Surveys indicate that during the winter, people spend more time reading than in any of the other seasons. It makes sense, as the days are shorter and in many parts of the country, the weather is less than ideal for outdoor activities. At SANS Inc., we realize the importance of utilizing this extra reading time to expand your knowledge and get some new ideas for more productive teaching.
That’s why we have curated a selection of professional articles and news about world languages that we think you may find interesting and thought-provoking. Whether you’re interested in some professional insights on teaching languages, the benefits of multilingualism, or funding news, our collection has something for everyone.
We hope you take a little time to read them soon. Let’s try to reset & recharge as we wait for spring to come. Happy reading!
Bilingualism May Improve Attention Control
According to a recent study, people who speak two languages may be better at shifting their attention from one thing to another, compared to monolingual speakers. It seems that bilinguals are better at ignoring irrelevant information. Read the Language Magazine article…
Why My Students Had to Embrace Their Imperfections to Learn a New Language
Amanda Marie Rosas, a High School Spanish Teacher, realized that learning a new language is often challenging and her job is to remove some of the obstacles. She discusses how she has created a classroom “community” to ease the pressures of language learning for her students. Read her story…
NEH Announces $33.8 Million for 260 Humanities Projects Nationwide
National Endowment for the Humanities Chair, Shelly C. Lowe explains, “This funding will help preserve and expand access to community histories, strengthen the ability of small museums and archives to serve the public, and provide resources and educational opportunities for students to engage with history, literature, languages, and cultures.” Read the full press announcement…
American Students Deserve a Multilingual Education
Harlie Rush, an English teacher, makes the case for the importance of students in the United States having the opportunity to learn a new language(s) to participate in a multilingual world. She describes her language learning journey from failure to success and the benefits she has come to recognize as a result of being multilingual. Read the full opinion piece…
Unlocking opportunities: Why learning a foreign language is essential
At age 40, Dr. Giani Clarkson discusses the personal mistakes he made by not taking language learning seriously in his teens and twenties, and the need to change a common mindset in the U.S. that the idea of learning a foreign language is a “rite of passage that is more passage than substance”. Read the article…