ESL (English as a Second Language)

English as a Second Language

Resilience: Preparing Children to Weather Traumatic Events

We speak with Dr. Tovah P. Klein, professor of psychology at Barnard College and the director of the Center for Toddler Development, about her book, “Raising Resilience: How to Help Our Children Thrive in Times of Uncertainty.” Dr. Klein describes how parents and teachers should build children’s resilience BEFORE anything frightening or traumatic occurs. Most importantly, children and teens need to know they will never be alone, that their parents or trusted adults will always be there for them.

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Translanguaging: Inviting the whole child into the classroom

We speak with Dr. Cecilia Espinosa and Dr. Laura Ascenzi-Moreno, co-authors of “Rooted in Strength: Using Translanguaging to Grow Multilingual Readers and Writers.” Traditionally, teachers have brought language to students rather than accepting and acknowledging children’s entire linguistic repertoires. Communities and families often have fluid language practices; when teachers impose strict separation of languages, they limit students’ creative and critical thought processes.

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Ethical outreach: a parent coordinator anchors immigrant families

We speak with Herminia (Ita) Saldana, parent coordinator at MS 328, a middle school in Washington Heights, Manhattan. Every public school in NYC has a parent coordinator. Virtually all of the MS 328 students are current English Language Learners or have tested out of ELL status. As parent coordinator, Ita encourages and facilitates parent engagement as both advocate and navigator. She also helps recent immigrant families to access all kinds of community services as they adapt to life in NYC.

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