This section includes resources pertaining to the theoretical underpinnings of the CUNY-NYSIEB project as articulated by the principal investigators of the project.
Translanguaging: A CUNY-NYSIEB Guide for Educators
This guide provides concrete strategies for educators interested in experimenting with translanguaging in their classrooms. Please feel free to download, copy, and disseminate to your school community. The guide was published in March 2013. It is the same guide as the one published in 2012 but it has been added to the Appendix.
The Languages of New York State: A CUNY-NYSIEB Guide for Educators
This guide provides a description of the top ten languages spoken by emergent bilinguals in addition to English. These descriptions include a brief history of the language, the cultures of the people who speak the language, and their experiences in New York State. It also includes some basic structural features of the languages as well as cognates and basic phrases. Please feel free to download, copy, and disseminate to your school community.
The Emergent Bilingual Leadership Team (EBLT) Resource Packet
This package is a tool that will assist principals and members of the Emergent Bilingual Leadership Team (EBLT) in developing a school improvement plan to better the education of the school’s emergent bilingual students. Within, there are a range of documents that can serve a starting point for discussion and planning purposes.
The contents of this packet are not necessarily intended to be used in the order presented, nor are there expectations that schools will use every item in the document. Instead, we provide the different documents as resources to consult and/or complete based on the area(s) your EBLT team is addressing, and on the needs of the school.
A CUNY-NYSIEB Framework on the Education of Emergent Bilinguals with Low Home Literacy: 4-12 Grades
The Framework, produced by the CUNY-New York State Initiative on Emergent Bilinguals, is a detailed guide for professionals whose mission includes the educational and literacy development of emergent bilingual students who are newcomers to the U.S and who have unusually low levels of literacy represents a vulnerable population, whether they attend regular programs or those designed for emergent bilinguals (whether bilingual or ESL). Different programs consisting of alternative curricula, as well as innovative classrooms structures and pedagogies are needed for these students. The present CUNY-NYSIEB Framework identifies and guides the implementation of these alternative structures and strategies.
PS 153 Welcome Packet and Welcome Letter PS 153
This Welcome Packet and Welcome Letter have been developed as part of the work of CUNY-NYSIEB with PS 153 leaders in 2012. These documents are design for students who are new to the country or who enter the classroom during the school year, rather than in September. The purpose of the packet is to familiarize the student with the school, the materials he or she will need, and basic English Vocabulary. Much of the packet is bilingual (available in both Spanish and Polish) for students that read and write in their home language, and the activities encourage the use of both English and the home language. The packet could be used in the classroom or as homework, and attempts to take the pressure off the first couple days of school for both the new students, as they adjust to their new environment, and the teachers, as they gather materials and plan lessons that are appropriate for their new student. This packet is most appropriate for elementary school students, though the welcome letter to families could be used at all grade levels.
School Leaders and Bilingualism: A CUNY-NYSIEB Guide Professional Development
This Welcome Packet and Welcome Letter have been developed as part of the work of CUNY-NYSIEB with PS 153 leaders in 2012. These documents are design for students who are new to the country or who enter the classroom during the school year, rather than in September. The purpose of the packet is to familiarize the student with the school, the materials he or she will need, and basic English Vocabulary. Much of the packet is bilingual (available in both Spanish and Polish)
This is the curriculum guide for the leadership seminars that lie at the heart of the leadership component of our project. It includes participant agendas, facilitator agendas, PowerPoint slides, and all worksheet for all five sessions. Please feel free to download, copy, and disseminate.
Reimagining Bilingualism in Education for the 21st Century
A lecture that co-PI Ofelia García gave in the UK that describes the theoretical foundations of the CUNY-NYSIEB project from the perspective of language education. It is divided into five parts as follows:
- Part One: From Bilingualism to Translanguaging
- Part Two: Translanguaging in Daily Use
- Part Three: Translanguaging: The Children’s Perspective
- Part Four: Translanguaging in the Classroom
- Part Five: Translanguaging in the Classroom continued
On non, tout ne se tient pas: The grammatical system as Saussure’s langue and some intractable problems of linguistics.
A lecture that PI Ricardo Otheguy gave at the Columbia University Seminar on Columbia School Linguistics that describes the theoretical foundations of the CUNY-NYSIEB project from the perspective of theoretical linguistics. It is divided into seven parts as follows:
Latinos in New York City High Schools Project
The website for a previous project led by co-PI Ofelia García that examined the programming and pedagogical practices of successful schools that serve large numbers of Latinos and emergent bilinguals.
Long Term English Language Learner Project
The website for a previous project led by co-PI Kate Menken on students labeled “Long Term English Language Learners” that has provided insights regarding biliteracy development and literacy strategies that inform the CUNY-NYSIEB project.
New York State Resources
A guide for teachers and administrators working to create effective support services for SIFE published by the NYSED Office of Bilingual Education and Foreign Language Studies.
Promising Instructional Practices for Secondary English Language Learners (7-12)
A guide for teachers and administrators working to create effective programming for adolescent emergent bilinguals published by NYSED Office of Bilingual Education and Foreign Language Studies.
Resource Guide for Educating Refugee Children and Youth in New York State
A guide for teachers and administrators working to create effective support services for refugee children published by NYSED Office of Bilingual Education and Foreign Language Studies.
Technology-Enhanced Instruction for English as a Second Language and Bilingual Education
A guide for teachers and administrators on strategies for incorporation technology into programming for emergent bilingual students published by NYSED Office of Bilingual Education and Foreign Language Studies.
Two-Way Bilingual Education Programs: A Resource Guide
A guide for districts, administrators, and educators interested in creating strong two-way bilingual education programs that are responsive to the needs of emergent bilinguals published by NYSED Office of Bilingual Education and Foreign Language Studies.
Yours, Mine, Ours: English Language Learners (ELLS) in New York State
A guide for parents of emergent bilinguals published by New York State United Teachers (NYSUT) that is available in English, Spanish, Chinese, and Arabic.
Multimedia Resources
Common Language Creates an Uncommon Bond: Students Learn to Speak Japanese
This video clip provides a peak into a K-12 bilingual Japanese-English program in Portland Oregon that has a goal of developing students proficient in both Japanese and English.
Kenji Hakuta on ELLs and the Common Core Standards
Stanford professor Kenji Hakuta discusses issues that need to be addressed in developing assessments aligned with the Common Core Standards that are responsive to the needs of emergent bilinguals.
A short docudrama created by Media Matters that explores the experiences of Moíses, a ten year emergent bilingual who is placed in a school where his home language practices are ignored causing him to suffer social, emotional, and academic challenges.
Internet Resources for Emergent Bilingual
A list of resources available online for teachers of emergent bilinguals compiled by Carla Espana, a middle school dual language teacher in New York City.
New York High School Helps Immigrant ‘Kids’ Adapt
An NPR interview with journalist Brooke Hauser, a journalist who spent a year in Brooklyn International High School, a New York City High School that works exclusively with immigrant emergent bilinguals.
An introductory video to the SIOP model, a research-based approach to integrating language and content in the English language development of emergent bilinguals.
An artistic depiction that breaks down the benefits of bilingualism in 3 minutes! This short clip dispels many of the myths about bilingualism and highlights the cognitive, social and economic benefits bilinguals experience.
A television show created to help immigrant New Yorkers practice English while informing them of the city’s resources. The site has videos, magazines, and parent-focused texts in Arabic, Bengali, Spanish, Russian, Chinese and English, on high-interest topics, and “low level reader” texts in home languages. Go to the “Episodes & Resources” page.
Digital culturally reverent books for beginning readers that are available for download in both English and Spanish. Print versions are available as well. The books are designed with tutoring programs in mind, the pictures are high interest, selected to spark conversations, questions and encourage rereadings.
Language Matters: Undocumented v. “Illegal” Immigrants
A clip from MSNBC’s Harris-Perry discussing the decision by the Associated Press to drop the term ‘Illegal Immigrant.’
Reports and Research
Helping Newcomers Succeed in Secondary Schools and Beyond
A report published by the Center for Applied Linguistics that examines the common characteristics of successful newcomer programs for emergent bilinguals at the secondary level.
On-line journal that explores the education of heritage speakers in their home language. It is free but requires registration.
Teaching English Language Learners – What the Research Does – and Does Not – Say
An article published in American Educator that reviews the literature on best practices for emergent bilinguals.