Illinois is home to one of the nation’s largest and most diverse populations of speakers of languages other than English. Nearly one in four Illinois residents over the age of five speak a language other than English at home. The Bilingual Advantage Starts at Home project, funded by the University of Illinois, aims to raise awareness of the tremendous value of bilingualism and to encourage teachers and parents/guardians to make decisions that will best foster bilingual children’s cognitive, academic, and social growth.
As part of the grant, bilingualism experts Dr. Melissa Bowles (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) and Dr. Kim Potowski (University of Illinois at Chicago) are offering two free professional development workshops for Illinois teachers and administrators. Each 2-hour interactive workshop will be offered online via Zoom and will provide attendees with 2 ISBE-approved clock hours of professional development (PDH).
Sign up for one or both FREE workshops, and if these dates don't work for you, sign up for our waiting list to be notified as new sessions are offered:
Workshop 1: The Benefits of Home Language Maintenance
DATE: October 16, 2020 (4-6 p.m. CST)
What it’s about: This workshop will discuss why it is crucial for bilingual children to continue to use their home language while they are learning English.
Who it’s for: This workshop is designed for teachers in schools where there are smaller numbers of home language speakers of languages other than English, or speakers from a wide variety of different languages, where it would not be feasible/practical to offer a dual-language program. It would also be valuable for teachers from any school who are interested in reaching students from languages that are not as widely spoken.
Workshop 2: The Power of Dual-Language Education
DATE: October 9, 2020 (4-6 p.m. CST)
What it’s about: This workshop will discuss how dual-language programs contribute to both linguistic and academic achievement advantages for children. For language minority students, it has been shown to be the most successful model for learning English while simultaneously developing students’ first language. For English speakers, it provides a rich environment in which to acquire another language. After exploring a few myths about multilingualism that plague the U.S. and that serve to curtail these programs and squander the many non-English languages spoken in communities across the country, we show how these programs lead to high levels of academic achievement for all students.
Who it’s for: This workshop is ideal for teachers in schools where there is a critical mass of home language speakers of one language, where a dual-language program is or could be offered.
For more information about the presenters, the grant, and the workshops, click here. To register for one or both workshops, click here. Space is limited and spots are available on a first-come, first-served basis. We will be adding more dates in coming weeks.
Priority is given to Illinois educators, but if you are an educator from a state other than Illinois and are interested in participating, sign up for our waiting list on the registration page!
Please share widely and help us spread the word to other educators!
Questions? Contact uofillinoisbilingual@gmail.com
