Helping you provide better early education for dual language learners
23 Mar · Karen Nemeth · No Comments
Win at Online Meetings When You are NOT Home Alone!
I have a LOT of experience presenting webinars and participating in conference calls when there are children around, so I’m sharing my insider secrets for success. We won’t mention the time that the cat brought a live bird in the house and the grandkids were screaming and chasing it around during my conference call …. …
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2 Sep · Karen Nemeth · No Comments
Considering Children who are DLLs in Emergency Planning Events in the news have many schools and programs taking a second look at their emergency plans. Let’s think what an emergency – or even a simple fire drill – must be like for a young child who doesn’t fully understand the language! Establish class buddies – …
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2 Feb · Karen Nemeth · No Comments
Fast 5 Gamechangers for Using Bilingual Alphabets
We want all preschool children to start learning the alphabet. That’s not always easy when they come to preschool with different language backgrounds. It can be confusing for a Spanish speaker to see a picture of “una manzana” (Spanish word for apple) next to the letter A while the other kids are saying “aaah”. This multilingual …
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20 Jun · Karen Nemeth · No Comments
Summer Learning Day for Preschool DLLs
by Karen N. Nemeth Diego and Mei-ling may be small, but they worked hard to learn in their preschool this year. They did a lot of preschool learning, social learning AND language learning, but what will happen to all that knowledge over the long weeks of summer leading up to the first day of kindergarten? …
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25 Sep · Karen Nemeth · One Comment
Ten MORE Ways to Improve School Attendance with DLLs and Families in Mind
By Karen Nemeth Reports about the damaging effects of poor school attendance in early childhood education, particularly kindergarten, have been in the news lately. Whenever that happens, lists of solutions soon follow. I am concerned that most of these solutions are focused on the superficial symptoms rather than on the root causes. If we really …
READ MORE18 Jan · Karen Nemeth · 2 Comments
Considering Children Who are DLLs in Emergency Planning
Events in the news have many schools and programs taking a second look at their emergency plans. Let’s think what an emergency – or even a simple fire drill – must be like for a young child who doesn’t fully understand the language! 10. Establish class buddies – a more experienced, more fluent or more …
READ MORE18 Jul · Karen Nemeth · No Comments
Connecting with Diverse Members of Your Community
10. Get to know the diverse languages and cultures represented in your local area and include them in the images and messages you share about your program. You want the members of your community to know that your program will be a welcoming place for families who come from different languages and cultures. 9. Make …
READ MORE28 Mar · Karen Nemeth · 5 Comments
Top Ten Factors for Successful Professional Development!
Top Ten Factors for Successful Professional Development! by Karen Nemeth, Ed.M. A large part of my work is doing professional development about teaching young DLLs and collecting valuable resources here at Language Castle. I’ve traveled the country and worked with hundreds of programs. I am always mindful that my visit is so temporary, but what …
READ MORE18 Sep · Karen Nemeth · 2 Comments
Tips for Translating Materials for Multilingual Preschool
10. Say less!! Use this opportunity to pare down to the absolute minimum of messages and words needed to save money and time on multilingual translations. 9. Simplify – Make translation more manageable and help those with low English literacy too. Use short sentences, simple words. Say what you mean – exactly. Remove lingo, slang, …
READ MORE18 Aug · Karen Nemeth · No Comments
Sources of Help for Pre-K Dual Language Learners
10. Start by getting to know the language environment of the family. Who speaks which language? What is their country of origin? What are some of their holidays and cultural traditions? Be responsive in your program. 9. Beyond a home language survey, get to know pre-K families personally through home visits, meetings or phone conversations. …
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