Biliteracy and Language Development
As the Latino outreach coordinator and Spanish teacher at the high school, I am always trying to find activities and events that can offer culturally relevant experiences. It has been my experience as a teacher that when a student learns a second language integrated with culture there is a more integral approach that prepares a student not only to speak the language but also to interact with the people who speak it with more ease. This is consistent with the recent release of the World-Readiness Standards for Learning Languages whose goal is to integrate the five C’s (communication, cultures, connections, comparisons, and communities) and prepare global citizens with a wider understanding of the world we live in. In the same context, the Seal of Biliteracy (SOB), according to its website, is an award given by a school, district, or state in recognition of students who have studied and attained proficiency in two or more languages by high school graduation. Most states in the Unite...