Why belong to the Bilingual Village?
Language Learners benefit from belonging to the Bilingual Village because it:
Adult Language Learners
- prepares students to use their new language in a real-life setting, increasing their confidence and ability to communicate.
- expands classroom learning through opportunities to practice instructed knowledge for authentic purposes.
- allows students to experience learning new languages together at places and times convenient to them.
- values the home languages of students of all linguistic and cultural backgrounds and encourages the use of the language in and outside of school.
- offers international college and university students and adult immigrants convenient ways to interact in English with local community members.
How the Bilingual Village Works with College, University, and Adult Language Learners
How Community Partner Employees Encourage Language Learning
- College, university, and adult education program language learners receive information from their instructors about upcoming class trips and individual student visit opportunities to Bilingual Village Community Partners.
- When a language learner visits a Community Partner, employees notice their Bilingual Village buttons and welcome them. Employees may call over a coworker if they don’t speak the language on the button.
Employees are trained to:
- stay in the language that the button shows–employees only use a different language if communication breaks down.
- be patient when language learners struggle with speaking and give them time to find their words.
When Language Learner Visits to Community Partners Happen
- Typically, visits occur during a one-month window when a Community Partner is focused on in a class, for example, a bakery in September, the local library branch in October, etc.
- Some Community Partners suggest specific days/times for the visits when it’s slower so they can give more time to language learners.
Before Visits to Community Partners, Language Learners
- find out about upcoming class trips or individual language learner visit opportunities to Bilingual Village Community Partners from their instructors.
- resources, such as written example sentences, are given to use during the visit if needed.
- rehearse the language they will need for the visit in their class.
- receive a Bilingual Village button that identifies the language they will speak while interacting with employees.
During Visits to Community Partners, Language Learners
- wear their Bilingual Village button.
- bring their language resources, such as the example sentences for ordering in a restaurant or asking about items in a grocery store.
- bring an assignment form or use their Bilingual Village app to document their visit if the teacher offers credit for participating.
- approach an employee and begin speaking.
How to Support the Bilingual Village at Your College, University, or Adult Education Program
Adult language learners can be very helpful in establishing and maintaining a vibrant Bilingual Village at their colleges, universities, or adult education programs.
Adult language learners can help operate their Bilingual Village by:
- assisting their instructors with organizing Bilingual Village class trips and individual visits to Community Partner establishments.
- organizing a gathering or event at a Bilingual Village Community Partner establishment, such as a meet-up for language learners at a pastry shop to try different pastries.
- facilitating technology for online Bilingual Village Speakers Bureau events.
- sharing rides to Bilingual Village Community Partner visits and class trips so students without transportation can participate.
- informing their instructors of local establishments with bilingual employees (or monolingual employees willing to encourage language learning).
- sharing a flyer about the Bilingual Village with businesses, organizations, and agencies they go to, inviting them to fill out an online application.
- connecting their instructors with bilingual community leaders, professionals, or artists they know to invite them to join the Bilingual Village Speakers Bureau and present in their class.
Bilingual Village Resources for Adult Language Learners
Handbook for Adult Learners
Coming Soon
Flyer for Language Learners (Adults) Spanish
Información sobre cómo funciona El Pueblo Bilingüe para adultos
Flyer for Language Learners(Adults) English
Information about how the Bilingual Village works for adults
Need help during your visit?
If you need extra support during your experience at our Bilingual Village partners, you can download and print some of our free resources by clicking the button beside.