Tag Archives: Spanish

Connecting elementary students – the power of the learning network

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I learn so much from my PLN on Twitter – from interesting websites, to student work, to asking and answering questions. I have also seen over the past couple years numerous projects where teachers are using Twitter to make a call for participation, asking for input on projects, advice, etc.

Last week this particular tweet caught my eye:

Immediately I thought to myself, what a great way to inspire young learners to create content for a real audience. I happened to be headed to work with some teachers in New Jersey at that moment, therefore I replied:

I was very excited to see what the students might create. What form would it take?  I soon received my answer the next day:

I excitedly clicked the URL to see my video (which I am linking to directly here since the Tweet above goes to the blog main page).  I was thrilled to see my video “planned and acted by 1st graders”.

Of course, I thanked the students:

I see that elementary students in different classes, not just first graders, are creating and planning videos in order to “teach” Spanish to people around the world. For additional examples, visit @wpespanyol on Twitter to see the various requests and responses.

How are you connecting your students to the world? To what authentic audiences are your students presenting? If your students are too young to connect themselves, how are you facilitating that connection?

Benefits of being bilingual

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In How being bilingual can boost your career you can read about the myriad of benefits to being bilingual. This is an excellent article to share in your parent newsletters, with your students, with your school boards.

In today’s global economy, the ability to communicate is key, and as more companies expand internationally, the ability to communicate in another language has become a significant advantage in the workforce. Research from Rosetta Stone found that people who speak at least one foreign language have an average annual household income that’s $10,000 higher than the household income of those who only speak English. And about 17 percent of those who speak at least one foreign language earn more than $100,000 a year.

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A recent survey from Los Angeles-based recruiter Korn/Ferry International found that nearly nine out of 10 headhunters in Europe, Latin America and Asia say that being at least bilingual is critical for success in today’s business environment. And 66 percent of North American recruiters agreed that being bilingual will be increasingly important in the next ten years.