BML SMART Nurseries are Helping Families Raise Bilingual & Multilingual Children
EDUCATORS FROM 'PILGRIMS' WAY PRIMARY SCHOOL NURSERY' IN THE UK CELEBRATE BECOMING A BML SMART NURSERY The Centre for Educators of BMLs is so pleased to share our latest global initiative, 'BML SMART Nurseries.' Aligned with our vision to spread expertise about...
Confused About BMLs and Special Educational Needs?
If you're working in a state-regulated school, you will typically find all kinds of documentation related to the provisions for students with special educational needs (S.E.N./Special Ed.) and bilingual/multilingual learners. However, if you're working in an...
How Trained Teachers Become ‘Language Preservers’
According to the United Nations: "Every two weeks a language disappears, taking with it an entire cultural and intellectual heritage. At least 43% of the estimated 6000 languages spoken in the world are endangered. Only a few hundred languages have genuinely...
INTRODUCING: THE HIGH-IMPACT LITERACY COACHING PROGRAMME
Are you looking for a way to make a real difference in your school and with your students this academic year? Do you want to TAKE ACTION and ACCELERATE the literacy progress of the BMLs (and all students) in your school, RIGHT...
The Most Essential Tech Tools & Resources for Teachers of Bilingual & Multilingual Learners
Being a teacher of bilingual and multilingual learners (BMLs, ESL, ELL students) can be pretty challenging, even organisations in the conventional classroom setup. When the world is quickly migrating into the digital world, it can even be more difficult to meet the...
JOIN OUR FREE, NOVEMBER WEBINAR!
REGISTER FOR OUR FREE, PRE-RECORDED WEBINAR TRAINING ‘Differentiating for BMLs at Different Stages of English Proficiency' WEDNESDAY, 25th NOVEMBER, 2020 Get Access to this Webinar for 48 hours (from 7 PM, LONDON, UK TIME) MOST TEACHERS KNOW...
Dialogue #4: Differentiation Tips you Need to Know NOW!
Are you making the most impact with differentiation approaches for your BMLs? We share 2 powerful considerations in our new Dialogue video!...
#DIALOGUE 2: Recognise your BMLs’ Assets
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_7PuoOq4cI There are so many reasons why you should shift to a 'multilingual mindset' with your bilingual and multilingual learners (BMLs, ESL, ELLs). Acknowledging that your learners bring rich linguistic and cultural experiences...
JOIN OUR FREE, OCTOBER WEBINAR!
REGISTER FOR OUR FREE, PRE-RECORDED WEBINAR TRAINING ‘The Literacy Needs of Bilingual and Multilingual Learners' WEDNESDAY, 28th OCTOBER, 2020 Get Access to this Webinar for 48 hours (from 7 PM, LONDON, UK TIME) LITERACY IS IMPORTANT FOR SO...
JOIN OUR FREE, SEPTEMBER WEBINAR!
REGISTER FOR OUR FREE, PRE-RECORDED WEBINAR TRAINING ‘Getting to the Bottom of your BMLs’ Barriers: What to do if you Suspect your BML has Learning Issues’ WEDNESDAY, 30 SEPTEMBER, 2020 Get Access to this Webinar for 24 hours, from 12...
#DIALOGUE 1: Should BMLs be Serviced in Special Education/Learning Support Departments?
This session is dedicated to one of the most popular questions teachers have about serving their BMLs: can these students be supported within the special educational needs or learning support department? Our Co-Founders, Francesca McGeary and Alison Schofield,...
IDEA #5: Why your Bilingual/Multilingual Learners Need Projects Right Now
Over this week, I’ll be sharing 5 posts-all of them focused on ideas for online learning with your BMLs. Since some teachers have limited access to their students and learning materials at this time, these ideas are quick-win strategies you can implement right...
IDEA #4: Get your Bilingual/Multilingual Learners to Vlog!
Over this week, I’ll be sharing 5 posts-all of them focused on ideas for online learning with your BMLs. Since some teachers have limited access to their students and learning materials at this time, these ideas are quick-win strategies you can implement right...
IDEA #3: Spark Learning with Home Languages & Home Activities for Bilingual & Multilingual Learners
Over this week, I’ll be sharing 5 posts-all of them focused on ideas for online learning with your BMLs. Since some teachers have limited access to their students and learning materials at this time, these ideas are quick-win strategies you can implement right...
IDEA #2: Start a Read-Aloud During Online Learning with these Storytime Resources
Over this week, I’ll be sharing 5 posts-all of them focused on ideas for online learning with your BMLs. Since some teachers have limited access to their students and learning materials at this time, these ideas are quick-win strategies you can implement right...
ONLINE LEARNING IDEAS THAT WORK FOR BMLS (Idea #1: Just Keep them Talking)
Over this week, I'll be sharing 5 posts-all of them focused on ideas for online learning with your BMLs. Since some teachers have limited access to their students and learning materials at this time, these ideas are quick-win...
Q & A : How do I Find Time for Vocabulary Teaching?
This is a question from Tarek, who teaches both Middle and High students: I understand how important vocabulary is but honestly, with all the pressures of the curriculum, I can't find the time to dedicate to vocabulary study. What do you suggest? I know how you...
#ROUNDTABLE: How we Accelerated our BMLs’ Reading Levels in Months
In our very first Roundtable Interview, Francesca McGeary speaks to Angela Hollington, Primary Principal from CIS SIngapore and Emilijia Stojanovski, Literacy Specialist Teacher. She learns how CIS' recent whole-school initiative to strengthen BMLs' literacy has...
BMLs and the Homework Problem
For bilingual and multilingual learners (BMLs), homework can be a major stressor. Many have a great deal of anxiety during the school day and having to bring additional schoolwork home can take away from their 'rest and recharge' time. As well, homework that’s...
Are You Making this COMMON Mistake with your Bilingual & Multilingual Learners?
One of the most common mistakes that I see being made with BMLs is that they are put into lower-ability groups or given 'easy' work because they struggle to access learning content. While it might seem logical to give BMLs easier work that they can better...
‘Multilingual-Positive Practises’ Replace ‘English-Only’ Policies
While a large population of bilingual and multilingual learners (BMLs) in schools used to seem like an issue only for inner city schools in capitals like London, New York, Sydney or Toronto, things have changed dramatically. Now, even schools in rural areas are...
Event: ECIS Educator’s Conference Luxembourg
If you are an educator looking for a high-quality teacher's conference, the Educational Collaborative for International Education (ECIS) is hosting its Educator's Conference in Luxembourg on Nov.16-18, 2018. You can visit the website here: www.ecis.org. Francesca...
Create a Dynamic ESL Programme Using Research and Best Practises – A Guide for Educators
Today there is growing interest in the best use of the school ESL teacher, especially when ESL students (or bilingual and multilingual learners - BMLs) now make up a large proportion of the student body in many English-speaking schools. Teachers and administrators...
It’s Time to Move Beyond Labels that Focus on English Proficiency Says Harvard Professor
As many of us know, being bilingual or multilingual has numerous advantages. Enhanced cognitive functions and delayed onset of dementia are just a few of the neurological benefits. Educationally, students who speak more than one language have a greater ability to...
Common Practices with BMLs in Large International Schools: Identifying Trends and Solutions
If you’re like most teachers these days, you probably teach a large number of bilingual and multilingual learners (BMLs, ELL/EAL students). Now more than ever, teachers are required to meet the needs of a very diverse student population, many of whom are schooled...
Quick and Easy Ideas to Celebrate International Mother-Language Day with your Students
Cultural assimilation, language loss and language extinction are some of the threats that can impact cultures, communities and social ecosystems. This is why UNESCO promotes International Mother-Language Day on Feb 21st each year—to build awareness of the...
Announcement: Our New Name & Location!
We're off to a great start to 2018 with a new location for our institute! We are pleased to announce we are now located in Canterbury, UK. During the move, we've had to modify our business name so we are now 'Centre for Educators of Bilingual and Multilingual...
Mediating BMLs’ Language and Learning Burdens with the Mother-Tongue
By: Francesca McGeary “Continue to speak your language at home and we will work on improving your child’s English at school.” This is the mantra that should roll off a teacher’s tongue when speaking to parents of new BMLs joining English schools. Although many of...
If ‘Literacy’ is the Answer, what’s the Question?
If "literacy" is the answer, then what's the question? It doesn't matter if you're a teacher, parent or principal, there's no doubt you'll have a good answer to this question...or question to this answer. In fact, there are probably hundreds of excellent questions...
How Myths about Bilingual and Multilingual Learners have Turned into Bad Practises
I was chatting recently with a very experienced primary teacher about teaching bilingual and multilingual learners (BMLs) in the classroom. She had such a wealth of knowledge and experience and it was clear that she was a high-achieving teacher in her school....
Enriching Instead of Remediating: A New, Whole-School Alternative to “ESL”
I grew up in a small town in Northern Ontario, (Canada) which had very few new immigrants. It was rare to see multicultural people or those who spoke diverse languages. Our population was largely made up of English and French-speakers, along with aboriginal people...
Nurture your Students’ Language & Cultures
This article is reposted from: the Blog of the Association of American Schools in South America An international teacher easily interacts with 10-20 different nationalities a day. These schools and classrooms are an anthropolgist’s dream. Just imagine all the...