Language Magazine

Every year, thousands of students from across the world make their way to Spain to attend language schools and the 76 universities located in the country. Statistics from the academic year 2021–22 show that nearly 250,000 international students enrolled in Spanish universities, out of which over 50,000 were on exchange programs. They come to the country for numerous reasons, with the knowledge that studying here is a truly enlightening experience. Spain offers its international students the opportunity to create new attitudes and concepts about life. It gives students a fresh perspective on the world around them.

The first 175 Chinese language teachers began teaching at primary and middle schools in Saudi Arabia last month, as part of an agreement made between the two countries in 2023 to enhance cooperation in Chinese language education. Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Education and the Center for Language Education and Cooperation under China’s Ministry of Education jointly organized a preservice training at Tianjin Normal University for the educators. This initiative highlights the collaborative efforts to implement agreements between the leaderships of China and Saudi Arabia in 2022, strengthening the strategic partnership between the two countries. According to China’s state Xinhua News

Western Kentucky University’s (WKU’s) Department of Modern Languages’ Chinese Flagship Program has renewed its four-year $1.5 million grant with The Language Flagship, an initiative of the National Security Education Program within the Defense Language and National Security Education Office.

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