America the Bilingual

What could be a better example of free speech in America than to be able to speak freely in public in another language? And when it comes to patriotism, what could be more patriotic than defending our country by actually being able to understand our allies, and our enemies, in their own languages? To help envision such a new normal in America, we take you to a country that shows how a linguistically diverse nation can function. Come with us as America the Bilingual goes to Morocco, in Episode 39 of our podcast.

The America the Bilingual podcast is part of the Lead with Languages campaign of ACTFL — The American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages.

This episode was written by Steve Leveen, the founder of America the Bilingual, and edited by Fernando Hernández, who also does our sound design and mixing. Mim Harrison is the editorial and brand director for the America the Bilingual project. Graphic arts are created by Carlos Plaza Design Studio. Caroline Doughty is our social media maestro. Beckie Rankin is the podcast’s associate producer. Daruma Tech powers the America the Bilingual website.

Special thanks to the ALI colleagues I traveled with to Morocco, including: Ken Creary and Lauren States, Bob Heckart, Lisa Claudy Fleischman and Chuck Fleischman, Ken and Lisa Kelley, Judy Perry Martinez and Rene Martinez, Eduardo Elejalde and Maria Teresa, Winifred White Neisser and Ken Neisser, Michael and Laurie Pepe, Jim and Karen Sherriff, Deborah Hannam and John Donovan, Peter Holbrook, Denis Weil, Horst Melcher, Susan and Len Miller, and Louise and Tom Middleton.

A special shout-out to Ken Creary and my wife, Lori, for their photography.

Support for the America the Bilingual project comes from the Levenger Foundation.

Music in this episode, “Quasi Motion” by Kevin MacLeod, was used with a Creative Commons Attribution License. Our thanks to Epidemic Sound for helping us make beautiful music together.

Let us know what you think

If you like this episode, please share with a friend and subscribe on iTunes or wherever you listen to podcasts. And let us know what you think: leave a comment on our Facebook page about this episode, or on any other thoughts you have about bilingualism in America. We love hearing from our listeners!

On September 11, 2001, the value of knowing another language was probably the last thing on the minds of most Americans. But 9/11 revealed another fissure in this country’s infrastructure: the thousands of jobs going unfilled in our intelligence agencies because not enough Americans speak the language of the countries these agencies must understand. The Department of Defense has done something about it, funding a summer program throughout the country to teach what it identified as critical-need languages. Called STARTALK, the program is the reason why some Americans now speak Russian, Korean, Arabic and Urdu. In Episode 38 of America the Bilingual , host Steve Leveen talks with teachers and students who are strengthening America’s linguistic infrastructure through STARTALK

In our continuing series of dual language summer immersion programs, in Episode 37 of the America the Bilingual podcast, we learn what it means to “live the language” at Concordia Language Villages—from learning opera in Italian, soccer in German, volleyball in Spanish, and French while waltzing with mops.

The America the Bilingual podcast is part of the Lead with Languages campaign of ACTFL — The American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages.

This episode was written by Steve Leveen, and edited by Fernando Hernández, who also does our sound design and mixing. Associate Producer Beckie Rankin provided her fine field work, as always. Mim Harrison is our editorial and brand director for the America the Bilingual project. Graphic arts are created by Carlos Plaza Design Studio. Caroline Doughty is our social media maven. Daruma Tech powers the website.

Meet the team—including our bark-lingual mascot, Chet—at Americathebilingual.com

Support for the America the Bilingual project comes from the Levenger Foundation.

Special thanks to Dr. David Knutson, professor of Spanish at Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio; and to my wife, Lori, who traveled with me to Concordia and witnessed Waltzing with Mops.

Music in this episode, “Quasi Motion” by Kevin MacLeod, was used with a Creative Commons Attribution License. Our thanks to Epidemic Sound for helping us make beautiful music together.

If you like this episode, please share with a friend and subscribe on iTunes or wherever you listen to podcasts. And please join our email list, so we can let you know about our upcoming episodes.

The summer language immersion program that Professor John Rassias founded at Dartmouth College is famous worldwide for showing results in as little as 10 days. But now that this larger-than-life language visionary has passed away, can his legacy—and his method—live on? Join us for Episode 36 of America the Bilingual, “A Tidal Wave of Love: The John Rassias Legacy,” as we journey to New Hampshire to find out.

The America the Bilingual podcast is part of the Lead with Languages campaign of ACTFL—The American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages.

This episode was written and produced by Steve Leveen, and edited by Fernando Hernández, who also does the sound design and mixing. Mim Harrison is the editorial and brand director of the America the Bilingual project. The associate producer is Beckie Rankin, who provided ace background research, as always. Rob Kennedy, Alejandro Capriles and the rest of the team at Daruma Tech power our website. Graphic arts are created by Carlos Plaza Design Studio. Meet the America the Bilingual team—including our bark-lingual mascot, Chet—here.

Support for the America the Bilingual project comes from the Levenger Foundation.

Music in this episode, “Quasi Motion” by Kevin MacLeod, was used with a Creative Commons Attribution License.

Our thanks to Epidemic Sound for helping us make beautiful music together.

World War I shattered a way of life for millions. But one positive result, invented by a German-American immigrant, continues to deliver blessings to Americans today. Almost no one knows her name or her story, but the peacemaking legacy of Lilian L. Strobe, today called summer language immersion experiences, is the subject of Episode 35 of America the Bilingual: The Magic of Middlebury.

The America the Bilingual podcast is part of the Lead with Languages campaign of ACTFL — The American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages.

This episode was written by Steve Leveen and edited by Fernando Hernández. Mim Harrison is our editorial and brand director for the America the Bilingual project. Graphic arts are created by Carlos Plaza Design Studio.

Special thanks to Wayne Welch and Lois Kaufmann.

Support for the America the Bilingual project comes from the Levenger Foundation. Music in this episode, “Quasi Motion” by Kevin MacLeod, was used with a Creative Commons Attribution License. Our thanks to Epidemic Sound for helping us make beautiful music together.

If you like this episode, please share with a friend and subscribe on iTunes or wherever you listen to podcasts. Thanks for listening. For America the Bilingual, this is Steve Leveen.

Jenny K. Messner credits the high school cultural exchange program of AFS with transforming her life. Living in Brazil for a year in the 1970s, Jenny learned a new culture, became fluent in Portuguese, and parlayed her language skills into a career in international finance. Then she found a way to help hundreds of other young American bilinguals-to-be follow in her path. But would she let her own daughter venture so far from home in today’s world? Hear Jenny’s story in Episode 34 of America the Bilingual.

The America the Bilingual podcast is part of the Lead with Languages campaign of ACTFL—The American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages.

Special thanks from Steve to Marlene Baker and the rest of the staff at AFS-USA.

This episode was written by Mim Harrison, the editorial and brand director of the America the Bilingual project, and produced by Fernando Hernández, who does the sound design and mixing as well. The associate producer is Beckie Rankin. Graphic arts are created by Carlos Plaza Design Studio. Meet the America the Bilingual team—including our bark-lingual mascot, Chet— at Americathebilingual.com

Support for the America the Bilingual project comes from the Levenger Foundation.

Music in this episode, “Quasi Motion” by Kevin MacLeod, was used with a Creative Commons Attribution License. Our thanks to Epidemic Sound for helping us make beautiful music together.

Movies, especially with the help of new streaming services and à la carte language options, offer a virtual language immersion where you can choose how far to wade in. In Episode 33 of America the Bilingual, we’ll venture into the four stages of movie immersion—from just dangling your toe to diving in head first.

The America the Bilingual podcast is part of the campaign of ACTFL—The American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages.

This episode was hosted by Steve Leveen, and co-hosted and produced by Fernando Hernández, who does the sound design and mixing as well. The associate producer is Beckie Rankin. Mim Harrison is the editorial and brand director of the America the Bilingual project. Graphic arts are created by Carlos Plaza Design Studio. Meet the team—including our bark-lingual mascot, Chet—here.

Support for the America the Bilingual project comes from the Levenger Foundation.

Music in this episode, “Quasi Motion” by Kevin MacLeod, was used with a Creative Commons Attribution License. Our thanks to Epidemic Sound for helping us make beautiful music together.

Listen to Steve’s conversation with octogenarian Bill Davis, whose bilingualism was essential to an unexpected—and rewarding—life after World War II. Bill describes what it was like to hide in the mountains during the Second World War to escape the enemy, all the while loving the language of the enemy. Years later, he had another, very different escape… from a future American president.

The America the Bilingual podcast is part of the Lead with Languages campaign of ACTFL—The American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages.

Special thanks from Steve to Sylvette Jouclas, Bill’s wife, for graciously welcoming him into their home this summer.

This episode was written by Mim Harrison, the editorial and brand director of the America the Bilingual project, and produced by Fernando Hernández, who does the sound design and mixing as well. The associate producer is Beckie Rankin. Graphic arts are created by Carlos Plaza Design Studio.

Music in this episode, “Quasi Motion” by Kevin MacLeod, was used with a Creative Commons Attribution License. You can find it on this link: http://freemusicarchive.org/music/kevin_macleod/global_sampler/quasi_motion

Our thanks to Epidemic Sound for helping us make beautiful music together.

Your host Steve Leveen calls from France to talk a little bit about upcoming episodes where we'll explore language immersion camps, and the term "buds of bilingualism" that he coined.

What older generations may remember from their language classes—drills of verb conjugations, constant corrections of grammar and sentence structure—is not what they’ll find in many global-language classes today.

What we’ll hear in “Not Your Uncle’s Language Class,” Episode 31 of the America the Bilingual podcast, may shock many of us old-schoolers:

Global-language teachers are no longer looking for perfection from their students!

The America the Bilingual podcast is part of the Lead with Languages campaign of ACTFL — The American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages. Many of the educators you heard from in this episode are current or former board members of ACTFL, including Bill Anderson, Susann Davis, Desa Dawson, Lisa Lilley Ritter, and Toni Tyson.

This episode was written by Mim Harrison, the editorial and brand director of the America the Bilingual project. Our producer is Fernando Hernández, who also does our sound design and mixing. Graphic arts are created by Carlos Plaza Design Studio.

Support for the America the Bilingual project comes from the Levenger Foundation.

Music in this episode, “Quasi Motion” by Kevin MacLeod, was used with a Creative Commons Attribution License.

https://exit.sc/?url=http%3A%2F%2Ffreemusicarchive.org%2Fmusic%2Fkevin_macleod%2Fglobal_sampler%2Fquasi_motion

Our thanks to Epidemic Sound for helping us make beautiful music together.

Keep connected on Facebook and Twitter. Thanks for listening. For America the Bilingual, this is Steve Leveen.