Institute for Multilingual Education

Beautiful environmental print in Spanish DL kindergarten and first grade classrooms! Environmental print through anchor charts, pictorials, graphic organizers, word walls, Thinking Maps, etc- are an important strategy in dual language classrooms because they scaffold language learning, they give students access to vocabulary and academic language, and they help students when they write independently.

The future of dual language education looks bright! 🌞 What a wonderful experience it is for us to work with dual language teachers new to the teaching profession.

If you’ll be at ATDLE this June, Dr. Palmieri will be presenting on how sociocultural competence can be operationalized in dual language settings. Are you planning to attend? We are looking forward to connecting in San Diego!
Association of Two-Way & Dual Language Education (ATDLE)

In her 2021 doctoral research, Dr. Palmieri interviewed 21 dual language teachers in California to explore their perceptions of sociocultural competence. Six ways of viewing sociocultural competence in DL education arose from this research. Essentially, these six ways of viewing sociocultural competence are also ways to operationalize it in the DL classroom. What are some of the ways you address sociocultural competence in your classroom? Do some of your practices “land” in one (or more) of the six ways of viewing sociocultural competence? Comment below! We would love to hear from you.

If you would like to learn more about this topic, join us in San Diego at Dr. Palmieri’s presentation at ATDLE in June. Stay tuned for more information!
Association of Two-Way & Dual Language Education (ATDLE)

Image created by AI.

Exciting news! We will be presenting at the conference in San Diego this June.

Dr. Palmieri will be presenting her signature session on the operationalization of sociocultural competence in dual language education.

More information to come about the session date and time! Stay tuned!

The integration of content, language, literacy, and culture is the foundation of teaching in a dual language setting. A dual language teacher needs to have the pedagogical knowledge needed to integrate these areas when teaching, whilst simultaneously attending to each component because each one is essential to the biliteracy development process.

What do you find the most challenging when integrating these components throughout your instruction? Comment below 👇 to share.

Every day is teacher appreciation day here at the Institute for Multilingual Education (IME). We want to send a loving message to all dual language teachers today and every day: thank you for all the hard work, the dedication, and love that you have for the dual language profession, your DL programs, and your students and their families. Thank you and happy teacher appreciation week!

Here at the Institute for Multilingual Education (IME) we believe in building relationships with teachers and administrators, and working with schools and districts long term rather than offering “one and done” profesional learning experiences. We have been working with for over a year and a half- we are quite lucky to work with such incredible and dedicated dual language educators.

When it comes to dual language education, we cannot stress enough how important the role of school and district leaders is in the success of DL programs. It is the leaders of these programs who have the power and voice to advocate, to help develop equitable systems, to ensure that these programs are given the support and the resources needed to meet the goals of DL education: bilingualism and biliteracy, high academic achievement in both languages, and sociocultural competence. Without leaders who have knowledge of dual language immersion, who believe in the transformative power of bilingual education, and who build programs grounded in critical consciousness and systems of equity, it is impossible to have a dual language program perform at its highest potential. Leadership makes all the difference in the success of a DL program.

Do you agree? Share in the comments below your thoughts about the importance of leadership in DL education.