Translanguaging In Action Series

Summer Institute PD For Experienced DLBE Educators

VIRTUAL PD: In this series, there are numerous different 2-hour virtual Dual Language Bilingual Education (DLBE) Professional Development (PD) sessions offered Monday, August 11 to Friday, August 15 at 9:30-11:30am and 1:00-3:00pm. Zoom links will be sent out a week prior. View full Summer Institute 2025 schedule. 

ABOUT: This series presents specific instructional practices around cross-linguistics and metalinguistic awareness, approaches for classroom-based formative assessment that integrate understandings of holistic bilingualism and biliteracy, as well as some foundational discussion of applied linguistics and bilingual development.

COST: The registration cost per 2-hours of PD for members is $100. Non-members have an additional one-time $50 charge (for yearly membership fee – learn more about MABE member benefits here). When registering, first select your member status, and then select the sessions you would like to attend. 

AUDIENCE: Designed for experienced DLBE educators. 

REGISTRATION: Registration closes Friday, July 18. Late registration (with additional fee) defaults on Saturday, July 19. Minimum of 10 registrants per session. 

SESSIONS: 

• Bilingual & Second Language Development
       Monday, August 11, 9:30-11:30am (2-hours)
            Member Cost: $100 | Non-Member Cost: $150
  Facilitator(s): Meg Burns (MABE Director of Professional Development) Description: In this session, we will explore traditional and newer understandings of language development. Different student profiles will be presented as examples of “second language” and “bilingual” learners, and this terminology will be unpacked. We will discuss how changing student demographics require different understandings of language acquisition and learning and how these understandings affect our teaching and assessment decisions.

• Understanding the "Linguistics" in Cross Linguistics
       Monday, August 11, 1:00-3:00pm (2-hours)
            Member Cost: $100 | Non-Member Cost: $150
  Facilitator(s): Elissa Washburn (MABE Program Coordinator & Consultant) Description: In this session, we will define metalinguistic awareness, crosslinguistic connections, and translanguaging and we will discuss how to make a place for these in our DLBE classrooms. We will review the components of effective language objectives and develop a deep understanding of language features in order to consider how to explicitly teach comparative analysis of language to our dual language learners.
  
  
• Understanding & Communicating Holistic Bilingualism
        Tuesday, August 12, 9:30-11:30am (2-hours)
            Member Cost: $100 | Non-Member Cost: $150
  Facilitator(s): Sue McGilvray-Rivet (MABE Consultant & Retired Educator) Description: This session will explore the rationale and process for creating and monitoring biliteracy benchmarks and trajectories based in a holistic view of bilingualism. Using a framework from Biliteracy from the Start: Literacy Squared In Action's (Escamilla, 2013), participants will evaluate their own biliteracy assessments and either produce a plan for creating benchmarks or revise their current plan for monitoring the biliteracy growth and development of their DLBE program students. 
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• Planning for Translanguaging
        Tuesday, August 12, 1:00-3:00pm (2-hours)
            Member Cost: $100 | Non-Member Cost: $150
  Facilitator(s): Elissa Washburn (MABE Program Coordinator & Consultant) Description: In this session, we will plan intentionally for translanguaging in the dual language classroom. We will label different types of translanguaging using vocabulary from Tandem Teaching (Howard & Simpson, 2024), consider the pros and cons of these types, and plan for explicit instruction in comparative analysis of languages as well as purposeful translanguaging with an authentic purpose.

• Observing Students' Cross-Language Strategies in Bilingual Oral Language
        Wednesday, August 13, 9:30-11:30am (2-hours)
            Member Cost: $100 | Non-Member Cost: $150
  Facilitator(s): Meg Burns (MABE Director of Professional Development) Description: This session will examine how an approach to student observation and formative assessment informed by holistic bilingualism can effectively inform our oral language and oracy instruction. We will examine examples of student talk and analyze students’ approximations as evidence of their strategic use of their full linguistic repertoire. We will discuss implications for instruction.

• Introduction to The Bridge
        Wednesday, August 13, 1:00-3:00pm (2-hours)
            Member Cost: $100 | Non-Member Cost: $150
  Facilitator(s): Elissa Washburn (MABE Program Coordinator & Consultant) Description:  This session is a brief introduction to The Bridge (based on Teaching for Biliteracy: Strengthening Bridges Between Languages [Karen Beeman & Urow, 2012]) for teachers of DLBE learners. We will review three components of the Bridge: a level one translation "bridge," a level two "Bridge" with a metalinguistic focus, and a follow-up activity to the bridge lesson. We will analyze a sample "bridge" from the elementary level and discuss the purpose of each of the three components. Participants will dive deeply into the metalinguistic awareness opportunities provided by the level two bridge and practice planning a sample bridge together. 

• Observing Students' Cross-Language Strategies in Biliteracy      Thursday, August 14, 9:30-11:30am (2-hours)
            Member Cost: $100 | Non-Member Cost: $150
  Facilitator(s): Meg Burns (MABE Director of Professional Development) Description: This session will examine how an approach to student observation and formative assessment informed by holistic bilingualism can effectively inform our biliteracy instruction. We will examine examples of student writing and analyze students’ approximations as evidence of their strategic use of their full linguistic repertoire. We will discuss implications for instruction.

• Así Se Dice & Dictado
        Thursday, August 14, 1:00-3:00pm (2-hours)
            Member Cost: $100 | Non-Member Cost: $150
  Facilitator(s): Elissa Washburn (MABE Program Coordinator & Consultant) Description: This session is designed to share strategies from Literacy Squared’s Así Se Dice to explicitly teach cross linguistic connections in Spanish DLBE classrooms. Participants will discuss how to write targeted metalinguistic awareness language objectives that compare and contrast English and a partner language in a contextualized setting, focusing on the difference between literal and conceptual translations. We will also share strategies from Literacy Squared’s Dictado to explicitly teach phonics, syntax and grammar in Spanish DLBE classrooms. Participants will discuss how to write targeted metalinguistic awareness language objectives for dictation exercises that allow students to increase their academic language through writing and editing. 

• Students as Language Detectives: Using metalinguistic awareness to build vocabulary in two languages
        Friday, August 15, 1:00-3:00pm (2-hours)
            Member Cost: $100 | Non-Member Cost: $150
  Facilitator(s): Rachel Gately (Worcester Public Schools, MA DLBE Educator) Description: In this session, we will explore classroom tested metalinguistic strategies to help students build their own vocabulary and discover connections across languages. Participants will take on the role of a student to complete a routine that can be flexibly implemented in any classroom. Participants will leave with strategies and resources that can be implemented immediately, as well as ideas on how to get students excited to take ownership of their own learning and how to make vocabulary fun! 

• Registration Policy: Please contact megburns@mabene.org for group registrations (registrations for a group of 4 or more individuals from a district/school). 
• Payment Policy: MABE must receive payment or Purchase Order numbers by the date registration closes (send to elissawashburn@mabene.org). Sorry, American Express cards not accepted. 
• Cancellation & Refund Policy: Event registrations are transferable up to 1 week (7 days) before the event starts. Cancellation refunds of payments will be subject to a 10% reduction of the registration fee, refundable up to 1 week (7 days) before the event starts.