Bilingual Education Research Network

BILINGUAL EDUCATION RESEARCH NETWORK

WHAT: This virtual Network showcases Dual Language Bilingual Education (DLBE) research occurring across our New England region and beyond. The research featured in these webinars is closely connected to and has clear implications for DLBE practice.

WHO: Free to MABE members in good standing (with no outstanding balances). Members can register at any time. Commitment to attending all sessions is not required. If you are not a member, join us to register. 

UPCOMING SESSION: 

WHEN:

• Monday, March 24 | 4-5:30pm
  Sociocultural Competence
  Elizabeth Howard, Associate Professor, University of CT & Co-CEO, Dual Language Connections 
  Description Coming Soon! 
  
  
• Monday, April 7 | 4-5:30pm
  Translanguaging Pedagogy in DLBE
  Laura Hamman-Ortiz, TESOL and Bilingual Education Assistant Professor, University of Rhode Island, RI 
  Sarah Hesson, Educational Studies Department Associate Professor, Rhode Island College, RI 
  Description Coming Soon! 
  
  
• Monday, May 5 | 4-5:30pm
  Lessons Learned from Five Years of CAL Dual Language Education Program Reviews
  Igone Arteagoitia, Research Assistant, Center for Applied Linguistics, DC 
  CAL has engaged in reviews of DLBE in districts and schools across the U.S. using The Guiding Principles for Dual Language Education (Howard et al., 2018) as a framework to investigate programs, policies, and instruction reflecting on the seven strands outlined in the publication. This presentation will report on key themes related to commonalities of need found across programs. This research focuses on exploring how DLBE programs can improve their program effectiveness in meeting the three pillars by learning from challenges other districts have faced.
  

Past sessions: 

• Monday, November 4 | 4:15-5:30pm 
  Latin@ Elementary Student Sense of Belonging in a Spanish-English Dual Language Program 
  Lily Fleming, Graduate Student, Boston College, MA
  Annie Homza, Faculty Advisor, Boston College, MA
  While prior research has documented factors contributing to a sense of belonging in middle school two-way bilingual education programs (deJong et al., 2023), there is limited research at the elementary level. This study  explored the experiences of Latin@ students in grades 3-6 to identify factors that contribute to their sense of belonging in school, potentially mitigating the observed decrease in belonging.

• Monday, December 2 | 4-5:30pm
  Special Education Teachers’ Perspectives within a Dual Language Community
  Beth Llorca, Stonehill College, MA
  Special education in DLBE programs is an area which is under-researched and under-supported within DLBE programs. With this case study, participants will view the perceived role of a veteran DLBE special educator within an established DLBE program.

• Monday, January 13 | 4-5:30pm 
  Leyendo con Ms. López inspirado en Pura Belpré - Elevating Spanish Outside the Classroom
  Yokaira López-Tifa, PhD Candidate, UMass Amherst, MA
  Drawing inspiration from the pioneering work of Pura Belpré, the first Latina librarian in New York City to create an educational space where learners could see reflections of afro-caribbean culture, López-Tifa explores a groundbreaking initiative aimed to address a critical gap in DLBE by providing Kindergarten students a rare exposure to fluent academic Spanish outside the classroom setting. This research focuses on the potential to bridge the gap between classroom language instruction and real-world language application.
  

• Monday, February 3 | 4-5:30pm Assessment of Cultural Acquisition in the Heritage Language Learning Classroom
  Carlos Trindade, World Languages Teacher (Brazilian Portuguese), Researcher, and Teacher Trainer at Martha's Vineyard Regional High School, Martha's Vineyard Public Schools, MAHeritage learners are often included in the same framework as world language learners, even though they require different dimensions of learning. Trindade's study proposes a different framework for heritage learners advocating for cultural acquisition assessments. For heritage learners, culture and language walk hand in hand, and cultural teaching and learning has to be structured, planned and thought in detail. And it is critical to be able to measure the amount of cultural understanding students acquire. 

Thank you to MABE's Advocacy Committee (Chair: Laura Hamman-Ortiz) for their help in organizing this network. 

Learn more about MABE's Networks here. 

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MABE Policies: 

• Membership Policy: Learn more about your MABE Member Benefits. 
• Registration Policy: Please contact megburns@mabene.org and lauraperez-handler@mabene.org for group registrations (registrations for a group of individuals from a district/school).