Why belong to the Bilingual Village?
Language Learners benefit from belonging to the Bilingual Village because it:
PK-12 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 families to experience learning new languages together at places 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 parents who are learning English convenient ways and times to interact in English with local community members.
How the Bilingual Village Works with PK-12 Language Learners
How Community Partner Employees Encourage Language Learning
PK-12 language learners receive information from their teachers about upcoming class field trips and/or student and family visit opportunities to Bilingual Village Community Partners.
When students and their families visit 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 Student and Family Visits to Community Partners Happen
- Typically, visits occur during a one-month window when a Community Partner is focused on in 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 field trips or individual language learner visit opportunities to Bilingual Village Community Partners from their teachers.
- receive resources, such as written example sentences, 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 their Bilingual Village passport or use their Bilingual Village app to document their visit.
- approach an employee and begin speaking.
How to Support the Bilingual Village at Your School
Parent groups, individual parent volunteers, and older student volunteers can be very helpful in establishing and maintaining a vibrant Bilingual Village at their schools.
Parents (and older students) can help operate their Bilingual Village by:
- assisting teachers with organizing Bilingual Village class field trips and student and family visits to Community Partner establishments of the month.
- organizing a class gathering or event at a Bilingual Village Community Partner establishment, such as a meet-up for students and their families at a pastry shop to try different pastries.
- volunteering during class field trips to Community Partner establishments.
- facilitating technology for online Bilingual Village Speakers Bureau class presentations.
- informing teachers about 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 teachers 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 PK-12 Bilingual Language Learners
Lesson Plan for Restaurant – Express Elementary
Express Lesson Plan Elementary
Children Informational Flyer
General information about the Bilingual Village and the BV passport
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.