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January 2016
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Become a NNELL State Representative

As a national organization, NNELL operates through a network of state representatives. You could help NNELL to continue with its mission by becoming a representative of your state. As a State Representative, you will serve as an advocate for early language learning, heighten public awareness of foreign languages in elementary and middle school education, serve as state representative for NNELL to your state language association and ensure that foreign languages in grades K-8 are recognized as a priority matter in your state. If you are interested in being more involved with NNELL and its advocacy efforts, please read the description for this position or contact NNELL's National Networking Coordinator, Marcela Summerville (msummerville@nnell.org)

 
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Happy New Year from NNELL
 
Happy New Year! Are you trying to break old habits or start new ones? Try bundling them! For example, you can only listen to your favorite podcasts or watch your favorite tv show while exercising. Maybe you want to discover a new podcast like Kentucky’s Language Talk or Bilingual Avenue? Maybe you want to participate in New York's FLES webinar in February? Do you have a favorite podcast related to world languages? Please share it with us! Send it to president@nnell.org
 

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Upcoming Events

Have your registered for the upcoming regional and or state conferences in you area?

February 11th-13th: Northeast Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (NECTFL)
President Elect Nathan Lutz, will host the NNELL Networking Session on Saturday, February 13, from 10:15 – 11:15 a.m.

February 18-20th: Southern Conference on Language Teaching (SCOLT)
President Nadine Jacobsen-McLean will host the NNELL Early Language Learning Network session on Friday, February 19th from 1:50 - 2:40 p.m.

March 3-5th: Southwest Conference on Language Teaching (SWCOLT)
Check out Advocacy Chair Janine Erickson’s session on Whole Brain teaching in the Target Language on Saturday, March 5th.

March 10-12th: The Central States Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (CSCTFL)
Don’t forget to register for the NNELL Networking Breakfast on Saturday, March 12th and join President Nadine Jacobsen-McLean, Bill Rivers (JNCL-NCLIS) and Rose Egan along with other NNELL Members! For more information, contact Lori Winne, Ohio ELL/NNELL rep: lwinne@frontier.com, or Julie Canady, NNELL Rep for CSCTFL East: jcanady@gmail.com

October 14th-15th: Pacific Northwest Council for Languages (PNCFL)

You will find opportunities to network and attend sessions presented by NNELL members across the nation! Check out the NNELL Calendar!
 

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Summer Institute: Save the Date!

Please join us July 14-17, 2016 in Louisville, Kentucky, for the 2016 NNELL Summer Institute. This year's theme is "Whole Child, Whole World" and will focus on educating the whole child including core content, global competency, creativity and self-expression. Save the date! More details will be shared soon. Come visit Louisville, home of Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS) and World Language Specialist Jacque Bott Van Houten. The diversity of this school system will amaze you. Bring the family for a tour of the Louisville Slugger Bat Museum and Factory and The Muhammad Ali Center!

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Learning Languages Journal

The Spring/Summer theme will coincide with the Summer Institute's theme, "Whole Child, Whole World." Our editorial board looks forward to receiving your submission. Click here for Author Guidelines and please send inquiries to journal@nnell.org

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#FOLLOWUS

NNELL launched #earlylang last year and is continuing the conversation through social media. Follow us, like us, retweet, and/or hashtag your favorite #earlylang moments!

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The First Cut Is the Deepest: First Language Leaves Lasting Impression on the Brain, Long After You Stop Speaking It

Researchers at McGill University recently discovered that the first language we learn remains implanted in our brain even if we cease using that language later in life. The results of this study provide knowledge that will lead to a clearer understanding about the brain’s plasticity and its role in language learning. Read about this interesting study below.

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What makes those able to speak multiple languages different?

Is language learning affected more by nature or nurture? Drawing on a wealth of research, this article explores how hyper polyglots--people who speak 6 or more languages--differ from monolinguals or bilinguals. The results may surprise you! 

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Bilingual Education: A Key to Peace

In this opinion piece, Bilingual Education is the Key to Our Children’s Future, which appeared in The Times of Israel, one parent espouses the benefits of a dual-language, Arabic-Jewish immersion school, as an important factor on the road to peace among Jews and Arabs in Israel. 

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On the Benefits of Bilingualism

This article, which appeared online at the Sierra Sun, provides a succinct summary of the current brain research on the benefits of bilingualism. As evidence, the author also discusses her experience as parent of a bilingual child and things individuals of all ages can do to learn, acquire and maintain knowledge and skill in a second language. 

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"Play-based apps aim to switch on preschoolers interest in languages"

Is language learning affected more by nature or nurture? Drawing on a wealth of research, this article explores how hyper polyglots--people who speak 6 or more languages--differ from monolinguals or bilinguals. The results may surprise you! 

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Phone conversations

The Phone Project offers examples of phone conversations in Spanish and Arabic. Visitors can choose the country of origin, the language level, and the topic for the phone conversation. Included on the website are lesson plans with support materials for using the phone conversations in class.

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Where Children Sleep

James Mollison is an artist that was born on Kenya and grew up in England. His fourth book, Where Children Sleep, tells stories of children around the world through portraits and pictures of their bedroom. Visitors to the website will find pictures of 35 children and their bedrooms.

 

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Refrigerators of the World

Heather Jonasson, the woman manning the @Sweden Twitter account on February 24, 2015, tweeted a picture of her refrigerator. People from around the world joined and shared pictures of what was in their refrigerators.

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Beginner Conversational Chinese
"I can speak a little Chinese"

Here is an easy program to follow and learn basic Chinese sentence structures. You will learn how to proudly tell everyone "I can speak a little Chinese." Soon you may start using this sentence all time.

 

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  Thank you to JNCL, and NNELL members Janine Erickson, Tammy Dann, Lori Langer de Ramirez, Kristel Saxton, Andrea Suarez Boyd, Heather Hendry, PhD., Alice Charkes, Zhihong Li, Sally Hood, PhD., Kennedy Schultz, PhD., and Robert Raymond, PhD., for their contributions to this publication.

If you would like to share an interesting article, app, or teaching tool with the NNELL community in our next eNNELL News edition, please contact Dorie Perugini.
     
National Network for Early Language Learning | www.nnell.org