ELL News Headlines

There is a persistent shortage of dual-language teachers as the number of English language learners in American schools continues to rise. While a number of districts have looked to the short-term solution of hiring from Spanish-speaking countries like Spain and Mexico, two new papers from New America highlight recommendations for how to incubate bilingual talent stateside.

Earlier this summer, a study out of the University of Kansas looked at how babies received different languages in the womb, learning that, in utero, babies are attuned to the rhythm of their dominant language and mentally switch gears when they hear a foreign tongue. At the time, we hypothesized that, if they have such capabilities within the womb, babies could very well be prepared to handle two languages once they're out of it. That hypothesis has turned out to be quite true, as new research shows that bilingual babies are more than capable to process the languages their environments contain.

In the wake of Hurricane Maria, Puerto Rican students wait in Ithaca for news of home. Cornell Puerto Rican Student Association's secretary Julia Pagán Andréu ’19, who calls San Juan home, was eager to hear news from her family — including her mother, father, sister, cousin and grandparents — who waited out last week's storm. "I'm just lucky that I've been able to get in touch with them,” she said. "I've seen my friends posting on Facebook asking for help in making sure their parents and loved ones are okay. So many people haven’t heard anything."

The passage of the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) in December of 2015 was welcomed by many advocates and leaders as a huge step toward equitable education for English learners (ELs). These new benefits for ELs under ESSA include expanded requirements in reporting EL data, the possibility of increased funding for EL programs, and more nuanced school rating systems that take into account the English proficiency of students.

Monday marks the 60th anniversary of the controversial and historic desegregation of schools in Little Rock, Arkansas. Some are celebrating the milestone. Others say more progress is needed.

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, speaking as the keynoter at a forum on civics education Thursday, stressed the importance of engaging young people of various backgrounds on the topic. "For me, civic education is the key to inspiring kids to want to become and stay involved in making a difference," Sotomayor told the Democracy at a Crossroads National Summit, a daylong event that drew scores of students, educators, policymakers, and others to the Newseum here.

Mexico and Puerto Rico are still in shock after being hit by devastating natural disasters earlier this week. The following organizations posted by Latino USA have received four-star ratings from Charity Navigator, a watchdog organization that vets charitable organizations. Most of these groups also allow you to a specific disaster relief cause, and offer their forms in English.

Where are all the teachers? That's what education expert Linda Darling-Hammond asks and answers in this post about the teacher shortage in many parts of the United States — and what can be done to finally end it. While teacher shortages are not new, they are getting worse in many parts of the country. A report by the nonprofit Learning Policy Institute found that teacher education enrollment dropped from 691,000 to 451,000, a 35 percent reduction, between 2009 and 2014 — and nearly 8 percent of the teaching workforce is leaving every year, the majority before retirement age.

When Samuel Tsoi first emigrated from Hong Kong, the then-8-year-old focused on learning English to assimilate into his new country. “And yet, I wasn’t given an opportunity to retain my Chinese language, so I had to learn that later on," Tsoi said. Because in today’s globalized world, he said, bilingualism is an asset. That is one example he hopes representatives from the education, business, government and nonprofit sectors will consider as part of a new committee focused on improving immigrant integration. Tsoi, named an Urban Leadership Fellow with RISE San Diego, said the effort with the city of San Diego and other partners will examine how systems currently work and what can make them better.

On Oct. 4, the United States Postal Service will issue four stamps, part of the "Forever" series, featuring Peter, the little boy from Ezra Jack Keats's "The Snowy Day." The book was published in 1962. The next year, Martin Luther King delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech, and "The Snowy Day" won the Caldecott Medal.