Archives: News

Did you know that the earlier editions of the Guiding Principles referred to the third pillar as “cross-cultural understanding” rather than “sociocultural competence?” The change in terms in the 3rd edition was deliberate. It reflects a shift in thinking in two important ways: first, “cross-cultural understanding” infers that developing cultural competence is viable only in two-way programs attended by fairly equal numbers of English home-language students and “partner” home-language students and, secondly, that cultural competence may be limited to positive attitudes and feelings of self-esteem.

Researchers at the Center for Applied Linguistics (CAL) have developed online courses for parents and educators to aid in creating and sustaining effective ELPACs, or English Learner Parent Advisory Councils, impacting over 20% of public school districts in Massachusetts.

Still looking for ways to kick-start the New Year and set new goals for your EL students? Make sure there are meaningful opportunities to access the content.

After nearly a year of facilitating online professional development for educators across the U.S., Canada, and in international schools, I have learned that figuring out online teaching tools is akin to the language learning experience itself. With enough practice, you gain confidence, proficiency, and get to interact with people you otherwise might not meet at home.

Fortunately for educators of linguistically and culturally diverse students, students can practice and apply all four language domains—reading, writing, listening, and speaking–using online technology.

In addition to students’ own literacy practices, these storytelling activities can also be key teaching opportunities for EL students because they use multimedia, therefore providing extra scaffolding through images, audio, and video.

Starting January 2021, Dr. Ernest Morrell joins the Center for Applied Linguistics’s Board of Trustees for a 3-year term. A well-respected leader in the field of English education, the African Diaspora, and … Read more

Reflections on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day As we reflect on this national holiday, I want to reaffirm a core believe that we hold at the Center for Applied Linguistics: … Read more

The Center for Applied Linguistics (CAL) welcomes the nomination of Dr. Miguel Cardona to lead the Department of Education in the new Biden-Harris administration. “Dr. Cardona is an excellent choice … Read more

CAL is excited to announce new funding from a U.S. Department of Education Title VI International Research and Studies (IRS)grant to create a flexible computer-based training program for CAL’s world language assessment tools for … Read more