The Weaponization of English
In his 1971 hit, Marvin Gaye laments “make me wanna holler, the way they do my life…” The lyrics to this song can be applied to modern-day events surrounding the Black Lives Matter (BLM)...
Giving World Languages a Voice… Virtually
The year 2020 has proven to be a challenge for the world and tested its resilience economically, epidemiologically, and pedagogically. Public and private schools have had to shut their physical doors to millions of...
Needs Attention
When we have a chance to look back, many in education will recognize 2020 as the year that learning radically changed. The impact of quickly pivoting the entire industry to an online environment has...
The Language of Lockdown
As we continue to connect digitally for work and even with loved ones, body language has become more important than ever. Gestures have to be performed in a more exaggerated and obvious way since...
A Life and Love of Languages
People have asked me why I recently joined the U.S. Department of Education as assistant deputy secretary in the Office of English Language Acquisition (OELA) and what I hope to accomplish. It’s personal. The...
Race and Language Teaching
I moved to Birmingham, Alabama, in 1988 from Los Angeles, California. Even Birmingham’s undeniable legacy of racial injustice and violence could not quell my youthful anticipation of beginning my first academic appointment at the...
Dismantling Racism: Working from the Inside Out
America is crying everyone’s tears. Crying because of all she stands for—the freedom, liberty, and opportunity that has not been genuinely extended to all. The recent senseless killings of Rayshard Brooks, George Floyd, Breonna...
Eureka!
Hands down, reading is one of the most powerful tools for facilitating acquisition of vocabulary—whether it is vocabulary from a first, second, or third language. Most educators acknowledge the power of reading to enhance...
Dyslexic Learners Inform Instruction
After 25 years as a classroom teacher of Spanish, German, and English, I decided to make reaching dyslexic students in the world language classroom the focus of my efforts. I found that two mistakes...
The Challenge of Teaching Poetry
As Franklin Roosevelt famously stated in his 1932 inaugural address, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” These ringing words probably also apply to the teaching of poetry. For a whole...