"Use your native language every day, your ancestors are listening."

-Roxana Norouzi, Deputy Director of One America

 

In December, members of Literacy Source staff attended Celebrating Bilingualism: OneAmerica's 2019 Advocacy Priorities Kick-Off at Sullivan Community Center in Tukwila. The event was put on by OneAmerica and the Road Map Project's English Language Learners Work Group as a way to highlight the SPEAK YOUR LANGUAGE campaign and to discuss priorities and goals for 2019 with educators, community members and local representatives.

 

2018 Report Highlights for Literacy Source:

 

The struggle and support of dual language learning is solidly based in literature and research. At the event, Regional Education Laboratories (REL) Northwest spoke about research and data that demonstrate the effectiveness of dual language programs in promoting the long-term development of English proficiency, as opposed to the more short-term improvements typical of many immersion programs. Data from REL Northwest also emphasized the impact that culturally relevant curriculum has on student success. Different cultures and languages are valued more in education as we de-center whiteness, and this is reflected in student engagement and achievement.

 

The research is clear, but real change will take time and commitment. Bernard Koontz, the Educational Director of Teaching and Learning for Highline Public School District, pointed out that this is not the work of one program, campaign, or initiative, but a long-term transformation. The shift to an asset-based approach to learning that honors students' experiences, cultures, and languages will require long-term commitment and advocacy from the educational community.

 

Extending the SPEAK YOUR LANGUAGE Call to Action to Adult Education:

 

The work of the English Language Learners Work Group has been greatly focused on gaps and inequities in the K-12 public school system in Washington State. However, there are many valuable insights, opportunities, and challenges that we at Literacy Source can take from them in our ongoing efforts to create a culturally relevant and anti-racist community for ourselves and our learners. The OneAmerica report included a series of recommendations (pages 34-35) that we as an organization, instructors, volunteers, and community members can use to guide our practices in honoring and supporting bilingualism.

 

As an institution, we have committed to the following recommendations from the report:

We are also considering hosting a community language learning event (or series of events) to celebrate the linguistic diversity of our students at Literacy Source, and welcome ideas and suggestions for this.

 

Please look at the report and other SPEAK YOUR LANGUAGE resources for more information, and consider what recommendations you could commit to as volunteers and what this work would look like in practice.