Language Magazine

This fall, Wisconsin’s Bayfield School District is launching an Ojibwemowin immersion program for kindergarten students in collaboration with the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa.

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) at the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has announced over $7 million in new funding awards for Native language projects. In 2024, ACF’s Administration for Native Americans (ANA) will fund eight projects under the Native American Language Preservation and Maintenance program and one project under the Esther Martinez Immersion program. These new awards are in addition to $10,218,134 for 37 continuing language projects, for a total ANA FY 24 investment of $17,316,599 in Native languages.

International Education Week (IEW), a joint initiative between the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Education, is November 18-22, 2024.

Neuroplasticity is the brain’s ability to build connections within itself, adapting to the surrounding environment. The brain is most plastic in childhood, forming new pathways in reaction to stimuli such as language. Past research has shown that learning a second language may positively affect attention, healthy aging, and even recovery after brain injury. A new study from the Neuro (Montreal Neurological Institute-Hospital) of McGill University, the University of Ottawa, and the University of Zaragoza in Spain elaborates on bilingualism’s role in cognition, showing increased efficiency of communication between brain regions. Scientists recruited 151 participants who either spoke French, English, or

Michigan Implements New Literacy/Dyslexia Bills Two new literacy/dyslexia laws were signed last month by Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer at Gardner International Magnet School in Lansing. “Kids won today,” said state superintendent Dr. Michael F. Rice. “This is the most consequential education legislation signed in Michigan in the past two decades, with the possible exception of historic state school aid budgets for fiscal years 2023 and 2024. In the coming years, Michigan children learning to read will benefit enormously.” In September, the state Senate and House sent two literacy/ dyslexia bills to the governor in resounding bipartisan votes. The K–12 literacy/dyslexia

Jocelyn Wright introduces some of the field’s pioneers and their contributions

China’s internet regulator has launched a campaign to crack down on “unauthorized” use of language online, in a move experts say is a bid to stem the widespread use of slang and abbreviations by Generation Z on social media.The Cyberspace Administration of China will take steps to “rectify the chaos of the irregular use of Mandarin and other characters on the internet,” the country’s state news agency Xinhua reported last month.The move is part of a nationwide crackdown on language usage with the code name Clear and Bright, and will target expressions involving homophones—words that sound the same but mean

Holly Denecour offers advice for the dual language classroom

María Carreira introduces the AATSP Virtual Programs Fair and other initiatives

The Instituto Cervantes has launched its latest yearbook, Spanish in the World 2024, with the most up-to-date statistics on the language’s international presence and future projections. It shows that in 2024, for the first time, Spanish speakers worldwide will exceed 600 million people. This figure includes almost 500 million native speakers in addition to those with limited competence (around 78 million) and students (more than 24 million). The report also highlights that Spanish remains the second mother tongue on the planet, after Mandarin Chinese, and its relevance is recognized as it’s one of the main choices for users of platforms