Category: Language and Literacy

Issues related to supporting and promoting early literacy, family literacy and retention of first language.

  • TVO and HIPPY partner for immigrant children's literacy and language development

    Announced yesterday, TVO and HIPPY (Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters) will partner to develop and deliver literacy programming for newcomer children. From the press release:

    Phase I of the partnership, currently underway, involves the integration of new TVO resources for early learners into HIPPY’s in-home training programs for parents.HIPPY home visitors will now be using special epidsodes of Gisèle’s Book Club, helping kids and parents discover together the joys of reading and diversity as well as the complete Gisèle’s Big Backyard Get Ready for School DVD and CD-ROM, which helps demystify the transition from preschool to kindergarten.
    For phase II TVO is creating a user-friendly online community set to launch in the Fall of 2009. The site will focus on two key areas of need: delivering skill-based literacy tools that parents can use with their children and addressing the challenges and opportunities related to instilling a sense of cultural identity in New Canadian children as they prepare for Ontario’s school system. Web content will include panel discussions on cultural identity; video profiles of New Canadians telling their stories; instructional videos on How to Read with Your Child … as well as a variety of interactive opportunities, research articles and multi-lingual resources.

  • Settlement needs of BC immigrant and refugee children

    Last June, Welcome BC held a Learning Forum and Consultation on the Settlement Needs of Immigrant/Refugee Children 0-6 years of age and Their Families.
    The purpose of the day was to provide government with specific advice regarding appropriate programs for newcomer children from birth to age six, and their families “in the intersecting areas of Early Learning and Early Childhood Development”.
    Available online now are some very useful resources and materials prepared for the conference by various BC government departments, including: the Attorney General; Children and Family Development; Health; Education; Public Library Services Branch; and from the Burnaby ECD Table. Resources include current (2006) demographic information on countries of origin, home languages, strategic directions of the various departments and etc. There is also a written report on the learning results/outcomes of the conference consultation and participant evaluations:

    2 page Executive Summary
    Report on the Results of the Learning Forum and Consultation on the Settlement Needs of Immigrant/Refugee Children 0-6 Years of Age and their Families. Prepared by Karen L. Abrahamson.

     

  • Talking Muslim doll

    A new doll, soon to be on the market, has been developed to help Asian children learn Quranic Arabic. The “talking Muslim doll” speaks various Islamic phrases. There’s a boy version (Yousuf) and a girl (Aamina). Sold through Desi Doll Company. Muslimah Media Watch has some criticisms.

  • National strategy for early literacy: Invitation to participate

    The Canadian Language and Literacy Research Network (CLLRNet) is working on a national strategy for early litearcy, inviting submissions and participation in a national consultation. From the CLLRNet site:

    The National Strategy for Early Literacy (NSEL) is a Canada-wide initiative to improve the literacy skills of Canadian children and youth.  NSEL engages a broad coalition of organizations and individuals to understand and describe what can be done to improve literacy outcomes for young Canadians, and to put these actions into practice.  The conclusion of the NSEL process will be a coherent, feasible, evidence-based national strategy for early literacy, including a clear statement of activities required and of the organizations that must take responsibility for these actions.
    The NSEL initiative is being coordinated by the Canadian Language and Literacy Network (CLLRNet; www.cllrnet.ca), a Canada-wide network engaging practitioners, policymakers, researchers and trainees in every province and territory with the common goal of improving literacy skills in Canada.
    Public consultations relating to the National Strategy initiative will be held across Canada in March 2009.  These consultations will provide an opportunity for presentations that are focused on issues relevant to improving the literacy skills of young Canadians by individuals and organizations.
    Parties interested in presenting at these consultations or in providing written input to the consultation process are invited to submit an information brief in advance of the consultations.
    Information briefs should be sent by February 15, 2009 to: nselsubmission@cllrnet.ca.
    Suggested Guidelines for Information Briefs
    Submissions should address an aspect of the challenge: “what should be done to improve the literacy skills of Canadian children and youth?”   It is expected that most submissions will include the following components:

    1. The role of the issue discussed in the overall challenge of improving literacy outcomes;
    2. Statement and description of the specific actions proposed;
    3. Discussion of the responsibilities for and mechanisms by which such actions would take place;
    4. Estimates of the expected impacts of these actions;
    5. Discussion of the resources required for such actions to be implemented;
    6. Discussion of how such activities and impacts should be monitored, evaluated and improved upon; and
    7. References to sources cited in and supporting the contents of the submission.

    For more information, visit the CLLRNet site.

  • Vocabulary gap

    University of Calgary Researcher Hettie Roessingh has received a grant to continue her research into the vocabulary gap among immigrant children. Funded by TELUS and the Alberta Centre for Child, Family and Community Research.
    Roessingh’s research “indicates that younger arriving immigrant children perform less well academically than do older arriving immigrant children. Further, Canadian-born children of immigrants fare even worse in these tests, despite promising results in Grade 3 tests in literacy development.
    “So what happens to these young learners? Roessingh’s research indicates that most lack the comparatively extensive range of vocabulary used by native English speaking children.
    “The research shows that by age 5 or 6, most native English speaking children have a vocabulary of around 5,000 words. ELL children have significantly fewer English words”. (Source: UofC News Release, Nov 20/08).
    Read more at the University of Calgary ‘what’s new’ pages.

  • Baby wants to learn your language

    The Best Start Resource Centre, a program of Health Nexus Santé, has release a new informational brochure in PDF entitled “Baby Wants…” with colourful pictures and short descriptions addressing babies basic developmental needs. One of these is “Baby wants to learn your language”.

    “Baby wants … to learn your language.
    “Babies may begin to learn two languages right from birth. Learning two or more languages is not only a skill for later life, but can also help your baby to be connected to his family, his culture and other cultures. Toddlers who are starting to talk may mix up the two languages a little. This is normal. Over time, the children will learn to speak well in the languages they are exposed to. It is important to provide lots of opportunities in both languages.
    “Here are some suggestions that may help your child use two languages in daily life:

    • “Visit your local library and ask for books or tapes in the languages you speak in your home. Read these books to your child.
    • “Participate in community events and programs that celebrate your language and cultural heritage. Many Ontario Early Years Centres offer resources in many languages and opportunities to meet with others from your community that share your language.
    • “Join parent groups where your language is spoken or start your own group.

    “Remember, the best thing you can do to help your child learn two languages is to talk, sing and play in the language that comes most naturally to you. You will help your baby feel proud of your language and culture”.

  • Dual language learning in child care settings

    Zero to Three has released a tip sheet on Dual Language Learning in Early Care and Learning Settings.
    The tip sheet shares ideas on how practitioners working with young children can support ‘dual language learning’.
    In addition, the focus of the November 2008 edition of the Zero to Three Journal is “Children in Immigrant Families”

  • Conference & call for papers: Language and reading comprehension for immigrant children

    The Language and Reading Comprehension for Immigrant Children (LARCIC) conference will be held in Toronto from May 27-29/09.
    From the LARCIC website: “The LARCIC conference will center on four interrelated themes: cognitive and linguistic aspects, instructional/educational strategies, socio-cultural factors, and the impact of research in these areas on policy making.
    “The conference intends to facilitate communication and collaboration between researchers,educational leaders, and policy makers. Researchers, policy-makers, educational leaders, and graduate students from different countries will come together to discuss issues pertinent to increasing reading comprehension and enhancing academic achievement among immigrant students at the elementary and secondary level”.
    Information on the LARCIC website or contact conference facilitator Jason Wen at larcic.conf@oise.utoronto.ca.
    Call for papers information found here. Deadline for submissions is January 8, 2009.

  • Reading the world conference

    Reading the World XI – Conference Celebrating Multicultural Literature for Children and Young Adults will be hosted at the University of San Francisco from March 28-29, 2009. 
     In the words of Professor Emerita Almar Flor Ada:

    “The main topic for this forum is the presentation, study, analysis and celebration of books of literay artistic merit created for children and young adults that present the human experience with respect to its multiplicity and diversity and that specifically promote un-learning biases and prejudice, counteracting racism and exclusion, fostering solidarity and respect for all human beings and protection of all living beings; books that question and address problems, that do not propose merely happy endings but responsible solutions that in short, invite children and young adults to see themselves as protagonists of their own human experience and unite them to embrace it with trust, love and hope and contribute to the creation of a world of equality, justice and peace”.

    For more information, see the conference website or contact Barbara Hood at 415-422-5110, rtwconf@socrates.usfca.edu or Beverly Vaunghn Hock at 650-342-2817, bevhock@earthlink.net.

  • Children's books about immigration III

    More books for children on the theme of immigration:
    How My Parents Learned to Eat by Ina R. Friedman.
    When Jesse Came Across the Sea by Jesse Hest.
    The Memory Coat by Elvira Woodruff.
    Small Beauties by Elvira Woodruff.
    My Name is Yoon by Helen Recorvits.
    Naming Liberty by Jane Yolen.
    Marianthe’s Story: Painted Words and Spoken Memories by Aliki.
    The Great Migration by Jacob Lawrence.
    Dia’s Story Cloth: The Hmong People’s Journey of Freedom by Dia Cha.
    I Hate English! by Ellen Levine and Steve Bjorkman.
    The Keeping Quilt by Patricia Polacco.
    The Colour of Home by Mary Hoffman.
    Molly’s Pilgrim by Barbara Cohen.

    See former posts on this topic:
    Children’s books about immigration, posted Jan 22/08
    Children’s books about immigration II, posted Mar 11/08.