There really is not enough useful information out there about gifted multilingual learners. Are they underrepresented in our schools? How can we better identify and serve gifted MLs? How do we support their families so they too can advocate for the right programs and instruction? And what can teachers do now as they plan to meet the needs of gifted MLs in their classrooms? I talk to Amber Gonzalez who I met through the Facebook Group Advocating for ELLs. She is an ML Instructional Coach for Eagle County Schools in Colorado and Marcy Voss, an Educational Consultant for Seidlitz Education about these questions and more. They share their own experiences and research. I know many of you will listen and be inspired by what you hear. We can do this. Amber and Marcy have a lot to share with us beyond this conversation. Don’t forget to take a look at the links they provide in the show notes so you can learn more about identifying and serving gifted MLs. These ladies are brilliant. Let me introduce you to Amber Gonzalez and Marcy Voss.  

Amber Gonzalez-Cortes, M.Ed is the Multilingual Instructional Coach for Eagle County Schools, with prior experience in K-5 as an ELD teacher and is currently an adjunct instructor for the University of Colorado, Denver. She collaborates with classroom teachers, school leadership, and various district-wide departments to support the needs of Multilingual Learners in the development of curriculum, assessment, and instruction for dual language programs and all content areas K-12. Her areas of expertise are in multilingual special education, multilingual gifted and talented education, and English language development programs. 

Marcy Voss is an Educational Consultant who during her career has coordinated Gifted and Bilingual/ESL Programs and helped implement a Dual Language Program. She currently serves as Chair of the National Association for Bilingual Education (NABE) Gifted and Talented Bilingual Education Special Interest Group and Facilitator for the Texas Association for the Gifted and Talented (TAGT) Emerging Leaders Program. 

Marcy is the author of the Academic Language Cards which provide activities using sentence stems requiring higher level thinking.  She has also authored Q3 Cards and TALK (Thinking with Academic Language and Knowledge) Cards which help students think in more in-depth and complex ways.  Additionally, she is co-author of Implementing Evidence-Based Practices in Gifted Education. Follow Marcy on Twitter : @Vossm57

Links Marcy and Amber share: 

As teachers of MLs, we serve students and teachers through many roles. We coplan alongside teachers, we co-teach with our colleagues, and we work with students in small-group instruction too. Collaboration is a critical factor in the success of these. 

In this episode, Dr. Katie Toppel, Sara Sparks, and Stacy Brown share their unique and valuable perspectives. We talk about what collaboration is and what it isn’t. We discuss ways to build cooperation with colleagues who are resistant at first. And these leaders in our field, share their tips for collaboration. 

I know you’ll enjoy hearing from Katie, Sara, and Stacy just as much as I did. 

Dr. Katie Toppel is the newest member of the SIOP author team. She is currently a K-5 English Language Development Specialist in Oregon serving multilingual learners through co-planning, co-teaching, and small-group instruction. Dr. Toppel’s instructional background includes experience teaching kindergarten and first grade in addition to being a K-12 Support Services Teacher at the Franconian International School in Germany. She has taught courses in the ESOL endorsement series at Portland State University and continues to support teachers in their professional learning journeys. Dr. Toppel co-authored DIY PD: A Guide to Self-Directed Learning for Educators of Multilingual Learners and is also a co-founder of #MLLChat_BkClub on Twitter, which provides educators with opportunities to engage in virtual book studies focused on improving practices for multilingual learners. Twitter: @katietoppel Instagram @Toppel_ELD LinkedIN ⁠Katie Toppel, Ed.D⁠

Sara Sparks is an ESL Specialist who loves serving emergent bilinguals and working alongside campus administrators and teachers. Sara works with secondary ESL and newcomer students and works hard to ensure that they receive an equitable education. She has been an ESL Specialist for 4 years. Prior to that, she was a middle school reading teacher for 11 years. She is currently working on her doctorate in educational leadership. Her dissertation focus is the effects acculturative stress has on emergent bilinguals’ academic performance. Twitter @sarasparks21

Stacy Brown is a trauma and policy specialist, bilingual ELD educator, and international emergency case worker. She serves survivors in the US and 58 countries in North and South America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, assisting with issues related to displacement, war and severe conflict, education, healthcare, mental health, legal crises, and language, labor, and human rights. When in Oklahoma, she teaches English language development and intermittently serves as an ORR contractor outside of Oklahoma. She has served in leadership for TESOL International Association and TESOL affiliates for 16 years and serves in leadership with multiple organizations dedicated to protecting and advocating for immigrant families worldwide. LinkedIn ⁠Stacy Brown⁠

In this episode, you will hear how they define sketchnoting but more importantly how they use it with newcomers and with MLs at various levels of English proficiency. They explain lessons and give us tips to get started. Whether you are brand new to sketchnoting or have been doing it for a while, you will enjoy hearing from these three educators. I was honored to visit with them.

Emily Francis is starting her 11th year as an ESL teacher. She is currently working as an HS ESL teacher and working with newcomers in content areas. Her experience as an English Language Learner inspired her to become an ESL teacher. This affords her a deep understanding of the challenges her students must overcome to succeed. You can find Emily's work on her blog at: ⁠⁠https://inspiringenglishlanguagelearners.weebly.com/⁠⁠ 

Twitter: emilyfranESL 

IG: @Mrs.FrancisESL 

Pamela Broussard is a trainer and high school new arrival center teacher. She has 35 years of classroom experience from elementary to adult in the USA and abroad. She is passionate about building social and academic equity with all her students. You can find Pamela at:  ⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/groups/LEADINGELLS⁠⁠. Leadingells.com, and @leadingells on Twitter. For professional development in working with Newcomers, Speaking Test, Social Emotional Learning see her course offerings on her webpage at Leadingells.com

Lauren Shepherd just finished her 10th school year working with MLs in a variety of roles. She is currently a Language Acquisition Specialist working in Coppell, TX. In her free time, she likes to read, spend time with family and friends, and travel. Her Twitter handle is @MsLShepherd 

Bilingual Education has long been known to have positive effects on students academically and socially. Studies show that Bilingual students outperform monolingual students and as the guests in this episode point out a number of times, bilingualism has numerous other benefits. 

I counted myself extremely lucky to sit down with Ms. Norma Garcia, the director of Multi-Language in Harlingen, Texas, Dr. Edith Treviño (better known as Dr. ET) author and dynamic speaker, and Dr. Mónica Lara, author and the CEO of Seidlitz Education. 

Let me warn you that this episode is brimming with passion. I don’t know if there’s any way I could have found 3 other people more passionate about bilingual education. They share with us the pillars of bilingual education, what translanguaging is, what the most effective bilingual classrooms look and sound like, and how we can advocate for and support the families of our students. 

I’ll tell you this, even if you are not serving in a bilingual program, you will leave with new ideas and perspectives that you can apply to your role. 

Ms. Norma Garcia can be found on Twitter @HCISDmultiLang or on LinkedIn 

Dr. ET can be found on Twitter @DRETontheborder and she has a large following on TikTok too. Dr. ET also has a website where you can find more information about her work. 

Dr. Lara can be found on Twitter @DRMLara or on LinkedIn. Dr. Lara is the co-author of ELs in Texas: What Teachers Need to Know, ELs in Texas: What School Leaders Need to Know, and the author of iToma la palabra!. You can find more information about her work on this website.  

Did you study a language when you were in school? Can you speak it fluently today? In this episode, I visit with a group of passionate educators about innovative Modern World Language classrooms. We discuss how LOTE or World Language classrooms have evolved over the years and they share the challenges teachers and students face. We also explore what effective instruction looks like in a lesson. This talk fascinated me for many reasons. One because I did have a fabulous French teacher in middle school, so it took me back to those experiences, and two because I began to think about the opportunities we are creating for students to become multilingual in our global society. And these educators are making a difference.

Resources Shared:

QSSSA

7 Steps LOTE Website

#7StepsLOTE

www.padlet.com/sallyruthbarnes/resources

Is creating a sense of belonging important in our roles as educators?  I visited with Dr. Carol Salva, Hieu Frazer, and Noa Daniels to talk about belonging. These rockstar professionals shared bravely from their own experiences and diverse perspectives giving us practical ideas and also lots to think about as we move forward to create a culture of belonging in all that we do. Get ready because we each cite one of our favorite researchers, Dr. Brene Brown, a few times in this episode. 

We talk about social contracts, the circle protocol, mindsets, families, primary languages, and more. 

Dr. Carol Salva is an educational consultant with Seidlitz Education and the co-author of Boosting Achievement and DIY PD. Her work is primarily focused on SIFE/SLIFE students. You can find her on Twitter @DrCarolSalva. Carol also has a useful Blog and a podcast called Boosting Achievement: The ESL Podcast. 

Hieu Fraser is a district principal in Vancouver, British Columbia, and the author of the beautiful picture book The Little Girl. You can reach out to Hieu on Twitter at @hieu_fraser or on Instagram at @hieubooks.

Noa Daniel is a teacher, consultant, and author of Strum and the Wild Turkeys. She is also the co-founder of The Mentoree. You can find out more about Noa and get in touch through Twitter @iamNoaDaniel or on Instagram @iamnoadaniel. 

Here are additional resources our guests shared with us: 

www.buildingoutsidetheblocks.com

www.thementoree.com

https://voiced.ca/project/onedmentors/

https://strumandthewildturkeys.com/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWjRaXITmus- 

https://www.hieubooks.ca/ - for teacher’s guides for the book, The Little Girl

This powerful half-hour is all about unique and creative ways for educators to collaborate for a common goal, success for multilingual learners! You will love hearing from Esther Park and Sara Sparks who both have had various roles in education and share fresh ideas.

We discuss practical ways to communicate with colleagues and also share a few concrete tips you can try immediately! I ask them both about their Do’s and Don’t’s, and you’ll love what they share.

You can connect with Esther Park on all of these social media channels:

Twitter: @MrsParkShine

Instagram: mrsparkshine

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mrsparkshine/

You can connect with Sara Sparks on Twitter @sarasparks21

Instructional Practices for Early Childhood MLs and teaching early childhood MLs

In this episode of Lifting Language, I gathered three leaders in the early childhood field to talk about teaching early childhood multilingual learners. Karen Nemeth, the author of numerous books and publications, Lena Cordova, an early childhood education specialist in Texas for Head Start, and Wendy Ditmars an ELA teacher in Massachusetts. This talk left me inspired and filled with ideas for working with young MLs and their families.

We discussed the principles of early childhood education and the role languages play, families as resources, and best instructional practices. I am willing to bet you will leave this episode with some new ideas. I know I did. And although the topic is early childhood, all teachers of multilingual learners can learn something from this conversation.

You can find Karen, Lena, and Wendy here:

@KarenNemethEdM

LanguageCastle.com

Karen N. Nemeth on LinkedIn

@lena_cordova

CourdovasClassroom on Instagram

Lena Cordova on LinkedIn

You can connect with Wendy Ditmars in the Advocating for ELLs Facebook group.

A few resources referenced in the podcast episode:

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03004430.2019.1658086

www.readyrosie.com

When I invited Natalia Heckman and Stephanie Ledger to sit down with me at the roundtable to talk about supporting and developing secondary multilingual writers I had an idea that the conversation would be informative, but I didn’t realize how deep we would actually go and just how delightful it would be. I took pages of notes!

The fact is that we didn’t even get to all of the questions I had planned. These ladies talked about humanizing instruction for multilingual learners in secondary schools. They discussed authentic and compelling ways to bring out the best in our writers. They shared how background and culture are factors in writing. And much more.

At the time of this recording, Natalia Heckman’s book Building Better Writers was yet to be released. To learn more about Natalia and her work, click here.

 She also shares her experiences and her strategies on her blog.

Natalia on Twitter.

We were overjoyed that Stephanie Ledger joined us from Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. Her research and experience with MLs and SLIFE across all age levels and proficiency levels is phenomenal.

Stephanie Ledger is an ESL/ELD educator, researcher and author. She is passionate about co-creating equitable assessment and learning opportunities for multilingual learners (MLLs). She has spent over thirty years collaborating with elementary, secondary and adult multilingual learners and their teachers. Her research and practice focus on early literacy education for adolescent students of refugee background with limited or interrupted formal education (SLIFE). Stephanie has a Master of Education degree from Wilfrid Laurier University (Waterloo, Ontario) and would like to gratefully recognize her advisor, Dr. Kristiina Montero, for her collaboration as a co-author.

Stephanie on Twitter.

Stephanie’s publications are:

Transforming ESL Pedagogies: A Teacher’s Journey from Subject-Centered to Student-Centered Pedagogy When Teaching Print Literacy to SLIFE. (pp. 141-159).  https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-86963-2_9

Teacher Profile in Chapter 2: Social and emotional learning in pre- and in-service TESOL teacher preparation programs, In L.J. L. J. Pentón Herrera (Ed.), Social-emotional learning in the English language classroom: Fostering growth, self-care, and independence.  https://www.amazon.ca/Social-Emotional-Learning-English-Language-Classroom/dp/1953745024

Shifting pedagogy for adolescent refugees with limited or interrupted formal education: https://scholars.wlu.ca/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3090&context=etd

Exploring early reading instructional strategies to advance the print literacy development of adolescent SLIFE. 58(1), pp.59-69. https://ila.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/jaal.318

Other Resources Mentioned in the Podcast Episode:

The Writing Revolution by Hockman & Wexler

Building Literacy with Engish Language Learners: Insights from Linguistics by Lems, Miller, & Soro

Teaching MLs Podcast by Tan Huynh 

The Motivated Classroom Podcast by Dr. Liam Printer

Andrea Bitner reminds us that “no one reaches success alone.” In this episode, I sit down with Andrea Bitner, Carly Spina, and Viana Armstrong and we discuss how they engage families of multilingual learners. These leaders share success stories, mistakes, and advice. I promise you will leave this episode with at least one new idea to share with your colleagues or implement in your own work. There were a few times that my mind was blown.

Andrea Bitner is the author of Take Me Home. You can connect with her on social media: Twitter: @BitnerAndrea, Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrea-bitner-4bb6911ab/, Instagram: @andreabitnerbooks and find more about her work here.

Carly Spina is the author of Moving Beyond for Multilingual Learners: Innovative Supports for Linguistically Diverse Students and the creator of the Moving Beyond for MLs Blog. You can connect with her on social media: Twitter: @MrsSpinasClass, Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carly-spina-34730a164/, TikTok: @MrsSpinasClass

From district coordinator to professor and more, Viana Armstrong has years of experience working with multilingual learners and their families in a variety of roles. You can connect with her on social media: Twitter: @armstrongvi, Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/viana-armstrong-m-ed-83b9b657, Link to Practical Parent Education