hurdle to overcome.
Even if an immigrant student has a fairly good grasp of English, there is no guarantee the child's parents will understand what educators are saying. At Montville, school information is prepared in several languages, including Chinese.
"What makes it more difficult for us at times is that communication piece," Hull said. "It is so different."
There are 29 languages represented in the student body at Norwich Free Academy, according to guidance director Larry Rich. He said the school uses existing students and staff members to help acclimate new arrivals.
Be sure to read the rest of this story! This is only a small part of it.
Kauffman: U.S. risks 'reverse brain-drain' with immigrants
Our country needs skilled immigrants and this story shows more of the problems in our immigration system. We will suffer if these immigrants stop coming here. DP
Kansas City Business Journal
bizjournals.com: The United States could face a "reverse brain-drain" as skilled immigrant workers return to their home countries because of the limited availability of permanent U.S. resident visas, the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation reports in a study it released.
More than 1 million skilled immigrants compete for 120,000 visas a year, the foundation said in a release Wednesday. The United States issues fewer than 10,000 employment visas a year to immigrants from any single country, and the wait time is several years.
Researchers at Duke, New York and Harvard universities conducted the study, titled "Intellectual Property, the Immigration Backlog and a Reverse Brain-Drain." It is the third in a series of studies focusing on immigrants' contributions to the competitiveness of the U.S. economy. Earlier research revealed a dramatic increase in the contributions of foreign nationals to U.S. intellectual property during an eight-year period, Kauffman said.
"The United States benefits from having foreign-born innovators create their ideas in this country," Vivek Wadhwa, Wertheim fellow with the Harvard Law School and executive in residence at Duke, said in the release. "Their departures would be detrimental to U.S. economic well-being. And, when foreigners come to the United States, collaborate with Americans in developing and patenting new ideas and employ those ideas in business in ways they could not readily do in their home countries, the world benefits."
The earlier studies, "America's New Immigrant Entrepreneurs" and "Entrepreneurship, Education and Immigration: America's New Immigrant Entrepreneurs, Part II," documented that one in four engineering and technology companies founded between 1995 and 2005 had an immigrant founder, Kauffman said. Researchers found that these companies employed 450,000 workers and generated revenue of $52 billion in revenue in 2006.
Be sure to read the rest of this story! This is only a small part of it.
Kansas City Business Journal
bizjournals.com: The United States could face a "reverse brain-drain" as skilled immigrant workers return to their home countries because of the limited availability of permanent U.S. resident visas, the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation reports in a study it released.
More than 1 million skilled immigrants compete for 120,000 visas a year, the foundation said in a release Wednesday. The United States issues fewer than 10,000 employment visas a year to immigrants from any single country, and the wait time is several years.
Researchers at Duke, New York and Harvard universities conducted the study, titled "Intellectual Property, the Immigration Backlog and a Reverse Brain-Drain." It is the third in a series of studies focusing on immigrants' contributions to the competitiveness of the U.S. economy. Earlier research revealed a dramatic increase in the contributions of foreign nationals to U.S. intellectual property during an eight-year period, Kauffman said.
"The United States benefits from having foreign-born innovators create their ideas in this country," Vivek Wadhwa, Wertheim fellow with the Harvard Law School and executive in residence at Duke, said in the release. "Their departures would be detrimental to U.S. economic well-being. And, when foreigners come to the United States, collaborate with Americans in developing and patenting new ideas and employ those ideas in business in ways they could not readily do in their home countries, the world benefits."
The earlier studies, "America's New Immigrant Entrepreneurs" and "Entrepreneurship, Education and Immigration: America's New Immigrant Entrepreneurs, Part II," documented that one in four engineering and technology companies founded between 1995 and 2005 had an immigrant founder, Kauffman said. Researchers found that these companies employed 450,000 workers and generated revenue of $52 billion in revenue in 2006.
Be sure to read the rest of this story! This is only a small part of it.
Immigrants Infuse English Language with Dynamism
Another story proving English is not in any danger of being replaced here. DP
Hispanics, Asians are reinvigorating English, professor says
By Carolee Walker, USINFO Staff Writer
usinfo.state.gov: Washington – English is a living, dynamic language that is invigorated by new speakers, including foreign students, tourists and immigrants, says cultural critic Ilan Stavans.
Even native English speakers never use the exact same language, Stavans said in a USINFO Webchat August 20. “As the language changes, often as a result of newcomers, so do its speakers.”
For example, the mixing of Chinese and English, Korean and English, Japanese and English, and Vietnamese and English are worldwide phenomena, Stavans said. Within the United States, Asian immigrants are using English as their language of communication while also infusing it with their own linguistic attributes. Stavans predicts that English in the late 21st century will borrow from the constellation of Asian languages in unforeseen ways.
“It is a mistake to think of the English taught in the classroom as divorced from the living English, the one heard on the street, in restaurants, on TV and music,” according to Stavans. Teachers should introduce students, even beginners, to the wide array of possibilities of a language, he added. “In a multiethnic society like ours, it is important to use different linguistic varieties as education tools.”
Spanglish is a hybrid form of English and Spanish especially popular among young people, and one of the most striking ways language evolves in response to immigration and globalization, according to Stavans.
Be sure to read the rest of this story! This is only a small part of it.
Hispanics, Asians are reinvigorating English, professor says
By Carolee Walker, USINFO Staff Writer
usinfo.state.gov: Washington – English is a living, dynamic language that is invigorated by new speakers, including foreign students, tourists and immigrants, says cultural critic Ilan Stavans.
Even native English speakers never use the exact same language, Stavans said in a USINFO Webchat August 20. “As the language changes, often as a result of newcomers, so do its speakers.”
For example, the mixing of Chinese and English, Korean and English, Japanese and English, and Vietnamese and English are worldwide phenomena, Stavans said. Within the United States, Asian immigrants are using English as their language of communication while also infusing it with their own linguistic attributes. Stavans predicts that English in the late 21st century will borrow from the constellation of Asian languages in unforeseen ways.
“It is a mistake to think of the English taught in the classroom as divorced from the living English, the one heard on the street, in restaurants, on TV and music,” according to Stavans. Teachers should introduce students, even beginners, to the wide array of possibilities of a language, he added. “In a multiethnic society like ours, it is important to use different linguistic varieties as education tools.”
Spanglish is a hybrid form of English and Spanish especially popular among young people, and one of the most striking ways language evolves in response to immigration and globalization, according to Stavans.
Be sure to read the rest of this story! This is only a small part of it.
Saturday, August 18, 2007
Editorial: College degrees for immigrants benefit the state
This editorial says much of the grant money available doesn't get claimed and the undocumented students should get it if their grades are high enough. If the state paid for their high school education and they are doing well in school, you would think it would want them to go to college. DP
Mercury News Editorial
mercurynews.com: Without increasing the student aid budget, California could help undocumented high school graduates pursue a college education.
The "California Dream Act," SB 160 by Sen. Gil Cedillo, D-Los Angeles, would extend eligibility for Cal Grants and community college fee waivers to undocumented students who've attended a state high school for three years; these students already qualify for in-state tuition but not for state or federal aid.
This is a good investment for the state. Brought across the border illegally by their parents, these young people grew up in California. They'll work in California, pay taxes, use services and raise children. Whether they manage to become legal citizens or not, they aren't going away. With a small investment, the state can help swell the ranks of programmers, nurses and technicians.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed last year's version of the bill, saying it's unfair to give aid to undocumented students when there's not enough for citizens and legal residents.
In response, Cedillo plans to amend SB 160 to let undocumented students apply only for community college fee waivers and "entitlement" Cal Grants, which are guaranteed to high school graduates with a minimum C average who demonstrate financial need. In recent years, more than a third of the money allocated in this category has gone unclaimed, points out Cedillo. The estimated cost of fee waivers and Cal Grants for undocumented students is a tiny fraction of the funds budgeted and unspent.
Be sure to read the rest of this story! This is only a small part of it.
Mercury News Editorial
mercurynews.com: Without increasing the student aid budget, California could help undocumented high school graduates pursue a college education.
The "California Dream Act," SB 160 by Sen. Gil Cedillo, D-Los Angeles, would extend eligibility for Cal Grants and community college fee waivers to undocumented students who've attended a state high school for three years; these students already qualify for in-state tuition but not for state or federal aid.
This is a good investment for the state. Brought across the border illegally by their parents, these young people grew up in California. They'll work in California, pay taxes, use services and raise children. Whether they manage to become legal citizens or not, they aren't going away. With a small investment, the state can help swell the ranks of programmers, nurses and technicians.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed last year's version of the bill, saying it's unfair to give aid to undocumented students when there's not enough for citizens and legal residents.
In response, Cedillo plans to amend SB 160 to let undocumented students apply only for community college fee waivers and "entitlement" Cal Grants, which are guaranteed to high school graduates with a minimum C average who demonstrate financial need. In recent years, more than a third of the money allocated in this category has gone unclaimed, points out Cedillo. The estimated cost of fee waivers and Cal Grants for undocumented students is a tiny fraction of the funds budgeted and unspent.
Be sure to read the rest of this story! This is only a small part of it.
Sunday, August 12, 2007
Refugee helps other Myanmar natives
This immigrant is helping people in his community succeed in his new country too. DP
FCC student encourages those from his homeland to pursue higher education
by Margarita Raycheva | Staff Writer
Gazette.net: When he first arrived in the United States six years ago, Aung Min had one ambition — to continue his higher education and earn a degree as a civil engineer.
But as he struggled to settle down in Frederick County and start from scratch, he was quickly absorbed in the demands of his new life.
He was working, earning money, and making a new home far from the one he had left in the Chin state of Myanmar.
If it wasn’t for the Chin community, he might have forgotten about his unfinished college degree. ‘‘The Chin people encouraged me to go back to school,” Min said. ‘‘I quit my job, and now I am a full-time student at [Frederick Community College].”
Min is taking general studies courses, and hopes to back them up later with a four-year degree in civil engineering.
He does not regret his choice, and has become involved in local and nationwide efforts to make higher education more accessible to refugees from the Chin ethnic and religious minority in the country previously known as Burma.
Min is helping to host a special conference encouraging Chin refugees and immigrants living in the Frederick County to complete higher education in the United States.
Through workshops, seminars and lectures, the event will go over financial aid, scholarships and college applications, introduce the benefits of earning a higher education, and direct potential students to classes that teach English as a second language.
Be sure to read the rest of this story! This is only a small part of it.
FCC student encourages those from his homeland to pursue higher education
by Margarita Raycheva | Staff Writer
Gazette.net: When he first arrived in the United States six years ago, Aung Min had one ambition — to continue his higher education and earn a degree as a civil engineer.
But as he struggled to settle down in Frederick County and start from scratch, he was quickly absorbed in the demands of his new life.
He was working, earning money, and making a new home far from the one he had left in the Chin state of Myanmar.
If it wasn’t for the Chin community, he might have forgotten about his unfinished college degree. ‘‘The Chin people encouraged me to go back to school,” Min said. ‘‘I quit my job, and now I am a full-time student at [Frederick Community College].”
Min is taking general studies courses, and hopes to back them up later with a four-year degree in civil engineering.
He does not regret his choice, and has become involved in local and nationwide efforts to make higher education more accessible to refugees from the Chin ethnic and religious minority in the country previously known as Burma.
Min is helping to host a special conference encouraging Chin refugees and immigrants living in the Frederick County to complete higher education in the United States.
Through workshops, seminars and lectures, the event will go over financial aid, scholarships and college applications, introduce the benefits of earning a higher education, and direct potential students to classes that teach English as a second language.
Be sure to read the rest of this story! This is only a small part of it.
The Church, immigrants and a program in Pomona
The Pomona Day Labor Center offers a safe space to immigrant workers, while providing the citizens in the surrounding vicinities with a well organized facility where they can hire a ready labor force any day during the week or weekend. DP
By Martha Bárcenas-Mooradian
the-tidings.com: The Catholic Church, in view of the many critical problems that humankind faces, has taken the great responsibility to delineate Gospel-based moral guidelines that reflect a deep concern about global issues that affect hundreds of millions of people all over the world.
More recently the Catholic Church has been very outspoken about immigration and has attempted to set out moral principles that will promote immigration reform and guide individual action.
This concern has been stated throughout the years in commentaries on and teachings of the Old and New Testaments. These teachings have also been expressed in a variety of documents and writings by the highest authorities of the Church:
---Pope Pius XII in his Apostolic constitution Exsul Familia (1952);
---Pope John XXIII in his encyclical Pacem in Terris (1963);
--- Pope John Paul in his apostolic exhortation Ecclesia in America (1999);
---and in a bi-national pronouncement entitled "Strangers No Longer: Together on the Journey of Hope," a Pastoral Letter concerning migration from the Catholic Bishops of Mexico and the United States (2003).
Love of our neighbor has been emphasized by Pope Benedict XVI in his first encyclical, Deus Caritas Est (2005). The leadership of Cardinal Roger Mahony with respect to immigration reform is another example of the Catholic Church's active role in promoting social justice and fairness within the community.
The teachings of the Church reveal that through peaceful means, a just and violence-free world can be built on the basis of our faith and on the basis of expanded and stronger relationships.
Be sure to read the rest of this story! This is only a small part of it.
By Martha Bárcenas-Mooradian
the-tidings.com: The Catholic Church, in view of the many critical problems that humankind faces, has taken the great responsibility to delineate Gospel-based moral guidelines that reflect a deep concern about global issues that affect hundreds of millions of people all over the world.
More recently the Catholic Church has been very outspoken about immigration and has attempted to set out moral principles that will promote immigration reform and guide individual action.
This concern has been stated throughout the years in commentaries on and teachings of the Old and New Testaments. These teachings have also been expressed in a variety of documents and writings by the highest authorities of the Church:
---Pope Pius XII in his Apostolic constitution Exsul Familia (1952);
---Pope John XXIII in his encyclical Pacem in Terris (1963);
--- Pope John Paul in his apostolic exhortation Ecclesia in America (1999);
---and in a bi-national pronouncement entitled "Strangers No Longer: Together on the Journey of Hope," a Pastoral Letter concerning migration from the Catholic Bishops of Mexico and the United States (2003).
Love of our neighbor has been emphasized by Pope Benedict XVI in his first encyclical, Deus Caritas Est (2005). The leadership of Cardinal Roger Mahony with respect to immigration reform is another example of the Catholic Church's active role in promoting social justice and fairness within the community.
The teachings of the Church reveal that through peaceful means, a just and violence-free world can be built on the basis of our faith and on the basis of expanded and stronger relationships.
Be sure to read the rest of this story! This is only a small part of it.
Friday, August 10, 2007
At Odds Over Immigrant Assimilation
This immigrant preparing for the citizenship test, says the government should demand that newcomers learn English and help them do it. DP
Whether the U.S. Government Should Offer Encouragement Is Debated
By Karin Brulliard, Washington Post Staff Writer
washingtonpost.com: Hernan Ruiz, a concrete finisher with a gray streak in his dark hair, shot up his hand during a recent citizenship test prep class at a sunny Silver Spring community center. Called on to answer a question about who elects the U.S. president, the El Salvador native carefully pronounced "electoral college," a response he might need to know for his official transformation into an American.
After 22 years in the United States, Ruiz said, he feels like one.
But he knows that not everyone sees people such as him -- an immigrant who prefers to speak his mother tongue -- that way. To this, he responds that the U.S. government should demand that newcomers know English -- and help them learn it.
"This country was founded by immigrants. There should be a lot of cultures," Ruiz, 48, said. "But at the base is the government."
Ruiz's idea lies at the heart of a question that has recently entered the national immigration debate, one some researchers say is important as new trends challenge old integration patterns: Should the government encourage assimilation?
Be sure to read the rest of this story! This is only a small part of it.
Whether the U.S. Government Should Offer Encouragement Is Debated
By Karin Brulliard, Washington Post Staff Writer
washingtonpost.com: Hernan Ruiz, a concrete finisher with a gray streak in his dark hair, shot up his hand during a recent citizenship test prep class at a sunny Silver Spring community center. Called on to answer a question about who elects the U.S. president, the El Salvador native carefully pronounced "electoral college," a response he might need to know for his official transformation into an American.
After 22 years in the United States, Ruiz said, he feels like one.
But he knows that not everyone sees people such as him -- an immigrant who prefers to speak his mother tongue -- that way. To this, he responds that the U.S. government should demand that newcomers know English -- and help them learn it.
"This country was founded by immigrants. There should be a lot of cultures," Ruiz, 48, said. "But at the base is the government."
Ruiz's idea lies at the heart of a question that has recently entered the national immigration debate, one some researchers say is important as new trends challenge old integration patterns: Should the government encourage assimilation?
Be sure to read the rest of this story! This is only a small part of it.
Thursday, August 09, 2007
English courses reshaping lives for adults and their families
Most immigrants know they need English to succeed here, many simply can not find the time to study the way they have to. This story is about some people who have managed to keep studying. DP
By Judy Chia Hui Hsu, Seattle Times staff reporter
seattletimes.com: Israel Alvarez's days once dawned long before the sun inched over the horizon. By 4 a.m. the bachelor was hauling away heaps of cardboard boxes from a downtown Chicago chicken-packing plant where everyone spoke only Spanish. And after a 12-hour shift, he would drag his weary body to evening ESL classes.
Alvarez came from Mexico with one goal in mind: to earn enough money to propose to his girlfriend. Like many students of English juggling school and work, he soon abandoned the class to tend to other responsibilities.
A few years later, Alvarez — now a married SeaTac resident — re-enrolled in ESL (English as a Second Language) classes at his sister-in-law's insistence. This time, he stuck with it.
By showing up night after night, Alvarez made a gradual improvement in English that has enabled him to reshape the course of his life. Today, his full-time construction foreman's job with benefits supports his wife, two kids and their two-bedroom house on a cul-de-sac.
Alvarez knows how he got here: Two nights a week, for three years, he attended the advanced ESL class at Bow Lake Elementary School.
Be sure to read the rest of this story! This is only a small part of it.
By Judy Chia Hui Hsu, Seattle Times staff reporter
seattletimes.com: Israel Alvarez's days once dawned long before the sun inched over the horizon. By 4 a.m. the bachelor was hauling away heaps of cardboard boxes from a downtown Chicago chicken-packing plant where everyone spoke only Spanish. And after a 12-hour shift, he would drag his weary body to evening ESL classes.
Alvarez came from Mexico with one goal in mind: to earn enough money to propose to his girlfriend. Like many students of English juggling school and work, he soon abandoned the class to tend to other responsibilities.
A few years later, Alvarez — now a married SeaTac resident — re-enrolled in ESL (English as a Second Language) classes at his sister-in-law's insistence. This time, he stuck with it.
By showing up night after night, Alvarez made a gradual improvement in English that has enabled him to reshape the course of his life. Today, his full-time construction foreman's job with benefits supports his wife, two kids and their two-bedroom house on a cul-de-sac.
Alvarez knows how he got here: Two nights a week, for three years, he attended the advanced ESL class at Bow Lake Elementary School.
Be sure to read the rest of this story! This is only a small part of it.
Migrants who need to learn Spanish
Many immigrants from Mexico don't speak Spanish, they speak their indigenous language. They have to learn Spanish first, then learn English. DP
INDIGENOUS MEXICANS SPEAK OWN LANGUAGES
By Abigail Curtis, Special to the Mercury News
Mercurynews.com: GREENFIELD - When Gloria Merino came to the United States from Mexico five years ago, she couldn't understand what her foreman was telling her in the fields, explain her high-blood pressure to her doctors or communicate with the police who picked her up on suspicion of drinking in public.
For Merino, a Triqui Indian from Mexico, the problem wasn't only that she didn't speak English. In this farming town south of Salinas that is more than 85 percent Latino, she needed to know Spanish.
"Now I'm doing better at understanding people, little by little," said Merino, who like many indigenous Mexicans arrived in Greenfield speaking only Triqui.
For generations, immigrants have integrated into American life by learning English, California's official language, according to a 1986 state constitutional amendment. But for thousands of indigenous farmworkers moving from Mexico's Oaxaca state to Greenfield, they must first learn Spanish to survive. As the adults from Mexico's Mixtec and Triqui Indian populations work hard to learn Spanish and find their place within the town, they also are fighting to keep their native language and culture alive in the younger generation, which, at school, is learning English.
"Our language is a gift from God," said Eulogio Solano, who insists that his children speak only their native Mixteco at home.
It's no different from the growing pains of any new immigrant community - except that the indigenous languages are so rare, educators and even researchers sometimes are at a loss about how to teach English to Triqui and Mixteco speakers.
Be sure to read the rest of this story! This is only a small part of it.
INDIGENOUS MEXICANS SPEAK OWN LANGUAGES
By Abigail Curtis, Special to the Mercury News
Mercurynews.com: GREENFIELD - When Gloria Merino came to the United States from Mexico five years ago, she couldn't understand what her foreman was telling her in the fields, explain her high-blood pressure to her doctors or communicate with the police who picked her up on suspicion of drinking in public.
For Merino, a Triqui Indian from Mexico, the problem wasn't only that she didn't speak English. In this farming town south of Salinas that is more than 85 percent Latino, she needed to know Spanish.
"Now I'm doing better at understanding people, little by little," said Merino, who like many indigenous Mexicans arrived in Greenfield speaking only Triqui.
For generations, immigrants have integrated into American life by learning English, California's official language, according to a 1986 state constitutional amendment. But for thousands of indigenous farmworkers moving from Mexico's Oaxaca state to Greenfield, they must first learn Spanish to survive. As the adults from Mexico's Mixtec and Triqui Indian populations work hard to learn Spanish and find their place within the town, they also are fighting to keep their native language and culture alive in the younger generation, which, at school, is learning English.
"Our language is a gift from God," said Eulogio Solano, who insists that his children speak only their native Mixteco at home.
It's no different from the growing pains of any new immigrant community - except that the indigenous languages are so rare, educators and even researchers sometimes are at a loss about how to teach English to Triqui and Mixteco speakers.
Be sure to read the rest of this story! This is only a small part of it.
Teachers get lessons on immigrants
These teachers are learning the best way to relate to one large immigrant group in their schools. This in turn will help the students do better in school. DP
By John Hilliard/Daily News staff
metrowestdailynews.com: In Framingham, a few educators are wrapping up some homework of their own - a new handbook to teach their colleagues more about the town's Brazilian students and families.
The publication - ``Framingham's Brazilian Students and their Families- School, Culture, and Values: A Handbook for School Personnel'' - was researched and written by five local educators to spread general knowledge about the town's large Brazilian population.
"It's a service to the Brazilian community as much as to educators,'' said Esta Montano, director of Equity and Achievement at Framingham Public Schools. "The better educators understand their students, the better their academic (achievements) will be.''
The publication - "Framingham's Brazilian Students and their Families- School, Culture, and Values: A Handbook for School Personnel'' - was researched and written by five local educators to spread general knowledge about the town's large Brazilian population.
The book covers immigration history between Framingham and Brazil, along with that country's education system, culture and the Portuguese language. Three of the authors are from Brazil and brought experience of their own country, she said.
"It would give educators an idea of the cultural strengths of Brazilian families... and how to respond to those strengths,'' she said.
Be sure to read the rest of this story! This is only a small part of it.
By John Hilliard/Daily News staff
metrowestdailynews.com: In Framingham, a few educators are wrapping up some homework of their own - a new handbook to teach their colleagues more about the town's Brazilian students and families.
The publication - ``Framingham's Brazilian Students and their Families- School, Culture, and Values: A Handbook for School Personnel'' - was researched and written by five local educators to spread general knowledge about the town's large Brazilian population.
"It's a service to the Brazilian community as much as to educators,'' said Esta Montano, director of Equity and Achievement at Framingham Public Schools. "The better educators understand their students, the better their academic (achievements) will be.''
The publication - "Framingham's Brazilian Students and their Families- School, Culture, and Values: A Handbook for School Personnel'' - was researched and written by five local educators to spread general knowledge about the town's large Brazilian population.
The book covers immigration history between Framingham and Brazil, along with that country's education system, culture and the Portuguese language. Three of the authors are from Brazil and brought experience of their own country, she said.
"It would give educators an idea of the cultural strengths of Brazilian families... and how to respond to those strengths,'' she said.
Be sure to read the rest of this story! This is only a small part of it.
Saturday, August 04, 2007
Video game lets players be immigrants
An interesting video game, hopefully helping players have empathy for immigrants. DP
By LAURA WIDES-MUNOZ, Associated Press Writer
localnewsleader.com: MIAMI - A Japanese computer science student fails to take a full load of university classes and loses his student visa. A 10th-grade Indian girl is detained because of a high school essay she wrote on the Department of Homeland Security.
"The game allows you to get into the body of a person, so you can experience what they are going through. There are very few opportunities to get that perspective," said Mallika Dutt, head of the nonprofit Breakthrough, which produced the game and uses new media to highlight social issues around the world.
"ICED!" seeks to show how immigration laws passed in 1996 expanded the number of crimes that can trigger deportation and limited immigrants‘ rights to appeal.
"You can get a lot out of a game, more than from film and other media in some ways, because you are actively engaged rather than just a passive consumer," said Suzanne Seggerman, head of the nonprofit group Games for Change.
"ICED!" gamers can become a Mexican high school graduate whose family overstayed its visa, or a Haitian war veteran who faces deportation when he turns to alcohol and crime after returning from Iraq.
Be sure to read the rest of this story! This is only a small part of it.
By LAURA WIDES-MUNOZ, Associated Press Writer
localnewsleader.com: MIAMI - A Japanese computer science student fails to take a full load of university classes and loses his student visa. A 10th-grade Indian girl is detained because of a high school essay she wrote on the Department of Homeland Security.
"The game allows you to get into the body of a person, so you can experience what they are going through. There are very few opportunities to get that perspective," said Mallika Dutt, head of the nonprofit Breakthrough, which produced the game and uses new media to highlight social issues around the world.
"ICED!" seeks to show how immigration laws passed in 1996 expanded the number of crimes that can trigger deportation and limited immigrants‘ rights to appeal.
"You can get a lot out of a game, more than from film and other media in some ways, because you are actively engaged rather than just a passive consumer," said Suzanne Seggerman, head of the nonprofit group Games for Change.
"ICED!" gamers can become a Mexican high school graduate whose family overstayed its visa, or a Haitian war veteran who faces deportation when he turns to alcohol and crime after returning from Iraq.
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Long Waitlists for ESL Classes
A three year waiting list for many ESL classes and no increase in MA spending since 2000. Many states have similar statistics. DP
By Bianca Vazquez Toness
WBUR.org: BOSTON, Mass. - Teaching English to immigrants is one the most neglected public policy issues in the country, according to a study released this week by a Washington think tank.
Meanwhile, new poll says 62 percent of Americans think immigrants don't even try to learn English within a reasonable amount of time.
But the demand for English language classes in Massachusetts is so great that there's a three-year waiting list, and state spending to teach English to adults hasn't increased since 2000. More than 200,000 new immigrants have arrived here since then.
By Bianca Vazquez Toness
WBUR.org: BOSTON, Mass. - Teaching English to immigrants is one the most neglected public policy issues in the country, according to a study released this week by a Washington think tank.
Meanwhile, new poll says 62 percent of Americans think immigrants don't even try to learn English within a reasonable amount of time.
But the demand for English language classes in Massachusetts is so great that there's a three-year waiting list, and state spending to teach English to adults hasn't increased since 2000. More than 200,000 new immigrants have arrived here since then.
US Writer Teaches Language Through Fairy Tales
This is a novel way to gradually teach children another language. DP
By Mike O'Sullivan, Los Angeles
Voanews.com: David Burke is known as Slangman, and in his earlier books, he translated the language of American teenagers for an older generation, and deciphered American idioms for English-language learners overseas.
His latest effort targets American children who know little of foreign languages. He has written a series of books based on the observation that fairy tales are widely known across cultures.
"So I got this idea. What if I took a fairy tale, Cinderella? We start it in the native language of the reader. So, let's say in English for the American market. So we start in English, and as the reader moves forward, the story starts to morph into another language."
INSTRUCTION CD: "Once upon a time, there lived a poor girl - nuhaizi - named Cinderella who was very pretty - pioaliang. The nuhaizi, who was very piaoliang, lived in a small house - fangzi…."
Burke has compiled books of fairy tales with accompanying CDs in Mandarin Chinese, French, Italian, German, Hebrew, Japanese and Spanish.
INSTRUCTION CD: "Once upon a time, there lived a poor girl - muchacha - named Cinderella who was very pretty - bonita,"
A separate Spanish-language version helps teach English to Latin American youngsters.
Be sure to read the rest of this story! This is only a small part of it.
By Mike O'Sullivan, Los Angeles
Voanews.com: David Burke is known as Slangman, and in his earlier books, he translated the language of American teenagers for an older generation, and deciphered American idioms for English-language learners overseas.
His latest effort targets American children who know little of foreign languages. He has written a series of books based on the observation that fairy tales are widely known across cultures.
"So I got this idea. What if I took a fairy tale, Cinderella? We start it in the native language of the reader. So, let's say in English for the American market. So we start in English, and as the reader moves forward, the story starts to morph into another language."
INSTRUCTION CD: "Once upon a time, there lived a poor girl - nuhaizi - named Cinderella who was very pretty - pioaliang. The nuhaizi, who was very piaoliang, lived in a small house - fangzi…."
Burke has compiled books of fairy tales with accompanying CDs in Mandarin Chinese, French, Italian, German, Hebrew, Japanese and Spanish.
INSTRUCTION CD: "Once upon a time, there lived a poor girl - muchacha - named Cinderella who was very pretty - bonita,"
A separate Spanish-language version helps teach English to Latin American youngsters.
Be sure to read the rest of this story! This is only a small part of it.
Wednesday, August 01, 2007
English Instruction Touted for Immigrants
This article gives many more details about the report asking for $4 billion a year to be spent to teach English. DP
By Karin Brulliard, Washington Post Staff Writer
washingtonpost.com: Spending on English instruction must be quadrupled to more than $4 billion a year for the next six years to make legal and illegal adult immigrants proficient in skills crucial to their assimilation and the economic future of a country whose population is increasingly foreign-born, a new national report says.
In the first nationwide study of its kind, the nonpartisan Migration Policy Institute estimates that an additional $200 million a year is needed to improve legal immigrants' English skills enough for them to pass a citizenship test and "fully participate in the country's civic life." An additional $2.9 billion a year is required for illegal immigrants to meet those standards, the report says.
Federal and state governments currently spend about $1 billion a year on English as a Second Language instruction for adults, most of which comes from the states.
The report calls English acquisition by immigrants the "most important integration challenge" facing the country. English proficiency among immigrants is linked to higher earnings and tax contributions, lower welfare dependency and greater educational and economic advancement in the second generation, the study notes. Given global economic competition and the stagnant growth of the native-born labor force, spending on English instruction should be seen as an investment, the authors argue.
"It's not just a cost," said Margie McHugh, a researcher at the Washington-based Migration Policy Institute and one of the study's authors. "There are returns on this investment."
Be sure to read the rest of this story! This is only a small part of it.
By Karin Brulliard, Washington Post Staff Writer
washingtonpost.com: Spending on English instruction must be quadrupled to more than $4 billion a year for the next six years to make legal and illegal adult immigrants proficient in skills crucial to their assimilation and the economic future of a country whose population is increasingly foreign-born, a new national report says.
In the first nationwide study of its kind, the nonpartisan Migration Policy Institute estimates that an additional $200 million a year is needed to improve legal immigrants' English skills enough for them to pass a citizenship test and "fully participate in the country's civic life." An additional $2.9 billion a year is required for illegal immigrants to meet those standards, the report says.
Federal and state governments currently spend about $1 billion a year on English as a Second Language instruction for adults, most of which comes from the states.
The report calls English acquisition by immigrants the "most important integration challenge" facing the country. English proficiency among immigrants is linked to higher earnings and tax contributions, lower welfare dependency and greater educational and economic advancement in the second generation, the study notes. Given global economic competition and the stagnant growth of the native-born labor force, spending on English instruction should be seen as an investment, the authors argue.
"It's not just a cost," said Margie McHugh, a researcher at the Washington-based Migration Policy Institute and one of the study's authors. "There are returns on this investment."
Be sure to read the rest of this story! This is only a small part of it.
Study urges $4 billion a year to teach immigrant
This report says an additional $200 million a year is needed to teach English skills to legal immigrants for citizenship tests and $2.9 billion a year to teach all the others. DP
JOURNAL WIRE REPORT
Journalnow.com: Spending on English instruction must be quadrupled to more than $4 billion a year for the next six years to make legal and illegal adult immigrants proficient in skills crucial to their assimilation and the economic future of a country whose population is increasingly foreign-born, a new national report says.
In the first nationwide study of its kind, the nonpartisan Migration Policy Institute estimates that an additional $200 million a year is needed to improve legal immigrants' English skills enough for them to pass a citizenship test and fully participate in the country's civic life. An additional $2.9 billion a year is required for illegal immigrants to meet those standards, the report says.
Federal and state governments spend about $1 billion a year on English as a Second Language instruction for adults, most of which comes from the states.
JOURNAL WIRE REPORT
Journalnow.com: Spending on English instruction must be quadrupled to more than $4 billion a year for the next six years to make legal and illegal adult immigrants proficient in skills crucial to their assimilation and the economic future of a country whose population is increasingly foreign-born, a new national report says.
In the first nationwide study of its kind, the nonpartisan Migration Policy Institute estimates that an additional $200 million a year is needed to improve legal immigrants' English skills enough for them to pass a citizenship test and fully participate in the country's civic life. An additional $2.9 billion a year is required for illegal immigrants to meet those standards, the report says.
Federal and state governments spend about $1 billion a year on English as a Second Language instruction for adults, most of which comes from the states.
Dual language learning benefits students
These schools have found that teaching all the children in the dual language class means that the students are teaching each other too. DP
By Holly Wagner, Herald-Whig Staff Writer
Whig.com: While lawmakers grapple with the long-range problems of immigration, schools face the immediate challenges of educating the non-English speakers in their classrooms.
Some are finding that the best programs to help children learn English also benefit the native English speakers.
Illinois schools are required to teach immigrant students, regardless of their parents' citizenship status, and to report these students' progress under No Child Left Behind.
West-Central Illinois' mostly rural districts face two extremes. Quincy Public Schools usually registers only a handful of English-language learners, but their native tongues have ranged the gamut: Chinese, Korean, Indian, Romanian, Spanish, French.
In Beardstown, 60 miles east, 50 percent of the students are Hispanic.
"Ten years ago, Beardstown had one Spanish-speaking family," said Debra Cole. "Immigration is a global reality. It's not likely to slow down."
Cole, who formerly taught German and Spanish in Quincy schools, is director of the Dual-Language Enrichment Program at Beardstown and regional coordinator for English language learners (ELL).
As regional coordinator, she leads workshops for teachers and administrators on meeting these students' needs. As director of Beardstown's dual-language program, she helped create a curriculum for the elementary grades where English-speakers and English-learners are taught together in both languages.
Teachers and students benefit from both approaches.
Be sure to read the rest of this story! This is only a small part of it.
By Holly Wagner, Herald-Whig Staff Writer
Whig.com: While lawmakers grapple with the long-range problems of immigration, schools face the immediate challenges of educating the non-English speakers in their classrooms.
Some are finding that the best programs to help children learn English also benefit the native English speakers.
Illinois schools are required to teach immigrant students, regardless of their parents' citizenship status, and to report these students' progress under No Child Left Behind.
West-Central Illinois' mostly rural districts face two extremes. Quincy Public Schools usually registers only a handful of English-language learners, but their native tongues have ranged the gamut: Chinese, Korean, Indian, Romanian, Spanish, French.
In Beardstown, 60 miles east, 50 percent of the students are Hispanic.
"Ten years ago, Beardstown had one Spanish-speaking family," said Debra Cole. "Immigration is a global reality. It's not likely to slow down."
Cole, who formerly taught German and Spanish in Quincy schools, is director of the Dual-Language Enrichment Program at Beardstown and regional coordinator for English language learners (ELL).
As regional coordinator, she leads workshops for teachers and administrators on meeting these students' needs. As director of Beardstown's dual-language program, she helped create a curriculum for the elementary grades where English-speakers and English-learners are taught together in both languages.
Teachers and students benefit from both approaches.
Be sure to read the rest of this story! This is only a small part of it.
Immigrants’ homebuying dreams lift housing market
Another good result of all the immigrants being here. DP
By Associated Press
business.bostonherald.com: BILLERICA, Mass. - Patricia Ortiz and her husband Sebastian cut back on dining out, nights at the movies, and even opted for a civil wedding ceremony instead of a big church affair so they could afford to buy their $389,000 three-bedroom colonial.
In doing so, the Panamanian natives helped lift the nation’s slumping housing market.
With rising purchasing power, the nation’s growing number of foreign-born residents are keeping the bottom from falling out. And amid slow demand from an aging and slow-growing native population, immigrants are fueling predictions of a rebound.
Assuming Congress doesn’t impose further restrictions, immigrants - both legal and illegal - and their native-born children are forecast to provide the bulk of coming years’ growth in homebuying demand, nudging the market back up and aiding the broader economy.
U.S. household growth from 2005 through 2015 is projected to reach about 14.6 million - about 2 million greater than in 1995-2005 - primarily because of greater numbers of immigrants, according to a recent analysis by Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies. Most native-born children of immigrants are classified as minorities, and minorities’ share of new U.S. households - a key driver of housing demand - is expected to rise from a little more than two-thirds now to more than three-quarters by 2020, according to an earlier Harvard study.
Be sure to read the rest of this story! This is only a small part of it.
By Associated Press
business.bostonherald.com: BILLERICA, Mass. - Patricia Ortiz and her husband Sebastian cut back on dining out, nights at the movies, and even opted for a civil wedding ceremony instead of a big church affair so they could afford to buy their $389,000 three-bedroom colonial.
In doing so, the Panamanian natives helped lift the nation’s slumping housing market.
With rising purchasing power, the nation’s growing number of foreign-born residents are keeping the bottom from falling out. And amid slow demand from an aging and slow-growing native population, immigrants are fueling predictions of a rebound.
Assuming Congress doesn’t impose further restrictions, immigrants - both legal and illegal - and their native-born children are forecast to provide the bulk of coming years’ growth in homebuying demand, nudging the market back up and aiding the broader economy.
U.S. household growth from 2005 through 2015 is projected to reach about 14.6 million - about 2 million greater than in 1995-2005 - primarily because of greater numbers of immigrants, according to a recent analysis by Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies. Most native-born children of immigrants are classified as minorities, and minorities’ share of new U.S. households - a key driver of housing demand - is expected to rise from a little more than two-thirds now to more than three-quarters by 2020, according to an earlier Harvard study.
Be sure to read the rest of this story! This is only a small part of it.
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